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Ask DN: How to "tame" Disqus?

almost 10 years ago from , Digital Product Designer

Hello! (First post on DN, pretty nervous)

I am a (wannabe) front-end developer with strong designer roots. I am only capable of building static sites using html, css and some little amount of jquery. Which means (even though I really tried hard) I can not design and develop a project using Wordpress or Joomla or the any platform that requires the tiniest bit of back-end knowledge.

Right now, I am working on my "static content" blog site. I am really happy in my little world, organizing a ridiculous amount of html files.

So, when I found out about Disqus, I was really excited to be able to have "dynamic" comments under my "static" blog posts, with almost no effort. However, problems aroused when I wanted to "tame" the look of Disqus, in harmony with my site's design. After many hours of trial and error, I am convinced that it is not possible.

Also, I don't want to make my visitors deal with lots of options, just for making a little comment. I don't think they need to be a part of a "commenting network" or use their social media accounts. I just want them to write their comment, enter a name and an e-mail address. Old school. I really wish Disqus would let me "skin" it, give me the control about everything and just do the work silently in background.

Could any of you Disqus users tell me how you handle these problems? Do you just accept the situation for it is a really good tool? Can you suggest any alternatives?

Thank you :)

2 comments

  • alec salec s, almost 10 years ago

    How about a designer currently working at Disqus instead?

    Last year we decided to move away from allowing style customization and make Disqus "universal" in that it will inherit the styles of your site and apply them to itself. Things like link colors, fonts and depending on your background color a "light" or "dark" theme. This helps Disqus users recognize and stay familiar with the platform and makes upkeep much easier and more efficient. Another important thing to note is that Disqus is loaded inside of an iFrame, so styling is not available.

    As far as allowing users to comment easily without creating an account, you can definitely do that. Just go into your settings and enable "Guest Commenting" and you're all set!

    If it's doesn't seem to be working properly feel free to email support@disqus.com, tweet to us, or visit www.disqus.com/support — our support team is a responsive, kind and helpful bunch :)

    1 point
    • Recep KütükRecep Kütük, almost 10 years ago

      Thank you very much for your reply Alec, I feel very lucky to have an answer from someone working at Disqus!

      I have two objections, first I don't need my visitors to stay familiar with Disqus, I need them to stay familiar with my site, my design. Second, I am aware of guest commenting but I don't want it to be "one of the options", I want it to be "the option". So that nobody gets confused.

      I know I am asking for too much, after all Disqus is not doing charity for us and what I ask for is probably very far from its business model. But at the end of the day, the heart wants what the heart wants :)

      By the way, I really love the wonderful Disqus website! It has been a source of inspiration to me and I was really excited at the moment I noticed the smart use of various elements like video, in harmony with the rest of the page. Great job!

      1 point