Notifying users when their comment gets a reply encourages them to return to your site, fostering engagement and sparking more discussions. By default, WordPress does not provide notifications for comment replies, so users need to revisit the post to see responses.
To improve user interaction and discussion, it’s beneficial to notify users when someone replies to their comment. Here are two methods to achieve this:
Method 1: Notify Users Only on Replies to Their Comments Using Thrive Comments
Thrive Comments is a premium plugin that enhances WordPress comments with features like badges, upvotes/downvotes, and notifications. Here’s how to set it up:
- Install and Activate Thrive Comments
- Visit the Thrive Themes website and create an account.
- Download and install the Thrive Product Manager plugin.
- Activate the plugin and log in to your Thrive Themes account through the WordPress dashboard.
- From the Product Manager, select and install Thrive Comments.
- Configure Thrive Comments
- Go to the Thrive Comments settings via the Thrive Themes dashboard.
- Navigate to the Notifications section and expand it.
- Connect an email delivery service (like Drip, Constant Contact, Mailchimp, AWeber, or ActiveCampaign) by clicking ‘+ Add new’ and following the prompts to enter your API key.
- Customize Notification Emails
- In the Notifications section, you can customize the email notifications for comment replies.
- Edit the Comment Notification email by clicking the pencil icon. Customize the email text, subject line, and use shortcodes to include details like the site title, comment author, and unsubscribe link.
- Save your changes.
Now, users will receive an email notification when someone replies to their comment.
Method 2: Notify Users Only on Replies to Their Comments Using a Free Plugin
Subscribe to Comments Reloaded is a free plugin that allows users to receive email notifications for replies to their comments. Here’s how to set it up:
- Install and Activate Subscribe to Comments Reloaded
- Install and activate the Subscribe to Comments Reloaded plugin from the WordPress plugin repository.
- Configure the Plugin
- Go to STCR » Comment Form settings in your WordPress dashboard.
- In the ‘Advanced subscription’ section, toggle the option to ‘Yes.’
- Select ‘Replies to this comment’ from the ‘Subscription type’ dropdown menu.
- Customize Messages
- In the ‘Messages for your visitors’ section, customize the default messages as needed.
- Ensure that all links are kept to provide visitors access to manage their subscriptions.
- Save Changes
- Scroll to the bottom of the page and click ‘Save Changes’ to store your settings.
Now, visitors will see a subscription option under the comment section. They can choose ‘Replies to my comments’ to receive notifications for replies to their comments. Users can also subscribe without leaving a comment by clicking the ‘Subscribe’ link, allowing them to follow specific discussions.
Bonus: Adding No Right Click on Your WordPress Images
To further protect your images, you can disable right-clicking:
- Install and Activate No Right Click Images Plugin
- Install and activate the No Right Click Images plugin.
- Configure Plugin Settings
- Go to Settings » No Right Click Images and customize the settings to disable dragging, touch events, gesture events, and other loopholes.
By following these methods, you can notify users only when someone replies to their comments on your WordPress site, enhancing user engagement and discussions.
