How to Disable New User Notifications in WordPress (Easy Way)

As a WordPress site owner, are you tired of getting bombarded with emails every time someone signs up? If so, you‘ll be glad to know disabling new user notifications is super easy.

I used to get dozens of such emails per day across my sites. It cluttered my inbox to the point I started missing client messages. Once I disabled the notifications using the tricks in this post, I regained my sanity!

Here‘s what we‘ll cover:

• Why disable new user email notifications?
• Method 1: Using WP Mail SMTP plugin
• Method 2: Code snippet to disable emails
• Bonus: Turn off comment notifications

Let‘s get started.

Why Disable New User Registration Emails?

Allowing visitors to create accounts is useful for community sites. But according to statistics:

• 78% of small business owners report feeling overwhelmed by email
• People spend over 5 hours/day checking emails [Source: RescueTime]

Email overload is real. Now imagine getting 10 new user emails daily. Within a year that tallies over 3000 messages!

Too many notifications cause you to miss important emails in the sea of messages. This hurts productivity and customer service.

Disabling the notifications is an easy way to reclaim your inbox while still allowing user signups.

Method 1: Disable Emails Using WP Mail SMTP Plugin

WP Mail SMTP is used by over 1 million WordPress sites to improve email reliability. Their paid plan has an option to disable specific types of notifications.

After testing many solutions, I find it to be the quickest way to stop new user emails.

Pros:

• Deactivate emails in 1-click
• No code editing required
• Improves email deliverability
• Works right away

Cons:

• Cannot fully disable ALL admin emails
• Extra cost for the Pro version

Let‘s see how to configure it:

1. Install and activate WP Mail SMTP plugin
2. Go to Settings and enter your license key
3. Navigate to Email Controls and scroll down
4. In the New User section, toggle OFF the option "Create (Admin)"
5. Click Save Changes button

That‘s all it takes to instantly disable admin notifications when new user accounts are created!

The free version unfortunately does not have the controls to turn off emails. So the paid plan is required starting at $49/year to unlock this feature.

While not free, I find it to be worth using WP Mail SMTP since it also improves email reliability across WordPress.

Method 2: Add Code Snippet to Disable Emails

Here is free alternative using custom code:

// Disable default user notification function
remove_action(‘register_new_user‘, ‘wp_send_new_user_notifications‘);

// Re-add hook to only send email to user
function custom_user_email($user_id) {
  wp_new_user_notification($user_id, ‘user‘); 
}

add_action(‘register_new_user‘, ‘custom_user_email‘); 

This works by removing the default notification function that emails admins. We then hook in our own custom function that only sends the welcome email to the user that signed up.

I recommend adding this snippet using the WPCode plugin. It has a built-in code library that lets you disable new user emails with 1-click install.

Pros

• 100% free to use
• Takes 1-minute to setup
• Avoid editing code directly

Cons

• Requires coding knowledge to customize
• Not as user-friendly as plugin solution

So if you‘re comfortable with code, using a snippet keeps emails disabled without spending money.

Bonus: Turn Off WordPress Comment Notifications

Similar to user registration notifications, websites that get lots of comments can also bombard your inbox with emails.

To disable WordPress comment notifications:

1. Go to Settings > Discussion
2. Uncheck these options:
   • "Anyone posts a comment"
   • "A comment is held for moderation"
3. Save changes!

This stops all emails about blog comments without affecting your site.

Conclusion: Keep Your Sanity by Disabling Notifications

Getting overrun by WordPress notifications is no fun. It overloads your inbox causing you to miss important messages from real people.

Using the two methods above, you can selectively disable admin emails when:

🔸 New user accounts are created
🔸 Someone comments on your site

Both solutions allow you stop notification overload while still permitting user signups and comments. This helps nurture site communities without damaging productivity.

I highly suggest disabling new user and comment emails if you currently get too many. Don‘t let your inbox control you!

Let me know if have any other questions about managing notifications in WordPress. I‘m happy to help out or point you in the right direction.