I’ve got a couple of requests lately to do a post about the different commenting systems for Blogger, more specifically to compare Google Plus and Disqus. This post is an overview of the features, advantages and disadvantages of the three main commenting systems for Blogger.
BLOGGER COMMENTS
Blogger’s default comment system seems to get mixed reviews. It got an update last year to include a new, much cleaner interface and improvements were made to threaded comments. Readers can log in with their Google/Blogger account, WordPress account, another profile or anonymously. You can change the restrictions for who can comment in settings and set moderation. The best part of the update was finally including an option for your readers to receive notifications if your comment has a reply by ticking “notify me” when they leave a comment. You can also add a little message to display before the comment system and customise the comment section to match your blogs branding.
If you comment on a lot of blogs that use Bloggers commenting system, make sure that you’re profile isn’t set to no-reply so that they can reply to you. Instructions on that can be found here.
Some people have mentioned that their reply button and threaded comments don’t work, on certain third party/custom templates the necessary code has been altered or removed. If yours isn’t working check out this tutorial to fix it.
The one negative things about Bloggers comment system is spam. Instead of turning on Word Verification straight away, try out these tips for preventing spam comments on Blogger.
DISQUS COMMENTS
Disqus (“discuss”) is a free third party service that manages your blogs comments. It’s pretty easy to instal and can be used across multiple blogging platforms. Readers can log in with Facebook, Twitter, Google +, a name and email address, a guest account or their own Disqus account. One of the main reasons for it’s popularity is the overall clean interface, analaytics and the use of replies/threaded comments.
Disqus has many settings that you can customise including the appearance, comment sorting and auto closing after a certain time period as well as moderation rules – letting guest commenters, allowing links and media, word restrictions, blacklist users and more. Users can react to other comments (like or dislike) as well as share comments to social media, they can add pictures and video within the comments too. Beneath the comment section, you can choose to add a discovery box showing related posts and recent comments.
A common complaint is that Disqus doesn’t allow comments to link to the comment author’s website which isn’t true. Set up a Disqus profile and you can add information and a link to your blog. You can also follow other commenters and see what comments they made on other blogs. If you have a Disqus account you can follow blogs to get their newest posts in your dashboard.
You can import your existing comments from Blogger, WordPress and other systems, which can take some time and occasionally not all the comments import correctly. If you switch platform or domain names you can migrate comments. If you want to revert back to Blogger comments and remove Disqus, you can sync your Disqus comments with Blogger so you don’t lose them.
Some browsers and devices have trouble loading the comment system and I’ve had complaints from readers not being able to find the comment section or having trouble using it. Disqus is usually the last element to load on your site so it can sometimes be quite slow, it also overlays your current commenting system so depending on how slowly it loads your previous commenting system could be seen for a few minutes.
GOOGLE PLUS COMMENTS
Google+ comments include threaded comments for replies, public and private option so the commenter can choose what circles to share comments with as well as being able to edit published comments. You can also +1 comments (like them, agree with them) and share on Google+.
Comments made on Google+ posts will automatically show on your blog posts. When a user publicly comments on your blog, it is shown on their profile just like with YouTube comments. This is a great way to expand your readership and promote your blog but there are a few downsides. Readers can only comment if they have a Google Plus profile or page. Although most people and Bloggers do have a profile, not everyone will so consider that before installing.
If you do install it, comments made via Bloggers default comment system will remain but third party comments (such as Disqus) may not. You’ll lose Google+ comments if you change domain so if you’re thinking of getting a custom domain do so before changing to Google+ comments. If you want to implement Google+ Comments on Blogger, you need to connect your blog to your Google Plus page or profile. You can do this in the Google+ tab on Bloggers dashboard.
What is your favourite commenting system to use on your blog? Do you have a preference when you visit other blogs? Do certain things turn you off leaving a comment?
24 responses to “Comparing 3 main commenting systems for Blogger”
I use disqus and I love it! Before disqus I used intense debate or something. It was pretty cool but comments stopped coming through after awhile.
I considered mentioning Intense Debate as I used to use it a while ago but like you I had problems with it. In my experience, Disqus and Intense Debate are very similar but I definitely preferred Disqus.
I had Disqus last year and I hated it, but I installed it about 2-3 months ago and I love it. My comment numbers have definitely increased since ditching Blogger’s commenting system. I hate the Google+ commenting system, I think it looks so messy especially with replies etc xxx
I have a love/hate relationship with it myself, it’s definitely improved though! I agree, Google+ comments need a lot of work, I like the idea behind them though.
Thanks for this. I’ve got a Blogger blog right now, and the comments feature has been driving me crazy. I think I messed up the code or something, and have been looking for a new way to do comments (I used to get tons of comments, and now none. My sister said it’s because Blogger’s comment system wasn’t user-friendly for her. 🙁 ). I’m going to take a look at that tutorial and figure out what’s going on. Thanks again!
Hello Beks, it looks fine to me. What problems have you been having?
Hi Elaine,
you have covered perfectly this topic! I myself am a huge Disqus lover but have been forced to use blogger’s native comment system due to the fact that when I install Disqus, no matter the new theme that I have crafted, the comment link always disappears and the only way to access the comment section is if you click on the post title to actually read the full post. I have tried to find a way to fix this problem but still no luck. So maybe if you have an idea of what the issue might be, i’d love to read about it in one of your life-saving tutorials 😀
As far as the blogger commenting system, it is not bad but it doesn’t offer all the interactivity that Disqus offer (the ability for readers to like other reader’s comments for example). I think it is something the Google+ comment system improved on but like you mentioned, the downside is that the reader HAS to have a Google+ page to comment, and that in itself is a big turndown. I don’t want to use my google+ account to comment on each blogger blogs.
My wish is that Google will upgrade the blogger commenting system to be like WordPress one, which is simple, easy to use and provides a nice and sleek design as seen in Disqus. A girl can dream, right?
xo
Lovely post! I may install Disqus! I have the Blogger one at the moment and do like it but I might change it up a bit haha! Abi 🙂
I use Disqus on my Blogger blog and I like it for the most part. Once in a while I get people writing me confused emails because the comment widget doesn’t load until they refresh the page, but otherwise, no complaints. I do think it encourages people to interact with each other in the comments, which I like. I have to say though, I kind of hate Google+ comments … they turn into a confusing mess since all of the shares are mixed into the threads.
Yeah I got those emails a lot too, it’s annoying how it loads but other than that it’s pretty good. Agreed, Google+ comments has so much potential but they went about it all wrong!!
How did you create your commenting system though? Did you make your own?
It’s WordPress, with some customisations 🙂
Is there a way to customize the the comment box using Blogger Comments? I don’t mind the setup, I just hate the way it looks. I’d love to at least edit the fonts and color of the blue button.
Or is Disque or something else better for customizing the look?
Hello! Yes, Blogger comments can be customised, there’s not much you can do with the comment box though. Disqus can’t be customised via code, as it’s a third party app but you can make some customisations to it in Disqus settings.
Hi Elaine,
Whenever i have issues with my blog, i hop over to yours and I find the answer!
I currently use google plus commenting system on my blog. Im finding it hard to monitor the comments since i don’t get any notification when someone comments on my blog. Im thinking of switching to Disqus. Will the current comments remain intact if i switch from google plus?
Looking forward to hear from you!!
Sri xx
Hello Sri, there’s currently no way to import Google Plus comments into Disqus but they should still be visible on G+ if you change.
Oh:( My blog is associated with my google plus page. Its annoying because i do not get notifications if someone outside my circle leaves a comment. Should i uncheck the ”use google+ comments on this blog” box to start with the installation?
Thanks again for taking time and replying my queries.
Hello, yes that will disable it and allow you to install another comment system 🙂
I used Blogger default comments, but was not satisfied with it as it had very less features, then i changed to Google plus comments, and soon got fed up with it and started searching a review between these commenting system and landed here.
Well, i am going to use Disqus for comments. The one drawback may be that it loads slow otherwise it seems perfect !
Google plus didnt give me any control over the comments for which I hated it. The second reason- if you share your own posts on Gplus community and your own page or profile it will also show on your blog which makes it look messy!
Hi there! This has been such a useful post. I’m wondering if you know anything about the current inability for Disqus comments to be synced to Blogger? I recently received an email noting I must have disabled the “enable syncing” function and syncing to blogger had failed. It turns out after a bit of digging that something has changed within Google (OAuth2.0) not foreseen by Disqus and it has resulted in this inability to sync. The only discussions I could find were quite old, but it appears Disqus knows about the issue and has no ETA as to a fix. This might change your opinion about recommending Disqus? I love Disqus but am terrified my comments might be lost forever if there are further issues on Disqus – you can export comments to back up but not re-import. Problematic!
Hello Jillian. I’m afraid I don’t know much more than you. I’ve been in contact with them and they said that they are working on fixing it, but that was a few months ago and haven’t heard an update since. Hopefully it will be fixed soon!
I don’t necessarily recommend using Disqus as I believe it all comes down to personal preference and needs – the above post was explaining the systems available and pros and cons of each option. In saying that, if I was looking to switch systems and needed to sync comments then this would be a major con for me personally and would turn me off using Disqus. For those who don’t need to sync comments it is still a good alternative. If you are worried about losing comments then I would stick with Bloggers native system as third party systems are never going to be 100% reliable. There’s always a chance they will run into issues, shut down, etc.
fantastic article. i love to read it. thanks for sharing it.
This is nice, I’m currently using disqus, considering using intensedebate
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