How to Delete All Pending Comments in WordPress (2 Methods)

As an experienced webmaster, I know first-hand that pending comments can become a headache for any WordPress site owner.

But don‘t worry! In this comprehensive guide, I‘ll show you two quick ways to bulk delete pending comments in WordPress.

The Pending Comment Problem

First, let‘s understand why pending comments build up.

Pending comments are held in moderation queue for approval. According to statistics from Wordfence, over 75% of comments made globally are actually spam.

As a site owner, you have to manually approve each genuine comment while deleting spam and inappropriate comments. This takes considerable time and effort.

No one wants to spend hours moderating pending comments!

Ignoring them is also not an option. Here is what happens when pending comments pile up:

• They consume space and slow down your database.
• Old irrelevant comments keep getting in the way.
• It becomes impossible to find and approve real comments.
• You lose control over conversations on your site.

So what should you do when pending comments get out of hand?

Method 1: Manually Deleting Pending Comments

The WordPress dashboard allows you to bulk select and delete pending comments:

1. Go to Comments > Pending
2. Open Screen Options and set comments per page to 100
3. Select all comments by checking the box next to Author
4. From the Bulk Actions dropdown, select Move to Trash
5. Click Apply to move the selected comments to trash
6. Repeat this on all pages of pending comments
7. Once done, empty the Trash to permanently delete

Pros:

• Lets you review comments before deleting
• Works for a small number of comments

Cons:

• Very slow and tedious for 1,000+ comments
• Higher server load with 100 comments per page
• Moving to trash before permanent deletion

Manual deletion only works if you have a few hundred pending comments. But what if you have been ignoring the pending queue for weeks? Let‘s look at a faster way to purge all of them.

Method 2: Using a Plugin to Delete All Pending Comments

If you have thousands of pending comments, deleting them manually is not feasible.

Using the Delete Pending Comments plugin is the quickest way to bulk delete pending comments.

Here is how it works:

1. Install and activate the plugin
2. Go to Comments > Delete Pending Comments
3. It will show the total number of pending comments
4. Enter the displayed text and click Delete

This will permanently delete all pending and spam comments in one go!

Pros:

• Deletes any number of pending comments with one click
• No need to move comments to trash first
• Also removes spam comments automatically
• Saves hours of manual moderation

Cons:

• Comments deleted permanently without review
• Cannot choose specific comments to keep

The plugin is the fastest way to start over with a clean slate. But you lose the ability to selectively keep some comments.

I suggest making a site backup before deleting, just in case you need to restore any data.

Tackling Only Spam Comments

What if you went on a vacation and came back to find hundreds of spam comments in pending?

You want to remove the spam but keep genuine pending comments.

Here‘s what to do:

1. Go to Comments > Spam
2. Click Empty Spam to delete only spam comments

This selective deletion keeps all other pending comments intact.

Final Thoughts

After 15 years working as a webmaster, I know how frustrating a pending comment backlog can be.

The two methods in this guide will empower you to take control and bulk delete pending comments easily.

I highly recommend trying out both manual deletion and the plugin deletion based on your specific needs.

Let me know if you have any other questions! I‘m always happy to help out a friend.