Adding comments to static pages?

Question

I've used disqus on a few sites successfully. Are there any other solid solutions for comments for static websites? (For new sites, I tend to use a CMS that includes comments).

Answer 1

I just use the Facebook Comment Box Plugin. It's quick to set up and a solid solution, although maybe not as comprehensive as disqus. In my case, I know pretty much all the visitors to my site, so I'd rather they just use their real name.

Answer 2

IntenseDebate.com (owned by Automattic, makers of Wordpress) and Echo (formerly JSKit; www.js-kit.com) are both Disqus competitors and are generally well-liked.

Answer 3

Using remote servers to store your comments is absolutely fine and in fact they are safer as they add a extra layer of security, they keep the SQL database smaller, easier to administrator and many more reasons why so many are using remote comments.

1) Disqus

Disqus is my top favorite as its easy to administrate and edit the styling and just does what its meant to do.

2) IntenseDebate

Similar to Disqus but focuses on debate, ie peoples replies on comments. Doesn't beat Disqus I think, but then again I'm a Disqus Fanboy ;)

3) Livefyre

Livefyre has really improved since it's early days and its worth checking out, I kinda don't like the login system.

4) Echo

With Echo you can make statics into a rich content delivery system using many online apps, basically this makes your static site not so static and uses cloud apps to make the experience for your audience awesome. I would rate them highly but they offer more than just comments which can be confusing if this is all you want.

5) Facebook

While it seems pretty cool to use the Facebook Engine to use comments on your site making your audience reach greater do you really want the UGLY, OUTDATED Look of Facebook on your site? Does the job but with Ugly Markups, Ugly Style and so on... Need I whine any more?

6) Gentle Source

I personally haven't used Gentle Source to add comments, I have however heard of many using this platform to deliver comments on static and cms based websites.

CMS

Wordpress in my honest opinion has the best out of the box comments, Joomla on the other hand has the worst and requires extensions such as Rokcomments. Personally I perfer to use remote JavaScript to handle the comments as mentioned before its easier to administrate and adds a extra layer of security. Feel free to add any more to the list by clicking the edit ;)

Hope this helps, thanks.

Answer 4

I've used the GentleSource Comment script. It's $29 or free for private or non-profit use.

I don't know how it compares to others now, but when I chose it, it had the features I needed. You can use it with Akismet or a Captcha for spam reduction and it has flood protection and comment moderation.