The Subscribe to Comments feature in WordPress allows users to receive email notifications when new comments are made on posts or pages they follow.
This boosts user engagement by informing readers and encouraging them to return for discussions.
Enabling this feature helps website owners improve user interaction, build community, and increase repeat visits, leading to better user retention and site activity.
In this blog, we’ll walk you through the steps to set up comment subscriptions on your WordPress website.
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Why should users be allowed to subscribe to comments in WordPress?
Allowing users to comment on your WordPress blog is a great way to increase engagement.
Many users leave comments on a website and never return.
By allowing them to subscribe to comments, the plugin will send them a comment reply email notification whenever an individual comments on that same post. It will remind them about their comment and bring them back to your website.
Utilize the subscribe to comments feature, enabling individuals to efficiently track comment threads that spark many discussions or heated debates.
Unfortunately, WordPress doesn’t allow visitors to subscribe to comments by default.
But there is no need to worry.
Various WordPress plugins will notify you when someone replies, likes, or dislikes your comments. They’ll get a WordPress comment approval email to enable it.
Hence, you can use these WordPress plugins to like and dislike comments after they subscribe to comments on your website, such as Thrive Comments.
Using Thrive Comments Allow Users to Subscribe to Comments
The Thrive Comments plugin is the easiest way to offer a comment subscription feature.
It is the most popular WordPress comments plugin. It is part of the Thrive Themes set of plugins that lets users subscribe to comments with a button click. It also includes many features to improve comment interaction, including upvote/downvote, comment badges, etc.
For further details, see our review of the Thrive Comments.
First, visit the Thrive Themes website and sign up for an account.
When you are done with that, the account will be created. You can now head to the account dashboard.
Press the ‘Download and install the Thrive Product Manager plugin’ link from here.
After that, install the Thrive Product Manager plugin on your WordPress site.
After activation, you can access the Product Manager option from your WordPress dashboard.
Press the ‘Log into my account’ option.
Once you have logged in to your account, you can see the Thrive Product Manager dashboard.
To install the ‘Thrive Comments‘ plugin, go to it, select it, and then click the ‘Install selected products‘ option.
After the plugin is installed, you can receive a success message, ‘Ready to use.’
After that, press the ‘Go to the Thrive Themes Dashboard’ option.
Finally, you will see all your Thrive Themes plugins installed on your site.
Press the ‘Thrive Comments’ option.
How to Set Up Comment Notifications in Thrive Comments?
After that, you will be directed to the Thrive Comments settings.
Press on the ‘Notifications’ option.
Then, connect an email delivery service to notify comment subscribers.
To do this, click the ‘+ Add new’ button and select an email marketing service to connect with Thrive Comments.
From this point on, you should be able to see a dropdown menu with various email tools.
Select the email delivery service you want to connect with.
Thrive Comments will prompt you to input the API key or API token for your selected tool.
You can find the API key in your email marketing tool’s dashboard or account area. The steps for retrieving the API key may vary for each service, so we suggest reviewing their documentation.
After you connect the email delivery tool, you will see it as an active connection.
With Thrive Comments, you have the option to personalize your comments and post notifications according to your preferences.
This allows you to modify the default notification messages that users will receive when they leave a comment, someone responds to their comment, or a new comment or reply is posted to a specific article.
For example, if you click the ‘Customize Comment Notification’ option, you can edit the email subject line, content, and more.
You can also add notification shortcodes to the email text, such as the site title or comment author’s name.
Likewise, if you select the ‘Customize Post Notification’ option, you can edit the email that users receive when someone leaves a comment on the thread.
The plugin allows you to modify the email text and use shortcodes to add more details to the content.
Once you have finished, remember to save your settings by clicking on the ‘Save‘ button.
After that, go to your WordPress website and scroll to the comment section under any post or page. Find the ‘Subscribe to comments’ option at the end.
Additional Tips for Managing Subscribe to Comments on your WordPress Website
Now that you have added a comment subscription option on your website, you can take further steps to manage comments effectively.
One such step is integrating Google reCAPTCHA into the comment form to filter spam. To pass the test, users must tick the checkbox indicating that they are not a robot or select a set of images.
Apart from that, you can also manage your comment email notifications. WordPress has default email settings for comment notifications and moderation alerts.
However, different WordPress plugins allow you to send notifications to users as well. For instance, you can email a user when their comment is approved.
Alternative plugins are available to enable subscribe to comment setup on your WordPress. One such is Better Notifications for WP; let’s learn more about that.
Better Notifications for WP
Are you interested in sending email notifications to your commenters about new replies?
If so, then you should check out Better Notifications for WordPress comment plugins.
By default, WordPress sends comment notifications only to the site administrators and the article’s author. But with this plugin, you can customize the types of notifications that are sent out and who receives them.
For instance, you can create a new notification for replies, allowing users to respond and respond to the latest feedback on their comments, which can help increase engagement.
Advantages of Better Notifications for WP
It has an easy-to-use interface for setting up notifications and creating email content.
Customizable rules for those who receive certain emails are great for site admins who want to avoid receiving too many notifications.
Disadvantages of Better Notifications for WP
As with other WordPress email features, you may experience email deliverability problems.
Sending notifications to users about new replies is an excellent way to increase user engagement and obtain more comments. Therefore, we recommend this subscribe to comment plugin.
Conclusion
Now, we better understand why allowing users to subscribe to comments in WordPress is crucial. Subscribe to comments can significantly enhance engagement and draw more returning visitors to your site.
Users will receive email notifications about new replies, which can spark lively discussions and increase overall engagement on your website.