Because WordPress is a blogging software, WordPress themes come default with blogging features. Many people use WordPress as a Content Management System, so the blogging features in WordPress are undesirable for those who want just a basic website.
There is always more than one way to do this; however, this article will explain how throug the plugins and code. This tutorial will explain how to remove the blogging features from a WordPress theme with the Hide Comments plugin and through the code. The Birdsite theme is used in this tutorial for learning purposes.
Removing Comments with the Hide Comments plugin
- Log into the WordPress Dashboard
- In the left menu, hover over Plugins and then click Add New.
- In the Search field, type “Hide Comments” and then click Search Plugins.
- In the list of plugins, click Install Now under the plugin name.
- Click Activate plugin. Now the Comments will not display in your WordPress site.
Another feature in WordPress that displays blog information is the side bare Widgets. To remove the sidebar Widgets, the sidebar.php code will need to be edited. The following will explain the steps for editing the sidebar Widget code.
Removing side Widgets through the code
- Log into the WordPress Dashboard
- In the left menu, hover over appearance and click Editor.
- In the right menu, click “Sidebar” (sidebar.php).
- Delete all the code and enter the following:
<div id="sidebar"> <?php dynamic_sidebar('widget-area'); get_search_form(); ?> </div>Very Important! This if for the Birdsite Theme. Not all Themes have the same code in the sidebar.php. If you are using a different theme, you may want to follow these instructions. Deleting the code in the sidebar.php may break the site.
- Click Update File. Now the Widgets can be removed from the Widget-area and not display on your site.
This concludes this article on How to disable blogging features in WordPress. To learn more about Widgets, please visit Introduction to Plugins & Widgets
Hi,
I’ve used your help pages many times to fix problems, and they’re usually bang on the money.
However, this time, might I be right in suggesting that a far easier approach is simply to make the blog private? That’s what I’ve just done in my development project. Also, with that option, you can always choose to make it public if you want to throw it back in again. And you’re not dependent on a third-party plugin being kept up to date.
By the way, thanks for the help pages. Although I’m not a customer, they’ve helped me many times in the past when OpanCart had me banging my head against the wall.
Mick
Hi, Mick!
I’m so glad to see that our Support Center has helped you in many ways! Thank you for your feedback as well. As this is a community forum, we encourage comments like yours. With your advice, someone else may be able to benefit from the alternative you proposed. Thanks for your suggestion!
Sincerely,
Carlos E