Notification for New Comments Not Working

jboursaw
(@jboursaw)

12 months ago

I’ve searched the forums and this has been asked before, but I’ve not seen a great answer for it yet. I’m the admin on my site, and I’m not getting notifications when new comments are posted. I’ve deactivated a few plugins that might be suspect, and have checked the appropriate boxes in the settings, but am still not getting notifications.

Any specific plugins that cause this problem? What else could it be? Thanks for any help.

The page I need help with: [log in to see the link]

Viewing 3 replies - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)

Mohd Javed
(@jawedrs)

12 months ago
Hi @jboursaw,

Thanks for reaching out! Sorry to hear you’re not receiving comment notifications—this can definitely be frustrating.

Here are a few steps you can try:
1. Check Discussion Settings
  Go to Settings → Discussion and make sure the option “Email me whenever → Anyone posts a comment” is checked.
2. Verify Email Deliverability
  Sometimes, WordPress emails get marked as spam or blocked. Try installing a plugin like WP Mail SMTP to ensure emails are being sent correctly and received.
3. Check for Conflicts
  You mentioned deactivating a few plugins—smart move! You might also try temporarily switching to a default theme (like Twenty Twenty-Four) and disabling all plugins except a basic SMTP plugin. Then test if notifications work.
4. Comment Moderation Settings
  Make sure comments aren’t being held for moderation (unless that’s what you intend), as that can delay or stop notifications.
5. Known Conflicts
  Some caching or security plugins (like WP Rocket, LiteSpeed Cache, or Wordfence) might interfere with notification emails. Try checking the plugin’s documentation or support forums for known issues with comment notifications.
Let me know if you’ve tried these and the issue still persists—happy to help further!
Faisal Ahammad
(@faisalahammad)

12 months ago

Hi @jboursaw,

Please ensure that the “Anyone posts a comment” option is enabled in Settings → Discussion → Email me whenever, as shown in the screenshot below. If it is disabled, please enable it.

If it is already enabled but you are still not receiving email notifications, try using an SMTP plugin or contact your hosting support for assistance.

Give it a try, and let me know how that goes! 😄

Moderator bcworkz
(@bcworkz)

12 months ago

A related general comment which may or may not apply to your situation: If your From: email address is not related to your site’s domain name, your mail server cannot compose the proper anti-spam email headers, making more likely such email could be discarded as spam by the recipient’s mail system. The default From: address is related to the domain name by default, but themes, plugins, or custom code often allows you to alter this.

Have you checked your email client’s spam folder for missing messages?

I’ve deactivated a few plugins that might be suspect

To reliably troubleshoot, you should deactivate all plugins, and switch to a default Twenty* theme as well, all within the same test. Trouble can come from any added theme or plugin. Unexpected interaction between modules can also be a cause. If you don’t want your site to appear broken to other visitors due to this troubleshooting, use the Health Check & Troubleshooting plugin. Its troubleshooting mode deactivates plugins and swaps themes for your view only. Everyone else sees your normal site.