Confused? I guessed….
Comments are the ones that keeps a blog lively. A blog with active commenters is lively, busy, provokes thoughts and encourages conversations.
A blog without comments is … well silent, and a monologue, where just the blogger speaks and everyone listens (or no one listens, perhaps).
Choosing a right commenting system maximizes the benefits of a particular blog. A proper commenting system is very important along with the appropriate software and the blogging platform itself.
The built-in native commenting system that comes with most blogging software like Word Press is the system of choice for the maximum number of users of such blogs.
Generally a non-native commenting system or third party system as it is often called, offers a wide variety of services that promise additional power and functionality, making it a strong challenger of the native commenting system.
There are many prominent non-native commenting systems including Intense Debate and Disqus. Facebook comments also provide a good experience with commenting.
Non-native commenting systems provide many useful features like comment threading, commenter profiles, reply through email, which is especially useful, and others such as blacklisting, twitter and Facebook integration, widgets, RSS and tracking and so on.
The top five best used non-native commenting systems are
- IntenseDebate
- Disquss
- JS-KIT, ECHO
- Livefyre
- Facebook Comments
IntenseDebate
This was an independent commenting system till it was purchased by Automattic, the company that is the mother of WordPress. The full feature list includes comment threading, reply via email, widgets, email notifications etc and a host of other features.
The best part of this system is that the answer to the comments posted at the blog could be made via emails which even the WordPress system cannot do (there are only plugins for the purpose). For many this is the primary feature and so it enjoys a good popularity.
Disqus
This is another 3rd party commenting system which is the favorite of many bloggers. Though it’s quite similar to Intense Debate there are certain key features that distinguish it from the former.
The highlight features of this system are real-time commenting system and inline media embedding and other features.
JS-KIT
Also known as ECHO, is another 3rd party commenting system that has certain key features that distinguishes it from the above two. The basic is its social media integration. The core features include real-time comments, premium support, single sign on and other features.
Livefyre
This is one of the new comers and enjoys popularity among a niche group of bloggers, especially technologists who are dissatisfied with the mainstream 3rd party commenting systems like IntenseDebate and Disquss.
The features include live comment stream, user ratings, moderation, multiple moderators, email notifications etc.
Facebook Comments
This is of a particular help to those bloggers who want to engage their blog users with Facebook itself. Though the features are not as supportive as the other systems but depending on the individual needs choices can be definitely made.
There are pros and cons to it, as with any other commenting systems. One of the most popular pro is the increase in the number of comments and less spam (okay that’s 2 pros). One of the most popular demerit is that it slows down loading of blogs.
So in general, non-native commenting systems have their disadvantages also, in spite of all their promising features, which prevent them from replacing native commenting systems.
First of all, proper synchronization systems remain the biggest issue and users often admit to using non-native commenting systems for small blogs but not for larger and more established ones.
The addition of another system throws up a plethora of other issues and increases the complexity to a large extent. These include caching, browser and styling issues, not to mention system failure and script loading from varied sources.
Page loading time is seen to increase significantly due to heavy duty scripts, which is another serious disadvantage, as mentioned earlier.
So I have given you the views here. I cannot tell you which is the apt one for your blog, but based on the functionality and pros/cons you have to choose one that best suits your type of blog and of course the one which your readers like.
What is MY conclusion?
To me, I will stick with the native commenting system although the third party systems are very tempting. This is my opinion as of now and it MAY change in the future.
1. First I very much prefer to have what comes with WordPress. I am bit taken aback to use any third party systems as I am pulling in codes from somewhere outside the blog. This obviously is going to affect my loading speed, whatsoever.
2. Second, I may drive away more commenters from my blog since not everyone will be willing to register somewhere in order to be able to make a comment. I want to make my commenters feel warm.
3. Facebook comments is not indexable by search engines, which means I am having a block of good quality content about which the bots are really blind at.
4. When I change my mind and switch between different commenting systems I may lose comments, formatting, etc. I simply don’t have the guts and time to take the risk, anyway.
So how about you? Which commenting system do you prefer and why?
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Hey Jane, I had an experiment I ran with Livefyre a few weeks back.
It isn’t really a new system, it is just more used lately since they announced many new options. I liked it but it lacked a couple of things I needed from a commenting system.
The good thing is that it kept all the comments on my blog, so going back and forth wasn’t an issue.
Great overview of these systems here
You are one quick learning girl Bran. Your experiment was the inspiration for this post. Thanks for that. And you were so lucky to have all those comments in place, LOL.
Jane:
You provide great content here and I really apreciate all the research that goes into your posts. As well, I have been reading Brankica and the same goes for her as well.
great job ladies!
Bapun
Thanks for sharing this awesome information
hi jane, i really like Disqus comment system because this gives you freely social media explorer and share link to commenter’s social profiles. thanks for this article.
Hello Jane, at the moment I use the standard build in WP comment system and I am happy with it so far. I use also CommentLuv plugin to increase a motivation to comment.
In the future I will maybe try some other systems but I can see no reason to switch right now, there is no huge added value I think.
Thanks for this review really helpful!
Adam, thanks for expressing your views on native commenting systems. Sure commentluv is a worth addon
Hello Jane,
The best way to increase traffics and active visitor comments on blog is by enabling CommentLuv plugin in blog.
Zarah, yes traffic, comments and spam too. Luckily I have GASP, though
I usually comment on more than 30 blogs a days and always comment on those blogs that have installed comment luv and keywords luv plug ins.
I know Dezin. I usually can see a significant number of incoming traffic for searches on “keywordluv and commentluv”. I can see how bloggers are using those plugins for good
Yes, Zara is right. CommentLuv is great to get more comments. But it is also important to moderate the comments,otherwise you get a lot of spam.
Yes usually with the goodies comes all the baddies too! I think bloggers will be willing to take the pain to moderate comments, given that commentluv is soooo good.
I also use the WP built in commenting system, enhanced with the comment luv plugin that somebody already mentioned. Anyhow, there are several ways to increase the number of comments on your blog. The most effective and the most easy to implement is to ask the readers for their opinion or to start a debate.
Of course there are other ways to encourage people to comment by rewarding them: having a top commentators list, using kw luv, offering awards to best commentators and so on. I guess it all comes down to a person’s imagination and ideas.
Thanks for the wonderful suggestions about increasing blog comments Cristian. Much appreciated!
Hi Jane,
I agree with you about third party commenting systems. I actually don’t like them nor do I see a need for them. I use a plugin to feed back comments to my supporters and it works just fine.
I did think about using Facebook Comments but I have observed how much it slows blog loading times as you suggest.
I know how much I don’t like to wait too long for blogs to load so I am sure there are others who would feel the same way. For this reason I have given it a miss for now.
~Marcus
Yes I have visited many blogs that have Facebook commenting system and they keep on loading. I think if you really want to have FB comments, you can have it alongside your regular native system. This way people will have choice.
But the comments made on FB comment system are not indexable by search engines, hence they are waste of some good resource.
Like you, I prefer to simply use the native commenting system. But with a dash of CommentLuv or sometimes KeywordLuv too. The latter can be too spammy at times, so whether I use it on a blog depends on the amount of spam received.
Hi Jane,
Well I’ll be the first to admit I’m not a techie type person so as I read your article I could feel my eyes begin to flutter and the words began scrambling in my brain. Normally I get a kick out of trying new things, but in this case I have to agree with another commenter - I’ve had no problems with my WP comment system (I also use CommentLuv) so I wouldn’t be inclined to change anything at this point. I have however made a note of the comment systems in your article - never know and at least if I do decide to change I have a frame of reference for other systems. Thanks!
Marquita,
Hope I didn’t kick you off in the head - I have a feel when I read this “I could feel my eyes begin to flutter and the words began scrambling in my brain” LOL. Anyway glad that I could give you an idea about all those systems that were new to you!
Jane.
Hey, Jane,
I think it is great you want to make your commenters feel warm and welcome. I also don’t fancy seeing when someone is pron to changing commenting systems, as they are risking having problems with formatting and losing the already existing comments. It’s quite a tricky issue. I prefer comments with commentluv or keywordluv plugin. Also, I am a member of the Intense Debate. Facebook is currently not that attractive for my taste.
Kristina what you say perfectly makes sense. I don’t dare to change the native system. I am quite happy with commentluv and keywordluv as of now. Facebook comments is known for slowing down loading of your blog.
Hi Jane,
I’m like you, I will stay with the native commenting system WordPress offers. I’m fairly tech challenged and don’t want to add another layer of things that can go wrong… and I will have no idea how to fix.
Also, I am not crazy about anything that increases my loading time. I’ve worked hard to get it down to reasonable levels and don’t want to start building it up again.
Finally, most of the pros you mentioned for the non-native systems can be accomplished with a couple of plugins. Not the best option, but it’s working well for me.
Thanks for the thorough review, Jane!
Bob, ya plugins are not the best options to go for. But they seem to be integrated part of our blogging life! DUH!
Jane,
The native commenting system is the one I use as well. It’s just one of those things I don’t feel like “fixing” if it isn’t broken. You know? It serves its purpose but I did add a subscribe to comments plugin. I try to keep things lightweight.
Also, you made a great point about people being less inclined to register somewhere before commenting. I want a low (zero) barrier to communication; I welcome all input.
Jon, that’s right. I think making the commenters to register to have their say on my blog is so unwelcoming to them!
Use Intensedebate and it works for me. Not perfect but good enough and they are helpful, which is a plus.
Yup all other non-native commenting systems work. But I don’t want my commenters to run away feeling strange
Thanks for your comment Catarina!
Hi Jane,
When I had a blogger blog, I used Intense Debate, because it seemed better than the blogger commenting system. I was able to use Comment Luv with that system. Now that I am using a self hosted WordPress blog, I agree with you, the native system is fine and dandy!
Lou
Yes Lou you’re right ID is a lot better than the blogger commenting system and to be able to use commentluv is really a plus. But for WordPress I guess the native system is so handy, light and can be loaded with features.
Jane,
You are one of the best commenters I know.
Therefore I take your posts on commenting quite seriously.
I found this post very useful. You have written it well, and given the details as to why or why not to choose a certain commenting system.
You are doing an excellent job!
Martin Dale
Thanks for the compliment Martin. Yes indeed I can’t take comments lightly. I believe that they’re valuable part of the content and comments complete the discussion or message in the post itself.
I started with the WordPress onboard comment system but soon added Facebook comments. Then I realized that I wanted a system that is uncluttered and for everybody on and off Facebook. So I switched over to Disqus and so far I’m quite happy with it.
I’m so glad that Disqus works for you Clint. You might want to check with your readers anyway! Simply running a poll or asking the same in the newsletter would be a good idea
Hey Jane,
Like you, I prefer just sticking with the native commenting system from WordPress. My thoughts are if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Now I did try adding the Facebook comment plug-in to my blog but it only worked for a couple of weeks and then I continued getting errors so I finally just took it off. I hadn’t changed a darn thing on my blog so was frustrated with trying to figure out why it wouldn’t work. Oh well.
Thanks for sharing these different systems. I just wrote a post about commenting and know that some find these other systems frustrating so they won’t leave a comment. To each his own I suppose.
Adrienne
Thanks for the views on Facebook comments Adrienne. I have heard similar things from everyone who tried it.
Plus thanks for the very relevant commentluv link!
Hi Jane,
I am with you on this one. I’m going native.
The native WP commenting system works fine for me, plus with commentLuv enabled, it can be just as powerful as the others, in my opinion.
Thanks for your insights Jane and have a great day!
Jane, I tried alternative commenting systems - I was BURNED when Haloscan pulled out of the market - so I stick with my faithful Blogspot/Blogger system, because I know It ain’t goin’ nowhere! CHEERS!
PS - Sorry about all the comments, but you made me type it!
I’m currently using native commenting system for my wordpress platform blog one reason probably is that I am well aware already about how to manage it. As of now I don’t have plan of using other commenting system. Thanks for doing the research for this post.
You are welcome Adam. Yes mainly the mere fact that we are used to and comfortable with a native system will do.
The native system is made to be simple, basic, easy to read and understand. And it’s great as it is, for most bloggers only need a simple system.
The more advanced one already know how to install a plugin, and they know when and what they need.
I think that its either native or non-native commenting that will help bloggers increase their blogs visibility. I really like your post. I understand now the how these commenting do for blogs. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Jane,
I personally definitely prefer the “native” commenting system. I do quite a bit of blog commenting and I just ignore blogs where I would have to register to leave a comment. For the same reason I also don’t like Facebook comments. As a webmaster, I think to encourage a meaningful conversation I want to make it as easy as possible for my readers to participate. I feel that with the build in WordPress commenting system I get a good system.
Facebook comments seem excellent in theory for racking up buzz and such, but the same can be achieved merely by pushing your blog updates to a group page. The facebook users can come see and comment, but if you aren’t on facebook, outside users don’t have the luxury of commenting, so as you said, you would alienate some of your users. I’d say keep it as is.
The #4 point stays invalid now, as Google Panda needs you to noindex the commenting stuff to fix up the duplicate content issue..
It would be nice to see a commenting system that integrates commenting thru social media as well as WordPress’ native commenting system. If you know one, please let me know!
Thank you!
I tried Disqus too. I’m keeping ID for a while. I think they are just having growing pains. IntenseDebate has already overtaken Disqus in Quantcast traffic by leaps and bounds, so if we do go back to plain WP comments we’re still going to try ID again.
In my case, i think i would have to go with native commenting system and install an additional plugin like commentluv in order to encourage my readers to comment on my write up and at the same time, they can take advantage of the backlink that would be created from my post thus creating a win win scenario.
I installed CommentLuv on both of my websites but it took me this long to see how powerful it is for me and others. DUH…I guess I’m a little slow. I will definitely me taking advantage of this super powerful plug-in.
thanks for sharing this awesome post. I will try alternative commenting systems.
Jskit or echo is out as they have exited the competition and Livefyre sdoes not support blogger. Thus very limited choices left for bloggers.