Comments are great for building a community, but a popular post with hundreds of comments can become slow and hard to scroll. Each comment adds HTML, and avatars add extra images to load. Paginating comments splits them across several pages, so each page loads faster.
You do not need a plugin. It is a built-in WordPress setting.
How to Paginate Comments in WordPress
- In your dashboard, go to Settings > Discussion.
- Find Other comment settings.
- Check Break comments into pages.
- Set how many top level comments to show per page (for example, 50).
- Choose whether the first or last page is displayed by default, and whether older or newer comments appear at the top.
- Click Save Changes.
Your theme decides how the page links look, usually Older Comments and Newer Comments links below the comment list.
Should You Paginate Comments?
| Situation | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| Fewer than about 50 comments per post | Not needed |
| Some posts have 100+ comments | Yes, paginate |
| Comments drive a lot of search traffic | Consider lazy loading instead |
Note: paginated comments create extra URLs like /comment-page-2/. Modern SEO plugins handle these correctly, but comments on later pages are less visible to readers and search engines. If your comments contain valuable content, lazy loading may be a better choice.
Other Ways to Speed Up Busy Comment Sections
- Lazy load comments: load the comment section only when a reader scrolls to it. Many performance plugins, like WP Rocket, can do this, as can dedicated lazy load comment plugins.
- Lazy load avatars: WordPress lazy loads images by default, but you can also lower the avatar size or turn off avatars under Settings > Discussion. Learn more about Gravatar and avatars.
- Delete spam and trash comments regularly.
Check your results with these website speed testing tools.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I split comments into pages in WordPress?
Go to Settings > Discussion, check Break comments into pages, choose the number of comments per page, and save.
Is paginating comments bad for SEO?
Not usually. SEO plugins handle comment page URLs well. But comments on later pages get less attention, so only paginate if posts have very many comments.
How many comments per page should I show?
Around 30 to 50 top level comments per page is a good balance for most sites.
Why are my comment page links not showing?
Your theme controls the comment navigation. Check that pagination is enabled and that the post has more comments than the per-page limit.
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