There is no doubt that enabling comment section in Blogger is very important. It allows your readers to engage with your article. It is an outlet for your visitors to provide feedback and criticisms.
Having a busy comment section can also be an indicator that your article is interesting. Some blog owners even go as far as creating fake comments to artificially spark discussion. Website with high readers' engagement rate tend to be valuable.
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By default, Blogger provides us with a decent comment system. It is not
perfect but it is good enough. There is even a comment moderation system so
that you can filter out those annoying spams. It is convenient because your
visitors only need a Google account to comment.
However, some of the blog owners may want a better and fancier comment system. In Blogger, you will not be able to use too many HTML tags and other special formatting. Sorting out comments and finding a specific comment are not easy.
For those of you who are not satisfied with default Blogger comment system, you can use Disqus.
It is a third party platform which provides you with comment hosting service.
Disqus is compatible with Blogger. It can be installed easily via inserting a
widget.
Disqus offer enhanced comment section. There a lot of advanced features which are not found in default Blogger comment system. If you have a high incoming comments, Disqus will help you to moderate them.
Before you decide to install Disqus on your Blogger site, you have to consider the pros and cons first.
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The Pros of Using Disqus Comment System
- Your ability to moderate comments will be enhanced
- You can sort the comments based on latest, oldest, or the best comment
- Users will have more freedom in formatting their comments. Various HTML tags
- It allows user to embed pictures and GIF
- Good automatic spam detector
- Users can Edit comment. You can't do this in Blogger and it is major downside.
-
It can be used for live discussion, much like chatting. In Blogger, a new
comment will only appear after you refreshed the page.
There are probably more pros which are not listed in this article. Disqus is definitely one of the most used third party comment system. Big publishers such as Rotten Tomatoes (biggest movie critics website), GitLab, and ABC news choose Disqus.
The Cons of Using Disqus Comment System
- The biggest concern of using Disqus is perhaps its ads injection. Disqus for Blogger is free, but they will inject their own ads in your website. In order to disable the ads completely, Disqus will require you to upgrade to premium account.
- Some Disqus users report that it slows down their blog. Third party service such as AdSense and Google Analytic do slow down Blogger websites considerably. So it is not surprising if Disqus comment system may also decrease the loading speed of your blog.
There are probably other negative impact of using Disqus comment which I have not listed. Do you have a bad experience using Disqus in your Blogger website? Leave a comment below!
Should I use Disqus for my Blogger website?
It may be worth it to change your default Blogger comment system and use Disqus. If your blog has a lot of active users who leave a lot of comment, Disqus will definitely improve your website. If your blog is still new or doesn't have a lot of comments, Blogger's default system will do the job.
The ads in free Disqus is a small trade-off if you need a free but great comment moderation system. You can always upgrade to premium Disqus later on.
In fact, basic free Disqus may offer you comment monetization option
if your website is eligible.
Once your blog grows bigger, it will get harder to moderate the comment section. Having unmoderated Blogger comment section will decrease the quality of your blog. So, installing Disqus comment system will help you tremendously.
I personally do not use Disqus in this blog because SofanMax is small. This blog only receives a couple comment each week so it is still manageable. The simplistic Blogger comment system is still good enough for this blog.
How to Install Disqus in Blogger
Step 1: Create a Disqus account
Go to Disqus sign up page and you can use your existing Google account to register.
Step 2: Choose Install Disqus on Website option
Choose the "I want to install Disqus on my website". You will be required to enter your website name and website category. In my case I choose seamaru as my website name. After that, press Create Site.
Step 3: Select a plan
Disqus will offer you 4 type of plans. Choose basic plan at the bottom if you want a free Disqus for your Blogger website. Click Subscribe Now.
Step 4: Choosing Platform
Click the Blogger icon on the top row. Scroll down under the video instruction. Then click the "Add seamaru to my Blogger site".
Step 5: Add Page Element
You will be redirected to Add Page Element in Blogger. Select you Blogger site and the title for your Disqus comment. After you've made sure that you choose the right Blogger site, click Add Widget.
Step 6: Configuring Disqus
Go back to the Disqus page and click Configure. Fill in the details and then click Complete Setup. You can always change your Disqus details anytime later on.
After you have finished all of the step above, go to your Blog and check one of the post. You will see that Disqus has replaced the default Blogger comment system!
Now you and your users are ready to engage with each other! Be wise to
moderate your users comment. Always respect users constructive criticism and
feedback. Do not forget to remove spam comments!
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