Originally published: November 28, 2021 · Last updated: August 17, 2026
WordPress can send notifications when a new user account is created. On a small site, that may be useful. On a membership site, customer portal or community with frequent registrations, the administrator can quickly receive more email than the information is worth.
The goal should not be to disable mail blindly. Decide which notification is noise and which message is part of the user’s onboarding.
WordPress separates admin and user notifications
The core wp_new_user_notification() function supports notifications to the administrator, the new user or both. WordPress also exposes filters that allow developers and plugins to control whether each message is sent.
This means the admin alert and the user’s account email should be treated as separate decisions.
Do not remove the user’s access path accidentally
A new user may rely on the WordPress email to set a password or understand how to access the site. If another system already handles onboarding, replacing that message may be reasonable. If not, disabling it can create support requests and locked-out users.
When the admin email becomes noise
Administrator notifications are most useful when registrations are rare or require manual attention. If accounts are created automatically after purchases, form submissions or imports, an email for every account often adds little value.
In that situation, a dashboard report, activity log or periodic digest may be a better monitoring method.
Prefer supported controls
If a membership, ecommerce or user-management plugin provides notification settings, use them first. When a custom implementation is needed, WordPress provides the wp_send_new_user_notification_to_admin and wp_send_new_user_notification_to_user filters for controlling delivery.
Avoid modifying WordPress core files. Core changes are overwritten by updates and are the wrong layer for site-specific behavior.
Test every account creation path
User accounts can be created from wp-admin, public registration, ecommerce checkout, imports, integrations or automation. Test the paths your site actually uses. A notification rule that works for manual users may behave differently when another plugin creates the account.
Check deliverability too
If users are supposed to receive onboarding mail, confirm that it actually reaches them. Disabling administrator notifications does not solve poor mail delivery, authentication or spam filtering.
Bottom line
Reduce WordPress notification noise selectively. Keep the messages that help users access the service, remove or replace low-value administrator alerts, and use supported plugin settings or WordPress hooks rather than editing core files.
Source: WordPress Developer Resources: wp_new_user_notification().