Are you tired of the default WordPress comment platform and are you looking for a much more practical and fast to use system? Then it’s time to try Disqus.
Colleen Lindsay, marketing director for Penguin, tweeted to install Disqus to “do not make life difficult for your readers when they want to comment on your blog”. Not surprisingly, many users prefer to use it because of its unique features and, unlike what is believed, the potential offered are so many if you make proper use of this tool.
So, what’s special about Disqus compared to other platforms? Continue reading our article and find out in detail what it is, what its features and how to configure it to start receiving comments on your WordPress site.
Disqus: what it is and why it is used to post comments on WordPress
As we said, Disqus is a tool that allows you to improve the communication experience compared to your old platform for comments on WordPress, attracting your visitors in a more simple and interactive way. At the same time, it connects websites and opinion leaders belonging to a community of about 700 million interlocutors. CNN, The Telegraph and People are just a few examples of authoritative sites that use Disqus.
Disqus is a plugin not to be missed. However, if you think you have too many plugins on WordPress and you do not know which to give up, follow the advice of our article.
Disqus features in WordPress
Disqus integrates seamlessly with WordPress as a plugin. Although it does not offer many possibilities of personalization from an aesthetic point of view, it has unique and irresistible features.
First of all, Disqus uses its own API, that is, its own application programming interface (Application Programming Interface) and its comments on WordPress are SEO friendly, that is, better indexed by search engines.
In addition, it supports the importation of existing comments on the site, synchronizes comments with the WP database and allows you to view, moderate and edit all the comments you have left on the web, whether they are on your blog or on that of other users.
Other important features are: subscription options and RSS, the totally integrated spam filtering system, automatic notifications that arrive via email when someone replies to your comments and the possibility to attach images.
Configure Disqus for comments on WordPress
To install Disqus simply select Plugin> Add new from the left panel of the WordPress admin and look for the “Disqus” plugin in the search bar. Then, you have to select Install> Activate Plugin and follow all the instructions to proceed with the installation.
You will need to create an account to be able to authenticate, then you will have to choose how you want to set up Disqus. The second option will allow you to install the plugin on your site.
Disqus offers 5 floors: 2 for free and 3 for a fee. The first of the free plans is called Basic. Includes plugins, spam filtering, moderation tools, statistics and configurable advertisements.
Non-commercial is free for sites with fewer than 5,000 views per day and advertisements are optional.
Once installed, in the shortname field enter the name you prefer to authenticate with.
By clicking on Comments> Disqus you can access the console with tools to moderate comments.
Here you can configure the comment section as you like. For example, you can choose in which order to view them, whether to approve them before they are visible on the site, or to allow users to attach files. You can also activate the display of advertisements, if you use one of the plans in which they are included.
To review the settings click on Sites> Edit Settings. Here you can upload an avatar for your profile, choose the language and change the appearance of the comments section.
Once you have finished choosing the most appropriate options for your site, you can see the comments section below your posts.
Statistics and options for adjusting user comments
By accessing your Disqus account, you will be able to check the statistics relating to the activity of users on your site. In the screenshot below there is no data, as I installed the plugin on a testing site. But I think it makes the idea of the information you can get.
By opening the Community menu, you can administer the comments section of your site and moderate messages. By clicking on Moderators you can appoint moderators. This is a particularly useful function if you are not the only person working on the site. Each staff member should have a separate moderator account. To be an admin or moderator, your collaborators will need to create a free Disqus account.
There are 3 roles with different privileges:
- Org Owners (they have full powers);
- Org Admins (can not add or remove sites from the organization);
- Site Moderators (can only moderate sites and change settings if they have received this power.
The Word Filters section allows you to create a list of words that are not allowed on comments. The comments that will include them must be approved by the moderators before appearing on the site.
Banned and trusted users, however, allows you to decide who can participate in the community. If some users break the rules, share offensive content or spam, you can decide to block their accounts.
The Tools section of the sidebar contains additional tools to close comments from old threads, change domain, import and export data.
Conclusion
Have you seen how it is interesting to use Disqus to post comments on WordPress and how easy is it to install it? Nowadays more and more users use this application, but there are those who prefer to remain faithful to that of WordPress.
And you, which one do you prefer?
Let us know your opinion or comment if you also have some clarifications to make. If you have doubts and other questions, do not hesitate to contact us by leaving a message below or by connecting to our Facebook page.