For my fellow bloggers: Comment section tricks I've learned

Hey bloggers!  I recently discovered a couple of  changes you can make to your blog comments section that not only organize it better but also make it prettier. 

THREADED COMMENT REPLIES
Over the past several months, Blogger has made some changes. One change is that you can now have threaded replies (see Screen Shot 6) in which the blog author (or anyone else) can leave a reply directly below a particular comment and not just at the end of ALL of the comments in the comments section. Unfortunately, you only get the threaded replies format when your comments form is set to "embedded" and NOT "full page" or "popup window" (see Screen Shot 1). So if you want threaded replies in your comments, here's how to do it.

• First click on Design at the top right corner of the page when you're viewing your blog.
• Then on the left select Settings and then directly below that click on Post and Comments.
• Finally, select Comment Location - Embedded (see Screen Shot 2).

[SCREEN SHOT 1]

[SCREEN SHOT 2]



While you're at it, why don't you change your Word Verification settings to "No" (see Screen Shot 2 above). It's a potential deterrent for some people who would normally have left you a comment. I used to use it but in all the months I've had it disabled, I've never had a problem with weird computer ("let's make sure you're not a robot") comments being left so I'm glad my readers don't have to go through that extra step.

I also don't have Comment Moderation (see Screen Shot 2 above) enabled because Blogger sends me an email each time someone leaves a comment (see Screen Shot 3). I check my email daily so I can delete any spam comments I might get (I think I've only had two in the last year).

[SCREEN SHOT 3]

 

BLOGGER COMMENT FORM MESSAGE BELOW THREADED COMMENTS ERROR

One problem I found with the comment thread change that Blogger made is that my Comment Form Message started showing up below the comment box and not above it.  Kind of defeats the purpose don't you think?  So I set out to find a solution. 

If you don't know what a Comment Form Message (see Screen Shot 4) is, it's a message you can leave to people who are going to leave a comment on your post.  It can be a welcome message, instructions for leaving a comment, etc.  There is a place in Blogger design where you can type your message in (see Screen Shot 5).

[SCREEN SHOT 4]

[SCREEN SHOT 5]

And here is the fix:

"Fix Blogger Comment Form Below Comments" Tutorial

Spice Up Your Blog (a site with a motto of "The Best Tips, Gadgets, Design And SEO For Bloggers") provides step by step instructions on how to change your html coding (trust me, it's not as scary as it sounds) to fix the problem.  One issue I had with the author's code was when I cut and paste his </ DIV> code into my template.  I kept getting an error message upon saving.  The author should have typed it with a lower case "d" and no space between the / and the d.  To fix it, I just hand typed that part of the code in myself (instead of using cut/paste) and my blogger comments form is now in the right location. . .directly above the comment box (see Screen Shot 4).


THREE COLOR STYLES FOR BLOGGER THREADED COMMENTS WITH AUTHOR COMMENTS HIGHLIGHTED

Another fun thing I found while browsing around Spice Up Your Blog is a way to make the comment threads "prettier."  Cuz I like things to be pretty as well as organized.  Now each comment has a shaded box around it, each commenter's name is pink and my comments have a little ribbon banner in the top right corner that reads "Author" (see SCREEN SHOT 6).  This fix was actually even easier than the first one because it only involves adding a simple paragraph (just cut/paste) CSS code in the new template designer area.  Spice Up Your Blog offers three color choices (blue, green and pink).  Of course, I chose pink.

"Highlight Author Comments" Tutorial

 

[SCREEN SHOT 6]

OTHER COOL STUFF TO "SPICE UP YOUR BLOG"

If you aren't a fan of the style of the comments section I chose, Spice Up Your Blog has another option:   Speech Bubble Tutorial with Arrow to Author's Name

They also have LOTS of other things you can do to update your comments section:   Search Spice Up Your Blog's Ways to Improve Your Comments Section

I hope you found these tips/tricks helpful.  If you're not a blogger who uses "Blogger" but rather Wordpress or something else, Spice Up Your Blog has options for you as well.  I'm going to continue to browse their site for other interesting things I might want to try on my blog.  I'll let you know if I find anything worth sharing.

P.S.  I don't work for, get freebies from, nor am I affiliated in any way with, Spice Up Your Blog.  I just came across the site during a google search while trying to fix a glitch on my own blog.


Please come back and visit soon.

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