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Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →WordPress has two different “reply” strings: the heading above the comment form (usually “Leave a Reply”) and the Reply link beside an existing comment. They use different settings. Change the form heading with title_reply and title_reply_to; change the per-comment link with reply_text.
Choose which reply text to change
- “Leave a Reply” above the form: Change
title_reply. To customize the heading shown when someone replies to a particular comment, also changetitle_reply_to. - “Reply” beside a comment: Change
reply_textthrough thecomment_reply_link_argsfilter. Consider the accessible label,reply_to_text, at the same time.
WordPress documents “Leave a Reply” and “Leave a Reply to %s” as the default form titles, and “Reply” as the default link text. See the WordPress comment_form() reference and comment_reply_link_args hook reference.
Change the comment form heading
If your theme calls comment_form() directly, you can set the title arguments in that function’s $args array. For a site-wide default, use the comment_form_defaults filter to modify the defaults. This example changes both the regular heading and the heading used when replying to a comment:
add_filter( 'comment_form_defaults', function ( $defaults ) {
$defaults['title_reply'] = __( 'Join the discussion' );
$defaults['title_reply_to'] = __( 'Reply to %s' );
return $defaults;
} );The %s placeholder in title_reply_to allows WordPress to include the relevant comment author’s name. Keep it if you want that author-specific heading.
Change the Reply link beside a comment
Use the comment_reply_link_args filter to change the visible link label. For example:
add_filter( 'comment_reply_link_args', function ( $args ) {
$args['reply_text'] = __( 'Respond' );
return $args;
} );The visible text is only part of the link’s meaning for assistive technology. WordPress also provides reply_to_text, an accessible name that can include the comment author through a %s placeholder. If you customize the visible label, check that the accessible label remains clear and author-specific where appropriate. The hook’s documented purpose is to filter comment-reply-link arguments; see the official reference.
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Check the block theme before adding PHP
In a block theme, inspect the comments area in the relevant site template before choosing a code-based change. The Comment Reply Link block sits within a Comment Template block, which is placed inside a Comment Query Loop. The WordPress guide documents appearance controls such as alignment, color, and typography, but does not describe a control for changing the link’s text. See the Comment Reply Link block guide.
The Post Comments Form block guide documents appearance controls for text, background, links, typography, and dimensions, but does not describe a setting for changing the reply-heading text. Check the form block and its template context before applying a PHP filter. See the Post Comments Form block guide.
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Where to put the code and how to verify it
- Check the theme structure. Identify whether comments are rendered through a classic theme’s PHP template or a block theme template. The rendering setup affects whether the function or filter you choose is used.
- Add the snippet in a maintainable location. Use a child theme or a small site-specific plugin rather than editing WordPress core files. Follow the translation conventions already used by your site.
- Test the relevant states on the front end. Check the normal comment-form heading, the heading while replying to a specific comment, and the per-comment link if you changed it. Confirm the link’s accessible name is still meaningful.
- If nothing changes, revisit the rendering path. The documented hooks describe WordPress function arguments and defaults, but they do not establish that every theme calls the same core rendering functions. Confirm which template or block produces the comments on your site.
The code examples show how to use the documented arguments and filters; they have not been tested against a particular theme or WordPress release. The comment_form() documentation explains that most form strings and fields can be controlled through its $args array, and that the comment_form_defaults filter modifies the default arguments.
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