How to Notify Users When Their Comment is Approved in WordPress

We know how exciting it is to see comments coming in after publishing a new blog post. It feels like your content is finally getting noticed.

But then… nothing. The conversation just stops. It’s easy to wonder why no one’s replying or coming back to keep the discussion going.

We’ve seen this happen on a lot of WordPress blogs, and one reason is surprisingly simple: people don’t get a notification when their comment is approved. So they never know it went live.

A quick fix is to automatically notify users when their comment gets approved. This small step can encourage them to return, reply, and stay part of the conversation.

In this guide, we’ll show you how to set up comment approval notifications on your WordPress site to help build a more active and engaging community. 💬

Why Notify Users When Their Comment is Approved in WordPress

The answer is simple: Because it helps keep the conversation going and show commenters that their input matters.

Comments allow your website visitors to communicate with you and other readers.

They are a great way to get engagement and feedback, and can help build a community around your WordPress blog.

By default, WordPress puts all new comments into a moderation queue. You can see these comments in the admin area, but they won’t appear on your website until you approve them.

Comment moderation is the best way to keep discussions safe and spam-free.

However, WordPress’s default settings don’t notify users when you approve their comments.

So, visitors would need to keep checking your WordPress site to see whether their comments have appeared.

However, most commenters may forget to do that. Sometimes, visitors may even assume you’ve rejected their comment if they don’t get a notification.

By confirming that you’ve published their comment, you can encourage visitors to return to your WordPress website. This is great for engagement and can create a more interesting and lively discussion.

With that in mind, we’ll show you how to notify users when you approve their comments. Here’s a quick look at all the topics we’ll share in this guide:

Let’s jump right in!

Notify Users When Their Comment Is Approved in WordPress

The easiest way to notify people when you publish their comments is by using Comment Approved Notifier Extended. This plugin is simple to set up and lets you send a custom email to your users.

First, you’ll need to install and activate the plugin. If you need help, then please see our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Upon activation, the plugin works automatically. Every time you approve a comment, WordPress will send a notification to that person’s email address.

If you want to change the content of the email, simply click ‘Comment Approved’ in the WordPress dashboard.

You’ll then see the default email template with various shortcodes. These shortcodes automatically insert specific information into the email, such as the commenter’s name or post title.

When it creates an email, Comment Approver Notification will replace the shortcode with real information.

For example, it will replace [commentauthor] with the user’s name and [commendedposttitle] with the blog post in which the user left a comment.

Simply type or paste any shortcode into the email editor. You can also type in plain text, as seen in the following image:

In the ‘Mail Body’ field, you can edit the template to change the message users receive when their comment is approved.

When you’re happy with how the email looks, you can go ahead and click on the ‘Update’ button.

Now, Comment Approver Notification will send the new email to your users.

Bonus Tip: Export Email Addresses from WordPress Comments

Once you’ve engaged users through comment approval notifications, you might want to consider further communication strategies.

One option is to export email addresses from WordPress comments to build a mailing list. Provided you have user consent, you can:

• Add people to your email newsletter for updates and tips.
• Import them into your CRM for personalized outreach.
• Use them for targeted Facebook ad campaigns.

Each method helps engage your audience and expand your reach, but always ensure you respect user preferences and privacy regulations.

For detailed instructions, you can read our article on how to export email addresses from WordPress comments.

FAQs: Notify Users When Their Comment is Approved in WordPress

Before we wrap up, here are some common questions about sending comment approval notifications and using the Comment Approved Notifier Extended plugin.

Do I need any coding skills to use the Comment Approved Notifier Extended plugin?

Nope, no coding needed. The plugin is beginner-friendly and works right out of the box once you install and activate it.

Can I customize the notification email sent to users?

Yes, the Comment Approved Notifier Extended plugin lets you edit the email template. You can even use shortcodes to personalize the message with details like the commenter’s name or the blog post title.

Is it possible to notify only specific commenters when their comments are approved?

Not at the moment. The Comment Approved Notifier Extended plugin sends notifications for all approved comments and doesn’t offer selective notifications.

How can I ensure the emails are delivered to the inbox and not the spam folder?

We recommend using an SMTP plugin like WP Mail SMTP. It helps improve email deliverability so your notifications are more likely to land in the inbox.

What if I don’t want to use a plugin?

You can manually email users when their comments are approved.

However, this approach isn’t scalable; it quickly becomes time-consuming as your site gains more traffic and comments. Using a plugin ensures the process stays efficient and manageable as your site grows.

Explore More Tips To Improve Your WordPress Comments

We hope this article helped you learn how to notify users when their comment is approved in WordPress. If you found this helpful, then you might want to check out our other guides on:

• How to Highlight Author’s Comments in WordPress
• How to Feature or Bury Comments in WordPress
• How to Allow Users to Like or Dislike Comments in WordPress
• How to Allow Users to Subscribe to Comments
• How to Allow Users to Edit Their Comments in WordPress
• How to Allow Users to Post Anonymous Comments in WordPress
• Best Plugins to Improve WordPress Comments

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