{"id":2605,"date":"2007-10-10T23:58:39","date_gmt":"2007-10-10T18:28:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2007\/10\/google-405-errors-with-wp-comments-postphp\/"},"modified":"2026-10-13T13:36:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-13T08:06:09","slug":"google-405-errors-with-wp-comments-postphp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2007\/10\/google-405-errors-with-wp-comments-postphp\/","title":{"rendered":"wp-comments-post.php 405 Error in Search Console: Is It a Problem?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Seeing <code>wp-comments-post.php<\/code> listed with a 405 error in Google Search Console? We first noticed this back in 2007 in Google Webmaster Tools&#8217; crawl errors, and spent a while swapping comment templates and disabling plugins before understanding it. The good news: a <strong>wp-comments-post.php 405 error<\/strong> is normal and harmless. Here&#8217;s why it happens and when you should actually worry.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-64519\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/wp-comments-post-405-error-1024x538.webp\" alt=\"wp-comments-post.php 405 error\" width=\"1024\" height=\"538\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/wp-comments-post-405-error-1024x538.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/wp-comments-post-405-error-300x158.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/wp-comments-post-405-error-150x79.webp 150w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/wp-comments-post-405-error-768x403.webp 768w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/wp-comments-post-405-error.webp 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Quick answer:<\/strong> wp-comments-post.php is the WordPress file that receives comment form submissions, and it only accepts POST requests. When Googlebot or a visitor opens it directly (a GET request), WordPress replies with &#8220;405 Method Not Allowed&#8221; on purpose. Comments still work, so you can safely ignore the error. Only investigate if real visitors can&#8217;t post comments.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_89 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6af5034ab0b55\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"ez-toc-cssicon\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #1a202c;color:#1a202c\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #1a202c;color:#1a202c\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6af5034ab0b55\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2007\/10\/google-405-errors-with-wp-comments-postphp\/#What_is_wp-comments-postphp\" >What is wp-comments-post.php?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2007\/10\/google-405-errors-with-wp-comments-postphp\/#Why_Google_reports_a_405_error\" >Why Google reports a 405 error<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2007\/10\/google-405-errors-with-wp-comments-postphp\/#Should_you_fix_it\" >Should you fix it?<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2007\/10\/google-405-errors-with-wp-comments-postphp\/#When_to_investigate\" >When to investigate<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2007\/10\/google-405-errors-with-wp-comments-postphp\/#How_to_test_comments\" >How to test comments<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2007\/10\/google-405-errors-with-wp-comments-postphp\/#FAQ\" >FAQ<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2007\/10\/google-405-errors-with-wp-comments-postphp\/#Is_a_405_error_on_wp-comments-postphp_bad_for_SEO\" >Is a 405 error on wp-comments-post.php bad for SEO?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2007\/10\/google-405-errors-with-wp-comments-postphp\/#Should_I_block_wp-comments-postphp_in_robotstxt\" >Should I block wp-comments-post.php in robots.txt?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2007\/10\/google-405-errors-with-wp-comments-postphp\/#What_does_HTTP_405_mean\" >What does HTTP 405 mean?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_is_wp-comments-postphp\"><\/span>What is wp-comments-post.php?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Every WordPress comment form sends its data to <code>\/wp-comments-post.php<\/code>. The file checks the comment, saves it and redirects the visitor back to the post. Opening it in a browser has nothing to show, so WordPress returns a 405 status code with an &#8220;Allow: POST&#8221; header.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_Google_reports_a_405_error\"><\/span>Why Google reports a 405 error<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Googlebot finds the URL in your comment form&#8217;s action attribute and tries to crawl it like a normal link.<\/li>\n<li>Some themes, plugins or old tracking scripts expose it as a clickable link. In 2007 our MyBlogLog stats even counted outgoing clicks on a &#8220;Submit Comment&#8221; link.<\/li>\n<li>Spam bots hit the file constantly, which you may see in server logs.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The 405 response tells Google there&#8217;s nothing to index there, which is exactly what you want.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Should_you_fix_it\"><\/span>Should you fix it?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Usually not. Google doesn&#8217;t penalise a site for 405 responses on a form handler, and the URL won&#8217;t be indexed. Don&#8217;t block it in a way that breaks the comment form, and don&#8217;t delete or edit core WordPress files.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"When_to_investigate\"><\/span>When to investigate<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Visitors see a blank page or an error after submitting a comment.<\/li>\n<li>Your comment form uses GET instead of POST (check the theme&#8217;s form markup).<\/li>\n<li>A security plugin or firewall blocks POST requests to the file, which stops comments.<\/li>\n<li>A CDN or caching rule caches wp-comments-post.php; it should always bypass cache.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_to_test_comments\"><\/span>How to test comments<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li>Log out or use a private window and post a test comment.<\/li>\n<li>Check Comments in your dashboard to see it arrived (it may be held for moderation).<\/li>\n<li>If it fails, temporarily switch to a default theme and disable plugins one by one to find the conflict.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Comment spam is the bigger problem for most blogs; see our guide to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2005\/10\/spamarrest-email-spam-blocker\/\">email spam blockers<\/a> for the inbox side, and use Akismet or similar on your site.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"FAQ\"><\/span>FAQ<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Is_a_405_error_on_wp-comments-postphp_bad_for_SEO\"><\/span>Is a 405 error on wp-comments-post.php bad for SEO?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>No. It&#8217;s the expected response for a form handler and doesn&#8217;t affect your rankings.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Should_I_block_wp-comments-postphp_in_robotstxt\"><\/span>Should I block wp-comments-post.php in robots.txt?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>It isn&#8217;t necessary. If you do, make sure the comment form still works for visitors.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_does_HTTP_405_mean\"><\/span>What does HTTP 405 mean?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>&#8220;Method Not Allowed&#8221;: the server understood the request but doesn&#8217;t accept that method (here, GET instead of POST).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Seeing wp-comments-post.php listed with a 405 error in Google Search Console? We first noticed this back in 2007 in Google&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":64519,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6,41,36],"tags":[17],"class_list":["post-2605","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blogging","category-search-engine-optimization","category-about","tag-wordpress"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2605","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2605"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2605\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":65262,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2605\/revisions\/65262"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/64519"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2605"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2605"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2605"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}