Adding Comments to my Ghost blog

I recently wrote a post about moving to Ghost from Squarespace. One of the concerns I outlined was the lack of a built-in comments feature. Even for a small blog like this, I think a well-integrated commenting system is helpful.

So I bit the bullet and set one up; this may not sound like much for those Ghost fans who love to code and are brilliant...or even averagely proficient with programming. But if like me, you have never done more than fiddle with WordPress, it is nerve-wracking.

However, it turned out to be less painful than I imagined. Below, I have outlined the process. I hope it is helpful - the post is aimed at other novices like me, so if you are more experienced and see lots of holes in my work, be kind in my newly set up commenting system.

Options for adding comments to Ghost

There is a fairly decent guide to setting up comments in the Tutorial section of the Ghost website. However, this has a few shortcomings for the absolute beginner.

Ghost doesn't have a built-in comments feature, so you will need to rely on a third-party system irrespective of how you host your blog.

There are lots of options, including very clever systems using GitHub. I shied away from these and only looked at a few. My shortlist was based primarily on ease, ability to install for a beginner, cost and integration with Ghost. I looked at:

1. Disqus - Probably the most well-known system available. There is a free version. From my research, it is relatively easy to install and manage. Ghost includes an example of a post using Disqus for comments. I decided it wasn't for me because the free version relies on adverts and monitoring readers' information. In addition, several articles commented that adding Disqus can slow down your site. I can't comment if this is true, but the introduction of unmanaged adverts wasn't appealing. I may be doing them a disservice and would appreciate your thoughts in the comments section (see what I did there).
2. Commento - This initially looked like the way to go. The system seemed straightforward but reasonably robust, and the cost was attractive. It was also attractive graphically in a restrained way. However, after doing some research, it appears the developers are no longer working on the project, although the website is still up and running.
3. Hyvor Talk - It looked like it would fit the bill. It seems powerful; privacy is a key strength, and management of comments seemed reasonably straightforward. However, I decided against it, as you need to sign up to the business pricing plan if you want readers to be able to use single-sign-on. Since this is a small, personal blog, I want to make it as easy as possible for readers to comment. But £40 a month is quite a lot, considering how many people read my posts.
4. Cove - The option I ended up choosing. Below I explain my reasoning and experience in setting it up and using it.

Why I chose Cove for my Ghost blog

After a week of reasonably detailed research, I picked Cove, developed by Dan Rowden. As well as several technical reasons outlined below, I liked that it was made by an individual and someone who seems to be very interested in Ghost. Also, Dan has been brilliant in supporting someone who doesn't know what they are doing.... and is only spending about £100. He has responded quickly and kindly to what were probably some silly questions.

Features

Cove includes Comments and Tools as well as a pro option. I only use the Comments. Comments is stripped down but does precisely what I need...allow readers to comment on posts and maybe start a bit of a discussion. Some features include:

• Unlimited number of comments or members - Not something I am apprehensive about, but I can imagine it could be critical if you run a more extensive blog
• Notification - A very nice and straightforward system, a simple email notification of a comment then connects you to the dashboard. Since I signed up, Dan has added a feature which allows notifications directly into Slack and Discord. I don't need this, but I could imagine it would be helpful for a larger team or bigger blog
• Moderation tools - A straightforward dashboard for moderating posts, which allows you to delete, hide or pin comments
• Membership - Cove relies on the built-in Ghost membership system, which means readers only have to sign in once. However, it can be set up to differentiate between free and paid memberships.
• Three design options -  There are several design options. There are all reasonably discreet.

Pricing

In terms of pricing, there are several options, depending on the features and size of the team. There are also substantial discounts for paying annually or a life membership.

I am only using the entry-level Comments, which is $10/month (around £8), but there is a 25% discount if you pay for a year. So all in, it's about the price of a pint per month, which to me seems good value.

What I liked about Cove and some concerns

So far, there are several things I think are great about Cove. It is designed explicitly for Ghost and integrates brilliantly, it is easy (even for a beginner) to set up, and the cost is reasonable.

There are only two things that worry me, which are also two reasons I liked it.

Firstly, it is run by an individual, so there is a chance Dan may have other priorities down the line and either not be able to concentrate on the system or close it down. Things change, and he too might be up all night with a shouty kid, I of all people, understand that. I don't think it would be the end of the world, especially for me. But for bigger blogs, it may be a concern.

Secondly is the membership issue. Cove is based on the Ghost membership system. This is very slick and integrated, but it means anyone who wants to post a comment needs to sign up. I have a little concern this might put people off. But ultimately, I decided if they don't want to sign up, do I want them to comment on my posts!

Finally, you need to either host Ghost yourself or subscribe to at least the Creator plan since you can't edit themes on the starter package.

Cove - what it's like setting up as a beginner

So what was it like setting up? Ultimately it was okay; I am an absolute beginner, but it was all stored in a few hours (spread over a couple of days - since I have a real job and a small child).

There are extremely good installation instructions on the Cove website, and Dan has been brilliant in responding to questions. Installation includes six steps:

• Downloading your current theme
• Adding a small Javascriop fike to your theme
• Creating a template file for displaying comments in your partials folder based on the Cove code and your choice of layout
• Adding the comments partial into your template for either posts or pages
• Uploading back to Ghost

That all sounds very easy now, but at the start, I had never looked at the theme, let alone edited any of them.

My first hurdle was caused by Ghost. I use Ghost Pro and was previously on the Starter Price Plan. But you can't use custom themes on this Plan so I needed to upgrade, which was annoying and a little expensive. But, ultimately was going to be necessary anyway.

Downloading your theme is straightforward, but then I needed to edit various parts. This, again, wants as terrifying as I had feared. I did some reasecrch and ended up using Brackets to edit the code, it user friendly and allowed me to make the changes quite quickly.

After I made the changes, I uploaded it back to Ghost.  It took me six attempts to get something I am happy with.

The system was working fine, but there were two issues which I needed help with. Firstly, when I first installed it, the comments section was the entire width of the screen and didn't match the layout of the rest of the blog. Secondly, comments were appearing on all pages and not just posts. I emailed Dan, who responded within an hour with a simple solution which involved wrapping the comment section in tags. I am not going to pretend to understand the details, but it solved both problems.

Cove - A brilliant and simple system for fairly basic blogs

So far, I have been very happy with Cove. It is a brilliant system and perfect for a fairly basic blog. I think it would also scale fairly well.

I suspect that worrying about comments and taking the time to set up was really just procrastination, from actually sitting down and writing good comments. But, that is a bit of a recurring theme, and I have actually enjoyed the process.

So far, I would highly recommend it due to the ease, level of integration and great personal support. But that recommendation comes with a few caveats.

Firstly I am an absolute beginner. I am sure there are other clever options for people who can code. Secondly and possibly more fundamentally, I haven't had any comments yet! Although I have tested quite extensively using a second account, it all worked well and was very straightforward.

For a blog the size of After Shoreditch, it's perfect; you may need something more serious.

Writing a blog - The above post is part of a series I am trying to write, recording the progress (or lack of) of setting up and writing the blog itself. Maybe that is a little self-indulgent. But it might help someone else, and I have actually been enjoying the process.