How to Add Custom Fields to Comments Form in WordPress

September 22. 2022

Would you like to add custom fields to comments form in WordPress? By default, WordPress’s comment form requires four pieces of information to be filled out (name, email, website, and message). However, there may be occasions when you would like to extend the WordPress comment form with additional fields such as ratings, checkboxes, or similar. We at WP Full Care appreciate how such details can make a big difference and help you boost user experience on your website. That’s why we’ve prepared a thorough guide to help you learn how to customize the comment form with additional fields.

Why should you add custom fields to comments form in WordPress?

WordPress’s comment form automatically requests the commenter’s name, email address, and website URL. There’s also a spot for users to fill in their comments, as well as a checkbox where repeat commenters can keep their details.

Even though this is ideal for the vast majority of WordPress sites, you might want to obtain more information from your visitors. Let’s say you want to get more insights into demographics so you can adjust your marketing strategy. Finding out this information can help you better cater to the needs of the people who visit your WordPress blog.

Adding custom fields to your comment sections is another way to make them more interactive and interesting. You can use the site’s comment section as a forum by asking visitors for information that will encourage debate. In addition, you may wish reviewers to include their star ratings in the comments section if that’s how you’ve decided to collect ratings.

How to add custom fields to comments form in WordPress?

The easiest way to add custom fields to comments form in WordPress is to use the WordPress Comments Fields plugin. With this plugin, you may customize your comment forms with various options including checkboxes, radio buttons, and dropdown menus. The best part is that it’s very simple and straightforward to use.

Do keep in mind that, when a visitor publishes a comment, any data that was entered into a comment’s custom fields will also be published. That’s why it’s important not to use the custom comment sections on your site to collect personal information about your users.

Using the WordPress Comments Fields plugin to customize comments form fields

Once you install and activate the WordPress Comments Fields plugin you will be able to access its settings from your WordPress admin dashboard. Simply go to Comments » Comment Fields and there, you’ll be able to easily add a new field to your comment form. It’s as simple as clicking on the “Add Field” option.

You can add whatever kind of field you choose to your own personal WordPress comment form by selecting it from the drop-down menu. There are options like text boxes, checkboxes, and radio buttons. Once you click on the field you’d like to add, you’ll be able to configure it.

Configuring the comments form fields

The first step is to make a label. This will be shown above the comment section on your site and will explain to visitors what information is required. Simply enter the label name into the “Title” box. The plugin will instantly complete the “Data name” field as you fill in the title.

Any time you need to reference this data elsewhere, for example in automated email alerts, you can refer to its Data name. You can also change the text in the Data name field and use a completely different value.

Next, you can fill up the description section by adding text to the “Description” field. As such, the description can be used to elaborate on the custom field, such as the reason(s) for requesting the visitor’s input.

You can also limit the number of characters available depending on the type of information you require. This way, you can counteract comment spam on your WordPress website and encourage users to post accurate information. Setting a maximum and minimum value for a custom field is also a good idea when it allows users to enter specific information, such as a phone number. You can easily restrict the length to a certain range by entering values in the “Max Length” and “Minimum Length” text fields.

Putting restrictions on a WordPress comments form

Any additional field in your WordPress comments form will be visible to all site visitors by default. On the other hand, you may only want to make the custom field visible to particular user roles. In the case of a WordPress membership site, for instance, you may wish to restrict access to your custom field to logged-in users only.

To limit any field, simply select “Only members” or “Only Guests” from the “Visibility” menu to restrict access to this field to only members or guests, respectively. You can also restrict access to the custom field exclusively to those who fall under a certain user role. Click the “Visibility” drop-down menu and then select “By role” to accomplish this. You’ll now have the option of specifying the user’s role in a dedicated input area and you can add multiple user roles by separating them with commas.

Once you’re happy with the fields you’ve configured, simply click on “Save Fields“. After that, you’ll be able to view the new fields in your site’s WordPress comment form. At any time, you may return to the Comments » Comment Fields menu and disable a custom comments form field. Once you’ve located the custom field you wish to disable, you may click its sidebar to toggle it to the ‘Off’ position. Don’t forget to click on “Save Field” and the WordPress comment form on your site will no longer include the custom field you added.

The bottom line

And that’s it – you now know how easy it is to add custom fields to comments form in WordPress.  Of course, you can always reach out to WordPress pros to handle this for you. In fact, they’ll do so much more – they’ll ensure your website is always running smoothly while you can focus on other aspects of your business. Or, you can simply sit back and relax. In any case, it’s a win-win.