Over the years, we’ve built a lot of websites. Many of the more recent ones include blogs (like our new Forge3 website). Blogs are a great way to improve your search rankings, establish yourself as an “expert” on a subject and encourage repeat visits to your site. They also allow your audience to interact with you via comments. However, the problem is that spammers usually end up cluttering the comments with their spammy messages. Here’s how to fix this…

Most websites are built on WordPress and use the built-in commenting system because it’s included and is free. However, even using the tools that WordPress provides to fight spam, it’s still tough to control it.

A better way

The best solution is to use a separate commenting system that integrates seamlessly into your website. Here are two:

DISQUS

At Forge3, we started by using DISQUS. They offer a nice platform (it’s free!) that integrates with WordPress in a few simple clicks. Even non-tech folks can install it. It’s definitely worth a look.

Facebook Comments

In the last few weeks, Facebook announced an update to their commenting system for websites. As an experiment, we installed it on our Forge3 website. The results were pretty amazing. People started commenting right away! Why? Because the comment box looks just like the one people are used to seeing on Facebook (see below for an example). So, if the user is signed in to Facebook (most are), their picture is shown with a simple box to type a comment. It’s a familiar experience which requires no additional steps.

And, as an added bonus, the comments get posted back to Facebook. So, if you add a comment on the Forge3 site, your friends will see that you did on their Facebook news feed. This is a great way to drive people to your website! By the way, you can un-check this option when posting your comment if you’d like (see below).

The only “problem” is that Facebook Comments are a bit more complicated to install. There are WordPress “plugins” from third parties that attempt to make it easier, but none are that great. Right now, it’s best to call us or have your web guru install them manually.

The bottom line

Both DISQUS and Facebook Comments do a really great job of eliminating spam. DISQUS is easy to install, but Facebook offers greater potential. I’d recommend the latter.

Give it a try. Leave a comment below and you’ll see how it works!

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