Guide to Disable New User Notifications in WordPress

December 7. 2021

Even though a high volume of new users on your website is good news, constantly receiving notification emails can be quite annoying. Why not disable new user notifications in WordPress then? Although they aren’t technically spam emails, sometimes they can certainly feel as they are. Are you afraid you’ll lose track of your website users? The good news is that by disabling your WordPress website from sending these notifications, you’ll still be able to monitor your website’s traffic. There are much simpler ways to do this than to go through dozens of emails. Wouldn’t you agree?

So if we convinced you that disabling new user notifications is a good idea, continue reading. We’ve prepared three simple ways to help you prevent yourself from getting annoyed while preventing your inbox from becoming cluttered at the same time.

Why should you disable new user notifications in WordPress?

Allowing users to register on your WordPress website has a lot of benefits. In some cases, for example, you are running an online store, or you have a multi-author blog, registrations are necessary. However, there are some downsides, too. Have you allowed user registration on your website? If your answer is yes, you must have noticed that WordPress sends a notification email to the admin address each time a new user registers. This is probably the biggest downside as notification emails can get quite annoying, especially if you have a lot of user registration on a daily basis.

If you just started your business, this can be useful to boost your morale and give you more information about your website traffic. But, if you have multiple new users registering every day, these notifications can get really annoying and distracting. Your inbox can get cluttered which makes it more difficult for you to spot important emails.

So, to prevent missing any of the important emails because you were bombed with new user notifications, further in this article we’ll explain how to disable them in three simple ways.

Ways to disable new user notifications in WordPress

There are two ways to disable new user notifications – by using a code or by installing one of the WordPress plugins. We’ll explain both ways.

Use code to disable new user notifications

The first method that we’ll explain will require you to add lines of code to the WordPress file. Although this might seem complicated and difficult, it really isn’t. You can simply use a code snippet plugin that allows you to add custom codes. But trust us, even without a plugin, this is a fairly easy task.

First, you need to open funcion.php file in notepad (right click on the file, click on “Open with” and choose notepad). Copy and paste the code below and you should be good to go.

<?php
//Disable the new user notification sent to the site admin
function smartwp_disable_new_user_notifications() {
//Remove original use created emails
remove_action( ‘register_new_user’, ‘wp_send_new_user_notifications’ );
remove_action( ‘edit_user_created_user’, ‘wp_send_new_user_notifications’, 10, 2 );

//Add new function to take over email creation
add_action( ‘register_new_user’, ‘smartwp_send_new_user_notifications’ );
add_action( ‘edit_user_created_user’, ‘smartwp_send_new_user_notifications’, 10, 2 );
}
function smartwp_send_new_user_notifications( $user_id, $notify = ‘user’ ) {
if ( empty($notify) || $notify == ‘admin’ ) {
return;
}elseif( $notify == ‘both’ ){
//Only send the new user their email, not the admin
$notify = ‘user’;
}
wp_send_new_user_notifications( $user_id, $notify );
}
add_action( ‘init’, ‘smartwp_disable_new_user_notifications’ );

Plugins that will help you disable new user notifications

Using a plugin is definitely an easier way to disable automatic update email notifications such as new user notifications. We’ve selected the two most straightforward and you can read all about them below. Whichever one you choose, you won’t make a mistake as you’ll make your life a whole lot easier.

Manage notification emails plugin

If you looking to disable new user notifications hassle-free, the best way to go is to use the manage notification emails plugin. On top of that, you’ll be able to disable many other admin-related emails, too.

This plugin is very straightforward and simple to use. Once it’s activated, you’ll be able to see a new option in your settings – “Notification e-mails”. Then uncheck “New user notification to admin” and you’ll disable new user notifications in WordPress.

On top of that, this plugin will also let you disable the following options:

• Password changes
• New user notifications that are sent to users
• Forgotten password

WP Mail SMTP plugin

WP Mail SMTP plugin gives you another simple solution to get rid of annoying new user notifications. Given that it’s being used by over 2 million websites, it’s definitely one of the best WordPress plugins. Why is it trusted by so many websites? Because it dramatically increases and improves your website’s email deliverability.

This plugin became famous for fixing the issue of emails not being delivered to customers. That means that you can be certain your users will receive every email sent from your site. You can rest assured they won’t end up in their spam folders.

But we’re here to explain another feature this plugin offers – managing your WordPress emails. It’s fairly simple to use:

• Download the WP Mail SMTP plugin and activate it.
• Click on the “Email Controls” (located in the menu on the top of the page)
• Then, scroll down and click on the “New user” section.
• Next to ‘Create (Admin)’, you’ll see an “on-off” button which you can click on to disable notifications sent to either admin or users.
• Don’t forget to click on “Save Settings“

You’ll have to agree – it can’t get much simpler than this!

Final thoughts

And just like that, you’ll disable new user notifications in WordPress. As you can see, it’s a pretty straightforward process, regardless of if you’re using a code or plugin. However, if your website is relatively new or you don’t get a lot of signups, we’d recommend not disabling these notifications yet. They can be very useful for tracking the influx of your new users.