Comment moderation rules do the first pass for you: hold the iffy comments back, bin the obvious junk, and let the people you already trust comment freely. You only have to set them up once.

## Before you start

- You're signed in as an administrator — only admins can see the Discussion settings.
- A rough list of the words or phrases you never want to see. You can add more later.

## Steps

### Step 1: Open the Discussion settings

In your dashboard, open **Settings** and choose **Discussion**. This one page holds every comment rule your site uses.

![Open the Discussion settings](https://wordpress.supportpages.io/rails/active_storage/blobs/proxy/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsiZGF0YSI6OTk3NCwicHVyIjoiYmxvYl9pZCJ9fQ==--0bc9be4ff5eb36a03a430622e70d86e8c714856a/block_open-discussion-settings.png)

### Step 2: Hold suspicious comments for review

Under **Comment Moderation**, lower the **Number of links to allow in a comment before holding for moderation:** to a small number like `2`. Most genuine replies link to nothing at all, while spam is usually stuffed with links.

Then type the words you want flagged into the box below it, one per line. A comment containing any of them waits for you instead of appearing on your site straight away.

![Hold suspicious comments for review](https://wordpress.supportpages.io/rails/active_storage/blobs/proxy/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsiZGF0YSI6OTk4OCwicHVyIjoiYmxvYl9pZCJ9fQ==--cad0a9f58440d10e2f1ab3f2a2511b22ceba0789/step_1.png)

### Step 3: Block words you never want to see

In the **Disallowed Comment Keys** box, list the words and phrases that always mean junk, one per line. Comments containing them go straight to the **Trash**, so they never reach your queue at all.

### Step 4: Let your regulars comment freely

Under **Before a comment appears**, tick **Comment author must have a previously approved comment**. Someone commenting for the first time is held back, but anyone you've approved before posts right away — no waiting on you.

### Step 5: Save your changes

Scroll to the bottom of the page and click **Save Changes**. Your rules start working on the very next comment.

![Save your changes](https://wordpress.supportpages.io/rails/active_storage/blobs/proxy/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsiZGF0YSI6MTAwMzAsInB1ciI6ImJsb2JfaWQifX0=--f790b4c11f23ddad929152f5171534b2a9ab8c14/block_save-changes.png)

## Tips

- Both keyword boxes match inside words, so a line like `press` also catches `WordPress`. Use whole phrases when a short word is too broad.
- You can add IP addresses to either box, one per line, if the same troublemaker keeps coming back.
- Want to read everything before it goes live? Tick **Comment must be manually approved** under **Before a comment appears** as well.
- Comments held for review wait in the **Pending** view of your **Comments** screen until you approve them, so nothing gets lost.

## Summary

Your site now screens comments before they appear: link-heavy ones and keyword hits wait for your approval, blocked words are trashed, and trusted commenters sail through. You only read what actually needs a human eye.