4 best comment box plugins for wordpress in 2014

You’re here because you’re either frustrated with your current comment box bombarding you with tons of spam messages or you’re just probably bored with your current one.

We all want to encourage healthy discussion but we can’t do that if we don’t have the right commenting system. Comments are indeed an integral part of a blog or website.

For that reason, there are several ways that you can interact with your readers so they can leave a valuable comment to your post.

Although you may use your site’s native comment system, you may want to try third-party systems. They can be easily integrated to your other social networks, rather than sticking to the readers of the blog post.

Furthermore, they offer real-time updates and alerts. With that in mind, you can turn your blog or website into a chat room, as opposed to that of a standard one.

Bloggers who are using them see great interaction between them and their readers. Essentially, these third-party commenting systems can offer you real community integration.

My Top Favorite Commenting Systems for WordPress

1. Comments Evolved

This WordPress plugin, formerly called G+ Comments, makes it easier to add tabs for Google+ comments, WordPress Comments, Facebook and so on. It’s not the latest to enter in this category. Here’s an example screenshot, take a look at the tabs:

You can use this tool to convert your post into a more engaging one. It has comprehensive features too.

Just like its competitors, this plugin has good integration with social networking services. For instance, you can tag your Facebook friends instantly so you can bring in more people into the discussion.

All comments added are SEO-friendly, thereby, improving your search engine ranking. It comes with a beautiful interface and has powerful moderation tools to avoid spammers.

2. CommentLuv

Hmmm..CommenLuv! I love Commentluv! I’ve used this plugin several times on my other WordPress blogs.

The one thing I really like about it is when I get a link back to my latest posts everytime I post a comment. So that’s another way to gain exposure and I’m pretty sure your readers will love that too!

You can also upgrade to the PRO version if you want their extra features, such as anti-spam, click stats, and Twitterlink. With this premium tool, you’ll experience an increase in traffic and comments to your every post without those spam issues, which are common complaints of other bloggers. (I might use CommentLuv on this site soon *wink wink*).

Overall, this plugin offers the finest features of a blog commenting system in one plugin. With it, you can cut down spam comments while increasing your Twitter followers.

It also encourages interaction among readers and authors, which is a great way to build a real interactive community. Here’s a demo:

3. Disqus

I am currently using Disqus as my comment platform (as of Jan 5, 2014). I fell in love with it due to it’s clean-looking design and it was super easy to embed on my website. I just love everything about it!

It is supported by several add-ons making it one of the most popular comment mechanisms. Here are some reasons bloggers and website owners use this plugin:

• It loads fast and it has a very intuitive interface.
• For follow-up comments, it allows email notifications. And you can reply to that email as well.
• It’s well-integrated with other social networking serves, like Flickr and YouTube. Plus, you can easily embed media to your comments.
• Your readers can also log in and comment using their social networking accounts, like Facebook and Twitter. In that way, they can easily keep track of their comments and other things they share online.
• I also love how they manage spam messages very well. There’s no need for you to worry about junks as it comes with an anti-spam technology that makes sure your site is protected against spammers. You can add blacklists or whitelists if necessary.
• It also offers supports for mobile devices and other blogging platforms.

Some people don’t like it because of the need to register but no, you can post as a guest. You just have to check the part where it says “I’d rather post as a guest”.

With its wonderful features, well-respected sites like Time Magazine and Fox News are using this plugin.

4. Intense Debate

It’s not an ordinary commenting system. The folks behind it are the same guys who developed WordPress.

Thus, if your site is running WordPress, then this can be your best bet for a commenting system as it’s maintained by the same intelligent people who made your platform.

Apart from that, this plugin also rewards constructive comments with the use of points. These points appear on top of other low-quality comments.

This is a very good way of encouraging high quality discussion.

Another great feature of this tool is its ability to send an email to the commenter each time his/her comment has received a response from another reader. This encourages readers to keep coming back to your site.

To further draw attention and traffic to your site, this plugin allows readers to tweet simultaneously each time they post a comment.

How about you? Which comment system is your favorite?