Choose the Best Commenting System for your Website

The commenting option allows a visitor to share his thought on the content of a website/blog. This option is beneficial for both site owner and visitor. Comments create a buzz about the content and increase its value whereas people clarify their doubts and express their views. Most websites allow their visitors to comments and publish it instantly or after moderation. Though the basic concept of commenting remains the same, you have several system and tools to enhance the user experience and usability of content. This blog will explore the various commenting system, their pros, and cons and let you decide which one is better for your website.

Things a Comment System should have

Before the description of the various system tools, let’s first find out what one needs in the comment system of a website. The requirements may vary depending on the nature and content of websites, but a few basic things are same for every site.

Spam Filter

Spamming is a common problem; you may have encountered many irrelevant comments with links. These comments do not add value but try to capitalize on the traffic and ranking of your website. It not possible to eliminate the spamming completely, but you can minimize it. So the comment system should have spam filter to control unwanted comments.

Threaded Comment Option

This option is not mandatory, but a value added feature. It allows people to reply on the comments of other people and take the debate further. The system should also have the option to subscribe for the future comment notification.

Highlighting Author Comment

A comment system should distinguish the comment of the author of the post from others. It lets people easily recognize the author and read his replies. The author can also manage to handle the questions of a large number of people without getting lost in the similar looking comments.

Gravatar Enabled

Gravatar is the widely used profile picture of a user which gives credibility to the comments and attracts other people to join in the conversation. Gravatar encourages people to comment as it publishes the picture of the commenter.

Alternative Login

Having multiple login options is convenient for visitors as they may not have a specific account and don’t want to create one. In this situation, they can choose from other options. It also helps people of various interests to comment on your content.

Three Popular Commenting Systems

You get an inbuilt comment system in Blogger, WordPress and other Content Management System which you can replace with third party software. There are many easy to install and effective commenting tools, but you should study the pros and cons of a system before installing it. Here are the top 3 commenting systems.

Disqus

Disqus is a widely used third party commenting tool. It was introduced in 2007 and presently more than 750,000 websites are using it. It is easy to install and simple to use. You just have to sign up with Disqus and add a code to your website and Disqus comment will begin to appear under the content post of your website. You can customize the look size and options of the comment box. Most importantly Disqus permits you import old comments from other Blogger, WordPress, and other comment systems.

Pros

1. User-friendly interface and simple features
2. Flexibility to sign in with social media profiles
3. Includes image of a commenter
4. Import comments from other platforms
5. Threaded comments with sharing option
6. Notification & email follow up
7. One can add image videos too in comment

Cons

1. Needs customization to work properly
2. Disqus works like a social media site and comments stay on its server
3. It is slow to load

Facebook

Facebook plug-in is another popular comment system. It is backed by a large number of Facebook users and has no other login option. People can publish the content along with his comment on his Facebook wall. This tool gives huge increased social love to a post leading to huge exposure.

Pros

1. Real name and identity as on Facebook
2. Increased traffic due to Facebook likes and shares
3. Spam Control
4. Easy to use and understand
5. Threaded Comments

Cons

1. No login option for other social sites such as Twitter and Google+
2. No backup or migration facilities
3. All comments look alike so it is difficult to spot author’s comment
4. Manual comment moderation is time-consuming

Intense Debate

Intense Debate is the product of same people who introduced WordPress to the world and this fact adds to the credibility of the tool. It is the best option for anyone who wants a third party comment system for his WordPress site.

Pros

1. Image of user in comment through Gravatar
2. Easy to install and use
3. Akismet based comment filtering system
4. You can install several plug-in like Commentluv, social share, and more
5. It is light and does not slow down the loading time of your website
6. You can customize the comment system as per your wish
7. Notification and subscription options for people

Cons

1. It doesn’t have social login option
2. Needs to moderate strictly as it allows dofollow links
3. The comments are stored away from your blog

The comment system is an imperative part of a website, it allows people to express their views and connect with the author. Every Content management platform has a built-in comment system, one can replace it with a third party comment tools which provide better look and option.