Comments are a powerful form of social proof, and an active comment section is a positive SEO signal to Google.
When the most recent comments appear first it keeps the conversation fresh, stimulates engagement and user activity, and makes your blog appear extra lively and popular.
People are more likely to join in the conversation if they see that the comments are fresh.
However, the default WordPress setting displays the oldest comments first.
In this tutorial, we’re going to show you how to change the order in which comments appear on your website so that the most recent comments appear on top.
Unless you change the settings, WordPress displays comments in the order they are submitted.
The oldest comments – the first to be submitted – appear at the top, directly under your blog or article.
The newest comments, and likely the most relevant ones, get buried at the bottom. This may discourage new visitors from joining in the conversation and adding their own comments.
It can be very beneficial to change the order to display the newest comments at the top.
It gives you the opportunity to answer questions, interact with prospective customers, and promote yourself, your brand, and your values.
Seeing the old comments at the top can also be confusing – especially if your settings allow threaded (nested) comments.
We’ve all seen cringe-y, out-of-place comments which have been incorrectly “nested” under other comments! That’s because readers commonly reply to the top comment, not realizing that they should first scroll to the bottom to see what’s new.
Popular posts don’t age well if the oldest comments appear at the top. No matter how lively the comments section is, if the first comment is older than 6 months, the whole website looks outdated.
There are two quick and easy ways to change the order in which comments appear in WordPress.
Method 1: Change the comment display order via the WordPress settings
This is the simplest method and takes just a few clicks.
Go to the Settings tab in your WordPress Dashboard.
Once you’re there, find the “Other comment settings” section.
Look for the “Comments should be displayed with the older comments at the top of each page” option. Click on the drop-down menu and select “Newer”.
Lastly, go to the bottom of the page and click on the “Save Changes” button.
The change will take effect immediately.
Method
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This article was written by Adeline Devlin and originally published on WP Mayor.