Two Methods to Add Comment Email Reply Notifications to WordPress

Naiba believes that WordPress comment email notifications are a very useful feature that can increase interaction between you and netizens. Imagine if you asked me in this article, „I followed your tutorial, why are there still no email notifications for comments?“ Would you prefer to refresh the article several times every day to see if I replied to you, or would you prefer that after I comment, an email is sent to tell you, hey, someone replied to your comment.

Code Implementation Method

There are two methods to implement the function of sending emails to commenters after WordPress blog comments: one is by adding code, and the other is by using a plugin.If using the code function, basically the following code is used, or a slightly modified version /* comment_mail_notify v1.0 by willin kan. (All replies send emails) */ Log in to the blog backend, click the „Edit“ option under the „Appearance“ tab to enter the theme editing interface, and add the following function between the tags in the functions.php file:1. Send emails to everyone

/* comment_mail_notify v1.0 by willin kan. (所有回复都发邮件) */
function comment_mail_notify($comment_id) {
  $comment = get_comment($comment_id);
  $parent_id = $comment->comment_parent ? $comment->comment_parent : '';
  $spam_confirmed = $comment->comment_approved;
  if (($parent_id != '') && ($spam_confirmed != 'spam')) {
    $wp_email = 'no-reply@' . preg_replace('#^www\.#', '', strtolower($_SERVER['SERVER_NAME'])); //e-mail 发出点, no-reply 可改为可用的 e-mail.
    $to = trim(get_comment($parent_id)->comment_author_email);
    $subject = '您在 [' . get_option("blogname") . '] 的留言有了回复';
    $message = '
    <div style=" border:1px solid #d8e3e8; color:#111; padding:0 15px; -moz-border-radius:5px; -webkit-border-radius:5px; -khtml-border-radius:5px;">
      <p>' . trim(get_comment($parent_id)->comment_author) . ', 您好!</p>
      <p>您曾在《' . get_the_title($comment->comment_post_ID) . '》的留言:<br />'
       . trim(get_comment($parent_id)->comment_content) . '</p>
      <p>' . trim($comment->comment_author) . ' 给您的回复:<br />'
       . trim($comment->comment_content) . '<br /></p>
      <p>您可以点击 查看回复完整內容</p>
      <p>欢迎再度光临 ' . get_option('blogname') . '</p>
      <p>(此邮件由系统自动发送，请勿回复.)</p>
    </div>';
    $from = "From: \"" . get_option('blogname') . "\" <$wp_email>";
    $headers = "$from\nContent-Type: text/html; charset=" . get_option('blog_charset') . "\n";
    wp_mail( $to, $subject, $message, $headers );
    //echo 'mail to ', $to, '<br/> ' , $subject, $message; // for testing
  }
}
add_action('comment_post', 'comment_mail_notify');
// -- END ----------------------------------------

2. Let visitors choose whether to receive email notificationsAdd the following function between the tags in the functions.php file. This function will generate an option at the bottom of the comment box for whether to receive reply notifications.

/* 开始*/
function comment_mail_notify($comment_id) {
  $admin_notify = '1'; // admin 要不要收回复通知 ( '1'=要 ; '0'=不要 )
  $admin_email = get_bloginfo ('admin_email'); // $admin_email 可改为你指定的 e-mail.
  $comment = get_comment($comment_id);
  $comment_author_email = trim($comment->comment_author_email);
  $parent_id = $comment->comment_parent ? $comment->comment_parent : '';
  global $wpdb;
  if ($wpdb->query("Describe {$wpdb->comments} comment_mail_notify") == '')
    $wpdb->query("ALTER TABLE {$wpdb->comments} ADD COLUMN comment_mail_notify TINYINT NOT NULL DEFAULT 0;");
  if (($comment_author_email != $admin_email && isset($_POST['comment_mail_notify'])) || ($comment_author_email == $admin_email && $admin_notify == '1'))
    $wpdb->query("UPDATE {$wpdb->comments} SET comment_mail_notify='1' WHERE comment_ID='$comment_id'");
  $notify = $parent_id ? get_comment($parent_id)->comment_mail_notify : '0';
  $spam_confirmed = $comment->comment_approved;
  if ($parent_id != '' && $spam_confirmed != 'spam' && $notify == '1') {
    $wp_email = 'no-reply@' . preg_replace('#^www\.#', '', strtolower($_SERVER['SERVER_NAME'])); // e-mail 发出点, no-reply 可改为可用的 e-mail.
    $to = trim(get_comment($parent_id)->comment_author_email);
    $subject = '您在 [' . get_option("blogname") . '] 的留言有了回复';
    $message = '
    <div style=" border:1px solid #d8e3e8; color:#111; padding:0 15px; -moz-border-radius:5px; -webkit-border-radius:5px; -khtml-border-radius:5px;">
      <p>' . trim(get_comment($parent_id)->comment_author) . ', 您好!</p>
      <p>您曾在《' . get_the_title($comment->comment_post_ID) . '》的留言:<br />'
       . trim(get_comment($parent_id)->comment_content) . '</p>
      <p>' . trim($comment->comment_author) . ' 给您的回复:<br />'
       . trim($comment->comment_content) . '<br /></p>
      <p>您可以点击查看回复的完整內容</p>
      <p>还要再度光临 ' . get_option('blogname') . '</p>
      <p>(此邮件由系统自动发送，请勿回复.)</p>
    </div>';
    $from = "From: \"" . get_option('blogname') . "\" <$wp_email>";
    $headers = "$from\nContent-Type: text/html; charset=" . get_option('blog_charset') . "\n";
    wp_mail( $to, $subject, $message, $headers );
    //echo 'mail to ', $to, '<br/> ' , $subject, $message; // for testing
  }
}
add_action('comment_post', 'comment_mail_notify');
  
/* 自动加勾选栏 */
function add_checkbox() {
  echo '<input type="checkbox" name="comment_mail_notify" id="comment_mail_notify" value="comment_mail_notify" checked="checked" style="margin-left:20px;" /><span for="comment_mail_notify">有人回复时邮件通知我</span>';
}
add_action('comment_form', 'add_checkbox');

3. Let the blog administrator decide under what circumstances to send emailsAdd the following function between the tags in the functions.php file:

/* comment_mail_notify v1.0 by willin kan. (无勾选栏) */
function comment_mail_notify($comment_id) {
  $admin_email = get_bloginfo ('admin_email'); // $admin_email 可改为你指定的 e-mail.
  $comment = get_comment($comment_id);
  $comment_author_email = trim($comment->comment_author_email);
  $parent_id = $comment->comment_parent ? $comment->comment_parent : '';
  $to = $parent_id ? trim(get_comment($parent_id)->comment_author_email) : '';
  $spam_confirmed = $comment->comment_approved;
  if (($parent_id != '') && ($spam_confirmed != 'spam') && ($to != $admin_email) && ($comment_author_email == $admin_email)) {
    /* 上面的判断式,决定发出邮件的必要条件:
    ($parent_id != '') && ($spam_confirmed != 'spam'): 回复的, 而且不是 spam 才可发, 必需!!
    ($to != $admin_email) : 不发给 admin.
    ($comment_author_email == $admin_email) : 只有 admin 的回复才可发.
    可视个人需修改上面的条件.
    */
    $wp_email = 'no-reply@' . preg_replace('#^www\.#', '', strtolower($_SERVER['SERVER_NAME'])); // e-mail 发出点, no-reply 可改为可用的 e-mail.
    $subject = '您在 [' . get_option("blogname") . '] 的留言有了回复';
    $message = '
    <div style=" border:1px solid #d8e3e8; color:#111; padding:0 15px; -moz-border-radius:5px; -webkit-border-radius:5px; -khtml-border-radius:5px;">
      <p>' . trim(get_comment($parent_id)->comment_author) . ', 您好!</p>
      <p>您曾在《' . get_the_title($comment->comment_post_ID) . '》的留言:<br />'
       . trim(get_comment($parent_id)->comment_content) . '</p>
      <p>' . trim($comment->comment_author) . ' 给您的回复:<br />'
       . trim($comment->comment_content) . '<br /></p>
      <p>您可以点击 查看回复的完整內容</p>
      <p>还要再度光临 ' . get_option('blogname') . '</p>
      <p>(此邮件由系统自动发送，请勿回复.)</p>
    </div>';
    $from = "From: \"" . get_option('blogname') . "\" <$wp_email>";
    $headers = "$from\nContent-Type: text/html; charset=" . get_option('blog_charset') . "\n";
    wp_mail( $to, $subject, $message, $headers );
    //echo 'mail to ', $to, '<br/> ' , $subject, $message; // for testing
  }
}
add_action('comment_post', 'comment_mail_notify');
// -- END ----------------------------------------

Those interested in the code canClick here to visit Shenjie's blog, written quite detailed. However, this code may not work in some themes, so Naiba recommends using the Wenprise Better Emails WordPress comment email notification plugin to solve this.

Plugin method (recommended)

Wenprise Better Emails can beautify WordPress comment moderation notification emails, comment notification emails to article authors, and add the function of sending email notifications to comment authors when replying to comments. The reasons Naiba recommends this Wenprise Better Emails plugin are as follows:

1. Can implement email reply notifications for comments, ready to use upon installation, suitable for beginners;
2. A plugin made by Chinese developers, conforms to usage habits, and has a beautiful interface;
3. Includes an unsubscribe function, which can reduce the likelihood of emails being marked as spam.

Plugin installation address:https://wordpress.org/plugins/wenprise-better-emails/

Neither code nor plugin works?

Using comment email notifications has a prerequisite: your server must be able to send emails. In reality, most hosting providers do not support direct email sending, so we need to rely on third-party plugins to enable the host to send emails, i.e., using the SMTP method to send emails. You can refer to the article below.WordPress Email Plugins I Have Used and RecommendAdditionally,Comment ApprovedNaiba has also used this plugin, which sends an email to the other party after comment approval to notify them that the comment has been approved.