Category: WordPress • Est. reading time: 3 minutes
If spam has piled up, deleting comments one at a time is a special kind of torture. Here is how to clear them out in batches instead.
Delete Comments in Bulk
1. Go to Comments in your dashboard.
2. To work through more at once, open Screen Options at the top and raise the number of comments shown per page.
3. Click the checkbox in the header row to select every comment on the page.
4. In the Bulk actions menu, choose Move to Trash, then click Apply.
5. Repeat until the list is clear, then open the Trash tab and click Empty Trash to remove them for good.
Clearing Out Spam
If the comments are flagged as spam, click the Spam tab and use Empty Spam to wipe them all at once.
For very large volumes: if you are staring down tens of thousands of spam comments, the page-by-page method gets old fast. That is a case where a trusted plugin or a quick database cleanup is the better tool, and it is something we are glad to handle for you.
Prevention beats cleanup: once you are clean, tighten your Discussion settings or turn comments off so the spam does not come back. See our guide on disallowing comments.
Need a Hand?
We teach WordPress live and one-on-one at allydrez.com/learn-how-to-use-wordpress, or we will manage your site for you. Reach us at support@allydrez.com or 1-321-209-2004.