Removing comments from a theme
Toady will be for those that want to use WordPress as a CMS system but not use it as a blog so they want to remove all the comment calls out of the theme.
Todays question:
Everyone has their own use for wordpress, many of us arent really using it for a blog rather a easy simple CMS, try understanding joomla! and you’ll understand why some use wordpress for CMS, anyway the comments are 100% unneeded on my site, I have found that its most likely listed in 3 pages, wp-content/themes/ common.php page.php and single.php havent got a working solution yet, but getting closer
Part of the problem with doing this is that each theme has the calls to add comments in a slightly different place. The calls are similar and you will need to look at the theme code closely to find all of the calls.
The three pages that need to be edited are usually single post, main index and the page and on most themes they will be called single.php, index.php and page.php but like all things that may be slightly different on your theme.
Before I start you should always have a backup copy of your theme before you start editing it. This way you if you make a mistake or have a problem you can go back to where you started easily.
The main page usually only has a link added to comments and that can be removed. The part to remove is highlighted below.

This will remove the comment hyperlink you see either at the top near the post title on your home page or it may be below the actual content depending on your theme.
There are usually two places to edit on your single post page because you will need to remove the call to pull in the comment box and there is usually a link near the post title. You can see a sample below where I have highlighted them.

Now the call to pull the comment box may be more complex on some themes. In this one it is only a single call but on some themes I have seen it be the full call for the comments.
The page will usually be the same as single.php and needs to be edited the same.
I usually don’t edit comment.php because that is the code that is called into the various pages and if you remove the calls form the pages it is never accessed.
Now WordPress can be used for many purposes including a squeeze page, a sales letter and a membership site along with being a static site and you can see exactly how to do all of these and more at WP Nerds.
Your comments and questions are always welcomed and I look forward to answering your question.
About the author
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Mike Paetzold got started blogging in 2003 and has become an expert on using WordPress. He has become known as The WordPress Guy. After being an under ground niche marketer using his blogs he has surfaced to share some of the ways he uses blogs to enter various niches profitably. Get the details at Profitable Blog Steps |
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12 comments
Fred Lotgering
Twitter: lotcon
on January 17, 2010 at 6:36 am
It’s just amazing for how many purposes a wordpress blog can be used. And every day more functionality is added with another plugin.
Fred Lotgering´s last blog ..ezArticleLink GET UNLIMITED BACK LINKS
[Reply]
Luca DiNicola
Twitter: rsonline
on January 17, 2010 at 9:10 am
I don’t hink I would take comments off of my blogs but I see how it would be usefull when using a WordPress blog as a sales page. Is there a way to just turn comments off in the WP dashboard?
Luca DiNicola´s last blog ..How to Create Effective Goals for 2010 and Beyond
[Reply]
Mike
Twitter: thewpmaven
Reply:
January 17th, 2010 at 9:18 am
There is and it can be done for indiviudual pages and posts too but this is for those that want to us WordPress as a CMS platform and not a blog.
[Reply]
Chuck Bartok on January 17, 2010 at 11:18 am
Mike My need is different..
I would like Comment available on my Pages..but I can’t find how to get then through my Theme edit .php
What should I look for?
[Reply]
Mike
Twitter: thewpmaven
Reply:
January 17th, 2010 at 11:43 am
Change theme would be the best because most themes have the comments in pages.
[Reply]
Lonnie Minton on January 17, 2010 at 5:58 pm
I only use WordPress for a blog at this point. But glad to have a source to look at if I ever decide to use WordPress for a CMS.
Lonnie Minton´s last blog ..Keep Building Your Affiliate Marketing Business By Building Your List
[Reply]
Joel Osborne
Twitter: JoelOsborne
on January 17, 2010 at 11:13 pm
Thanks Mike for showing how to do this. I use WP for some static sites and yes, I often want to remove the comment feature, although sometimes it can still be a good thing to keep it to allow communication between visitors. But there’s other ways to do that too.
Joel Osborne´s last blog ..Which is Better: PLR or Ghostwriting?
[Reply]
Ron Barrett on January 18, 2010 at 8:14 am
Great points Mike…and good interaction with your readers…and that’s another reason to HAVE comments enabled on your blog; so that you can enable that interaction.
Keep up the great tips!
Ron Barrett´s last blog ..Easy Video Player – Video Marketing Profits Without The Hassle
[Reply]
Earl Netwal
Twitter: EarlNetwal
on January 19, 2010 at 4:48 pm
I got the general idea of what you were getting at, but found it hard to really see the page captures. I’ve had similar problem when trying to use page capture myself. Is there a way to enlarge them so they are easier to see?
Earl Netwal´s last blog ..Four Times? He’s Serious About This!
[Reply]
Off shore Dedicated ASP Net Programmers on March 19, 2010 at 1:33 am
Hey I am using word press just for blogging as I found it a very good application for blogging but I dint use it for any other think so that I can’t comment in that but I guess it must be good…Any way thanks for the info I will for sure try to gather some more info for the same…Keep it up.
[Reply]
sexy lingerie manufacturer in china on July 31, 2010 at 8:06 am
Kindly tell me how to remove “click here to continue” or “read more” link from the thesis homepage, i don like it. I want readers to click title of the post to read it completely instead of reading the complete post by clicking “click to continue” link. I hope you got the point.
[Reply]
Mike
Twitter: thewpmaven
Reply:
July 31st, 2010 at 8:36 am
I get the point but don’t use thesis to tell you exactly how to remove it. You need to edit in the actual theme code.
[Reply]