As a default wordpress will add the nofollow tag to your sites comment posters. This is done to supposedly prevent spam. However I simply do not agree. If your site members contribute with comments to your content why not reward them with a simple link back to their site? I see no problem in this. By using nofollow on your blogs you are not only discouraging spammers but you are also discouraging legit members from posting. Now you will want to be sure you have some comment spam protection (Akismet works great) before you open up the follow urls. This will catch any naughty spammers, but also allow legit comments through.

WARNING: Always Always and yes Always back up your files before you go messing with them in case you make a booboo!

Removing WordPress rel=nofollow on Authors

For the author link, the line of code is line 48 on wp-includes/comment-template.php. Replace

$return = "<a href='$url' rel='external nofollow'>$author</a>";

with this:

$return = "<a href='$url' rel='external'>$author</a>";

Removing WordPress rel=nofollow on Comment Text

Links in the actual comments are a little tougher to find. However, I was able to track down where the filter was applied in wp-includes/default-filters.php on line 125. To disable the filter, you need only to remark the link out by putting two forward slashes in front of it. Edit

add_filter('pre_comment_content', 'wp_rel_nofollow', 15);

like this:

//add_filter('pre_comment_content', 'wp_rel_nofollow', 15);

There now, your site members can be rewarded and spammers will be caught! Perfect.

About The Author

Written by MissDanni
MissDanni is a jill of all trades, from web design to web promotion and everything in between, you might just say web everything. Working in the web industry since 2000 she continues to learn new things everyday. "Nothing is impossible if you are willing to take the time to learn and make mistakes."

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