Have you been noticing that Disqus comments are becoming quite popular among bloggers recently? The latest post I had read was from Tim Bonner on why he switched his comment system over to Disqus comments. Of course, many bloggers since have dropped blog comments altogether. (which I think is a mistake!)
Another one was from Jens Berget and his switch to Disqus comments too. It made perfectly good sense to me to understand why he choose Disqus comments.
Disqus Comments Becoming Popular
I then wondered what other bloggers were doing with their own comment systems. I have been using CommentLuv premium here for years and had not had any problems with it. A few bumps along the way but Andy Bailey was always there to help.
(CommentLuv has since been sold to someone else and working once again.) I now use Thrive Comments here on Inspire To Thrive.
So would I or should you jump ship and make the switch in the near future? I’m not sure. I wanted to see what other bloggers had to say about their Disqus comments and what they use and why.
Comments Mean Community
Comments are the thread of a blog’s community. It helps bloggers get to know their readers better and thus making their blogs better too.
Many people will not leave comments on a blog if they have to go through hoops unless they are loyal readers.
It’s best to pick a comment system that is easy for others to leave you their comments on a post.
John Paul Aguiar of JohnPaulAguiar.com Used Disqus Comments
“I have used Disqus comments since day one of my blog, about 4.5 years ago.
Do I like it? Yes and No. Yes, because it is a full feature comment system with social sharing built-in controls spam nicely and has a content section included.
No, because it turns off some people from commenting as you have to sign up to comment. Also if you ever decide to remove Disqus, it is VERY complicated to take all your old comments and keep them with your blog.
I will say this for Disqus, I notice MUCH less spam on my blog. I believe this is mainly because you don’t get a backlink with Disqus comments, the link you get is to your Disqus profile.
No backlink equals, not interesting for spammers.
For example, on my blog. JohnPaulAguiar.com (4+ yrs old) I see maybe 5 – 10 spam comments come thru, yet on my RainyMarketer.com(6+ months old) with just threaded comments default, I am seeing 20 – 30 spam comments a day.
Choosing a comment system will come down to what is most important to you. Is it spam control? Is it social built-ins? And more importantly, is it easy to use for your readers?
Once you decide what is most important, it will make it easier to choose the right system for your blog.” – John Paul Aguiar.
Adam Connell of BloggingWizard.com
“I’ve used various commenting platforms including Disqus Comments and Comment Luv. I’m in the process of re-designing my blog where I will be removing Disqus comments temporarily to see how it impacts my comments.
A lot of bloggers have mentioned a dislike of Disqus and recently a few of my readers mentioned they don’t comment because I use Disqus comments. Anything that causes our readers to jump through more hoops is bad, but despite that Disqus has its good points:
Decreases server load which results in faster load times (this is a big one).
It handles email notifications for you.
Out of all commenting platforms, it’s one of the most popular so plenty of people are familiar with it.
I was getting 100 spam comments a day. Disqus comments brought that number down to 0.
The benefits to Disqus are there, but I want to remove steps to decrease friction with my audience.
I’ll be testing how things go, checking what my readers think, and gathering feedback before I make a final decision – I’d urge anyone else to do the same. Test CommentLuv, see how your readers find it and how it impacts your comments. Also, see how Disqus comments work for you (if spam is an issue, it works great).
What works for one, may not work for everyone else. We all blog in different niches and have different target audiences.” – Adam Connell.
Since this post first came out, Adam has turned off his comments on his blog.
Harleena Singh of Aha!Now.com
“I used Disqus comments initially when I shifted from Blogger to WordPress about 3 years ago.
I had no problems, I liked it and I like it now as well.
However, presently what stops me from using Disqus comments on my blog are four things:
What Stopped Me From Using Disqus Comments
1) It takes time to load on the blog. I see that on various blogs that use Disqus comments and I just don’t like that. I mostly leave those blogs without commenting, if it takes too long and the comment section doesn’t load.
2) The commentators are not able to leave their own site links. So here goes a part of your traffic.
3) The comments are transferred to Disqus and you no longer have them on your blog. Though it may be good for blog speed and webspace, transferring to and fro (in case you decide to leave Disqus comments) is a hassle. I’ve over 15,000 comments, and I dread to undergo this process.
4) I cannot use any other plugin in conjunction with Disqus, in case I ever want to.
But I like its certain features like voting, having the option to display most voted comments on the top, shortening the comments with the “show more” option, collapse, flag appropriate, following the commentator, and sharing. etc.
One of the advantages of Disqus is its own community and traffic through them too.
I used CommentLuv for about 2 years and loved it. It is very good for the newbie bloggers, and the seasoned ones as well.
However, I had to deal with many broken links and since I get many comments, it became unmanageable for me. Though Andy has a great Anti backlink plugin, I didn’t like certain features in it, so I decided to drop CommentLuv for experimenting with other commenting options. I am still carrying on with my experiment and would be writing about it a little later.
Out of the two options that you’ve given, I’d choose CommentLuv. Presently, I tried and dropped Jetpack. Then I used the WordPress default commenting system, and now along with it I’m using CommentLuv, but have disabled the CommentLuv feature in it. Instead, I’m using the other useful features that come bundled up with the CommentLuv Premium plugin.” – Harleena Singh.
~~~Jane Sheeba of JaneSheeba.com
“Yes, I have used both Commentluv and Disqus comments. I am currently using Disqus at my site and I recently switched to Disqus (from Commentluv) on all of my blogs (your question is very timely).
Commentluv – I like it a lot. It is great for a site since it attracts a lot of comments. Since it offers incentives for commenters it is great for attracting traffic. But I had some problems with it. My website attracted a lot of spam comments. The plugin is great in controlling spam – the kind where I get hit by bots and other “auto” commenting software.
But there is also a kind of spam where people manually do leave spam comments and I started receiving an annoying number of those. The anti backlink addon is great, but I got tired of blacklisting emails.
So I switched to Disqus – I still LOVE Commentluv a lot. I especially like it since it offers a lot of incentives for commenters thus encouraging comments 🙂 And I still proudly recommend it as an affiliate.
Disqus Comment System
Well, I like Disqus comments so far. Haven’t run into any issues. Spam is almost non-existent. I rarely get 1 or 2 a day. I know most commenters don’t like it since they have to log in to leave a comment. Earlier, having a Disqus account was the only option. But now, commenters can log in via their social accounts – so that’s much better. There could still be haters, I know 🙂
But I chose to use Disqus comments just for convenience – saves time that I used to spend dealing with spam. And it also has helped increase the quality of the comments I get. I thought I would get lesser comments on my posts after I switched, but the number is not alarming. Considering the quality of the comments I get, I’m quite happy.
Final verdict: I like BOTH Disqus and Commentluv. It is just a matter of personal preference and depends on the purpose and potential of a website (and the webmaster).” – Jane Sheeba
Mayura DeSilva of Mayura4Ever.com Loves Disqus Comments
“Of course, I’m using Disqus comments on my blog and loving it. As you know, Blogger’s default comment system is unlike WordPress, readers can’t comment using name and email without disabling the Anonymous option explicitly. As readership grows, I wanted a flexible comment system that serves everyone. There’s more.
I’ve elaborated why I switched to Disqus in a post, after comparing other popular choices for Blogger – How to Install Disqus Comment Platform on Blogger. Disqus isn’t perfect, but it’s the best comment system for my blog in my opinion.
However, I’ve never used CommentLuv on my blog but witnessed it’s working for my blogging friends. Even though the IntenseDebate comment system offers CommentLuv backlinking option, it couldn’t satisfy my vital needs as a comment system for Blogger.” – Mayura DeSilva.
Using Disqus Comment System
Of course, the easiest way to use Disqus comments on your blog is to install the plugin for it. You can watch the video below to see how easy it is to install and use.
Now if you want to replace the WordPress comment system with Disqus comments you can learn how here as well.
Your Turn on Disqus Comments
What comment system are you using today?
Disqus comments don’t seem like a totally perfect system but it does have some advantages like less spam and making your site faster.
It really could make sense for some blogs to switch to the Disqus comments.
And of course, check out the comment rules here before you leave a comment if you haven’t before.
I’d love to hear if you are using Disqus comments or any other blog comment system today!
