Alternative to Commenting - Disqus

Have you ever wanted to reply to someone's comment directly so that they get notified automatically? You've probably seen it on blogs that use Wordpress. This also works for Wordpress, but I dont really see the point of having it for that, because Wordpress already has a great commenting functionality.

While Blogger/Blogspot allows general commenting, it doesn't allow for direct responses to specific comments and therefore limits the communication between people (not just commenter and blog owner).

But there are a couple of alternatives that you can include in your blog really easily and seamlessly that allow your readers to comment and respond to each other! Cue Disqus.

Disqus is an external commenting service that can be included under each blog post as widget, so it's really easy to install and super seamless.

Here's how to install it, how to import comments from Blogger and how to remove it.

Please note, you will have to moderate your comments via the Disqus website!

How to have Pages

So the lovely Farrah Grey asked me how she can have multiple pages (like 'About', 'Disclaimer', etc) in her blog. Having pages is really convenient, as you can put specific information on each of these pages that can be there permanently and you don't have to blog about it. In Wordpress this is done easily, but with Blogger/Blogspot, it requires some extra work.

Now there are various solutions to this - an automated one; a manual one and a mix of both. And they all have different conditions for them to work. And this can be difficult to explain.

While generally speaking: Pages is a Blogger widget,  I still recommend inserting it manually to guarantee correct placement.

Here's how to do that

Buying a domain

There are two different options of buying a domain:

Option 1: Redirecting/Forwarding
1st you can buy one and have it redirect to your blog address. Imagine it as having a postbox and all your mail gets sent there, but then forwarded to your personal address. It's like that and the domain address hides your other address :-) It's considered a bit more professional.

With this option your blog remains with Wordpress or Blogspot/Blogger. It lives there and you just forward your visitors to its address via the domain address.

Option 2: Hosting
This 2nd option generally costs you a bit more and normally also involves a lot more manual work, which can be iffy (even I stay away from it because I just cant be bothered and I know my stuff!). With this you buy webspace and move your blog there away from Wordpress and Blogspot/Blogger. You basically buy your blog a new house and need to move it there.

I dont recommend this option. It's complicated and unless you actually run a business and/or understand all the proper tech-stuff. I don't mean this in a mean way, but it's just not necessary when you only want to write about beauty and stuff.