When building a blog, it can be difficult to choose the proper comments plugin for your site. You need one that provides useful analytics, employs spam protection and invites your readers to engage and participate with your brand. That said, not all comments plugins are equal.
Two of the biggest options on WordPress and other blogs are Disqus and the Facebook Comments Plugin. What are their features, and where does each platform shine? Before comparing the two, let’s check out what they have to offer.
Enjoy Cross-Platform Comments with the Facebook Comments Plugin
With the Facebook comments plugin, anyone with a Facebook account can comment on your content without the need to register or log in. Because the social network has 2 billion monthly active users, you’re lowering the barrier of entry for most readers.
The Facebook comments plugin also synchronizes comments on both platforms. This means comments on the WordPress Facebook plugin will match those of your Facebook posts sharing that content. Therefore, people can continue contributing to the discussion after they’ve left your site because they can do so on Facebook.
Finally, this Facebook comment tool offers built-in spam protection and consolidates comments to one dashboard. Since the WordPress Facebook plugin syncs with your Facebook comments, you can comment both your WordPress and Facebook comments in one place. This makes Facebook comments plugin moderation very easy. You can learn more about the Facebook comments plugin and what it has to offer here.
All About the Disqus Comment System
The Disqus comment system on WordPress is a very popular comments plugin, offering spam protection and analytics in an easy-to-use dashboard. You can use the dashboard to engage with readers and commenters across the platform, as well as to perform Disqus comment moderation. In addition to its built-in spam protection, Disqus offers email confirmation to further protect your website from spam bots.
Users will have to log in to the Discuss comment system on WordPress before commenting but are offered a variety of login options. They can choose from a list of different social media accounts (like Facebook, Twitter or even a Disqus account), which provides a low barrier of entry for readers while respecting a level of anonymity. Another benefit to readers is that they can use this account with all Disqus comment sections—not just the one on your website—which enables the platform to function as a de facto social network of its own.
Facebook Comment Tool vs. Disqus Comment System: Which is Better?
Which platform you’ll choose for your website depends on how you want to connect readers to your content. The Facebook comments plugin, for example, helps to drive engagement by cross-pollinating Facebook users and your readership. When someone comments on your post, their friends will see, thereby extending your reach into users’ built-in networks and connections.
Facebook comments on WordPress are also invaluable if you want to measure real-time analytics on your blog’s role in the conversion funnel. By measuring comments data from your website and Facebook profiles in one place, you can gain key insights on driving engagement on both platforms.
Although the Facebook comment tool may great for brands privileging Facebook in their social media strategies, it might not be the most versatile choice for those juggling multiple social accounts. The plugin also risks alienating users who don’t want to participate in public discussion using their Facebook profile. The lack of anonymity can ensure a better quality of discussion, but you might be turning away users who want to protect their privacy.
The Disqus comment system offers a good compromise between ease of use and privacy protection because users can choose which account to use, including their Facebook one. While users are notified of responses on Facebook using the comments plugin, Disqus also allows for engagement updates via email. Disqus users can follow one another or get notified of replies in their comment threads.
One possible issue bloggers face with the Disqus comment system on WordPress is that it includes ads. Some readers and bloggers will find this annoying. But if you find that it doesn’t hamper the reading experience, you can receive a cut of the ad revenue by participating in the Disqus Reveal program. Small-time content creators might actually prefer this ad-based plugin as a revenue stream to support their content.
The Disqus comment system for WordPress used to be advantageous over the Facebook comments plugin for SEO; because Facebook hosted comments off-server, its comments added nothing to your inline SEO keywords. This issue is a thing of the past, though—presently, both plugins can contribute positively to your website SEO if you moderate your comments well.
In a nutshell, businesses might prefer the Facebook comments plugin to drive referrals and engagement from their blog to their social profiles and vice-versa. Meanwhile, writers and content creators focused on their personal brand might prefer Disqus for its revenue potential and more open login options.
Enhance Disqus and Facebook Comments Plugin Moderation
No matter which system you use, you can enjoy advanced spam protection and comment moderation from one single dashboard with Smart Moderation. This cutting-edge software helps you manage comments across all your social profiles (and your website!) from a single dashboard, letting you easily hide, delete or engage with your comments. With the help of artificial intelligence, you can automatically hide abusive and problematic comments as they are posted.
It’s easy to begin using Smart Moderation: simply sign up using your Facebook account and connect your profiles. If you’re using a Facebook comment box for website comments, for example, you can connect your Facebook account to moderate these comments more efficiently.
Comment moderation is essential for protecting your readers from abuse, shielding your reputation from trolls and for ensuring quality discussion enhances—not harms—your blog’s SEO. Don’t wait to step up your comment moderation strategy; sign up now to try Smart Moderation for free!
Tags: disqus comments management, disqus moderation