You see, all this DISQUS stuff is pretty cool. It’s a stand-alone comment system that can drive some extra traffic to you site… But…
The first thing I didn’t like was that activating the DISQUS plugin eliminated all my original WordPress comments. This can be solved because DISQUS has a comment-importing feature in the admin panel on DISQUS’ website.
Trusting Too Much
When you install and activate the DISQUS plugin in your WordPress blog, you basically give DISQUS the total control of all your original WordPress comment system. And I don’t particularly like that.
And what if the DISQUS company disappears? What happens to all your comments?
I Like The Independence
I like my WordPress blog because it’s a stand-alone solution. I depend only on my web-hosting provider and my domain registrar. The WordPress software itself can keep working in an autonomous way. You do depend on the WordPress company (Automattic) in some way though (for keeping your WP updated). But in an extreme situation (let’s say Automattic goes out of business) you can still keep your WordPress site running and look for some alternative or solution.
You see what I mean? I have a stand-alone platform that does not depend on other platforms like Facebook, etc. I like the idea of having an independent company. I don’t like vital aspects of my company depend on other companies. Other companies can close at any time. You understand what that means? It means that your company can get jeopardised if other companies close. That is no good for you.
You have to be independent. Although you can never be fully independent because you always depend on other people and companies, but reducing your dependence to the max should be a priority. Achieving the maximum grade of independence should be a priority.
Aspects I Liked In DISQUS Plugin
I really think all this DISQUS stuff is pretty cool. It reminds me of a social network, a social network of comments that unifies different blogs and platforms (it doesn’t only work with WordPress). That’s pretty awesome and I must say to the DISQUS team that they have really done a great job. No doubt about that.
DISQUS WP Plugin Can Provide Extra Traffic For Your Site
Yeah, that’s true. As I mentioned above, all this DISQUS stuff is like a social network of comments that unifies different websites. Users have an account there and use that account for commenting on different blogs. They can open a side-panel that features new and popular comments on different sites.
DISQUS’ Neat Interface
It really has a neat interface. Combination of grey colors and javascript/ajax effects. I liked that, it is well done.
BTW Here Is A Link To The DISQUS WordPress Plugin:
https://wordpress.org/plugins/disqus-comment-system/
They currently have 200,000 active installations.
The overall rating in the official WordPress plugin repository is 3 out of 5 stars.
I can say that this plugin is definitely worth trying. Check it out and see by yourself if you like it and does it make sense in your WordPress site.
One more thing I would like to mention:
DISQUS Has Paid Subscription Plans
It also has a free subscription plan named “Basic” that is ads supported.
The next option is a plan called “Plus” that costs $9 per month (normal price is $10/month, now they have a discount). The Plus plan has an option to remove ads and has what they call “Direct Support”.
The Plus plan supports under 50,000 daily pageviews.
The next subscription plan is called “Pro” and it supports a maximum of 150,000 daily pageviews.
The Pro subscription plan will cost you $89 per month (normal price: $99/month).
The Pro plan has Priority Support, Advanced Analytics and a couple of extra features more.
The Company Behind DISQUS Comment System
The DISQUS project was founded in 2007 by Daniel Ha and Jason Yan. Official DISQUS website.
Currently it is owned by Zeta Global.
Zeta Global Wikipedia article.
The Takeout
DISQUS is a nice comment system plugin for WordPress and you should definitely try it out.