Getting Started
Convocept replaces your theme's comment section with a fast, modern one: threaded replies, upvotes, pinned comments, email subscriptions and spam protection. Every comment stays a normal WordPress comment in your own database, so Akismet, backups, exports and the core Comments screen keep working, and nothing is lost if you ever switch back.
It is built to cost nothing on page load:
- 0 KB of JavaScript when the page loads. A small script (about 6 KB gzipped) loads only when a reader scrolls near the comments or starts typing.
- 0 extra requests. The stylesheet (under 4 KB gzipped) is inlined next to the comments.
- Server-rendered. Readers and search engines get the comments in the page HTML, and page caches can serve the page to everyone.
See Performance for the numbers.
Requirements
- WordPress 6.5 or later
- PHP 7.4 or later
- A classic theme or a block theme. No account, API key or outside service.
Install
- In your WordPress admin, go to Plugins → Add New.
- Search for Convocept.
- Click Install Now, then Activate.
Or download the ZIP from WordPress.org and upload it under Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin.
That's it. Posts and pages now show the Convocept comment section with all their existing comments. Nothing is copied or converted: Convocept reads and writes the standard WordPress comment tables.
Coming from Disqus, wpDiscuz or Subscribe to Comments Reloaded?
Disqus comments can be imported in a few clicks: see Import from Disqus. wpDiscuz comments are already WordPress comments and show up straight away, and Subscribe to Comments Reloaded is replaced by built-in subscriptions: see Switching Plugins.
What stays with WordPress
Convocept changes how comments look and how they are posted. These still come from Settings → Discussion, exactly as before:
- whether comments are open, and closing them on old posts;
- whether commenters must be logged in, or give a name and email;
- moderation: holding comments for approval, the moderation and disallowed-word lists and the link limit;
- avatars;
- the emails to you about new comments and comments waiting for review.
Convocept's own General settings take over the threading and paging options (threading depth, comments per page, which page shows first and the order) on posts where it shows. Pingbacks and trackbacks are still saved, and listed under Comments, but not shown under the post. A notice at the top of Settings → Discussion says this too. Those options stay there because they still apply to other post types and if you turn Convocept off.
Akismet, Antispam Bee and similar plugins keep checking every comment, because Convocept posts comments through WordPress's own comment handling.
The settings screen
Everything lives under Comments → Convocept, with a sidebar of pages:
| Page | What it has |
|---|---|
| General | Where Convocept shows, order, comments per page, reply depth, upvotes and live updates. |
| Appearance | Colour scheme, accent colour and a preview. |
| Comment form | How long authors may edit their comment, email subscriptions and sending, and the Discussion settings that apply. |
| Spam & moderation | Comments waiting for review and the spam checks in place. |
| Advanced | Proxies and visitor IPs, privacy, structured data and uninstall. |
| Import | Import comments from Disqus. |
| Help | Links to these docs, the support forum and your versions. |
Changes on several pages are kept together: the page header shows how many settings changed, Save saves them all at once and Discard undoes them. The header stays in view while you scroll. The page needs the manage_options capability (administrators).
Each page has its own address, such as wp-admin/edit-comments.php?page=convocept&tab=appearance, so you can bookmark it or share it with another admin.
What readers get
- Threaded comments with inline replies: the form moves under the comment being answered.
- A formatting toolbar for bold, italic, links, code and quotes, with a live preview. See Composer.
- Upvotes and sorting by oldest, newest or most upvoted.
- Pinned comments at the top of the thread.
- Editing for a few minutes after posting, with a countdown.
- Load more comments and Show more replies, so long discussions stay quick.
- Comment links that open the right page and highlight the comment.
- Email subscriptions: replies to their comment, or all new comments.
Reading, commenting, replying, subscribing and paging work without JavaScript too: the thread is plain HTML and the form posts the normal WordPress way. Upvotes, editing, preview and live updates need JavaScript.
Moderating in the thread
Users who can moderate comments get a ⋯ menu on each comment in the thread: Approve, Pin to top, Edit in dashboard, Mark as spam and Move to trash, and see the comments waiting for approval on that post. The core Comments screen keeps working as usual, with a column that shows when one of Convocept's spam checks held a comment. See Moderation & Spam.
Turning it off
Switch off General → Replace the theme's comments, or deactivate the plugin. Your theme's comments come back, with every comment. Deleting the plugin never deletes comments; see Advanced → Uninstall for what else is kept.
What's next
- General — where comments show and how the thread is split into pages.
- Appearance — light, dark or the reader's device setting, and an accent colour.
- Import from Disqus — bring your Disqus comments home.
- Theming — CSS custom properties and template overrides.
- Developer Docs — hooks, REST routes and templates.