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Have you ever visited websites where articles have been published? And seen comments left on those articles, by visitors to that website? Have you ever wondered how that's done, or how you can have the same facility on your articles/webpages?
Encouraging feedback by visitors to your website is of great benefit to you. While you wouldn't ordinarily think that this falls under the category of "website promotion," think about what it accomplishes. When you have a "static" webpage (meaning one that doesn't change) visitors aren't likely to return to that page, as they've "seen it all." But what if that page is constantly changing? And especially, what if a visitor has made that page "their own" by leaving comments or questions on it?
That's right. They'll return to that page, again and again. And some clever webmasters know how to leverage articles that accumulate a lengthy list of comments. Obviously, an article that attracts a good number of comments is a popular (or controversial) page. So in their newsletters, some webmasters have a link to that page encouraging all their thousands of readers to participate in the conversation. Here's an example. It's a great way to get lots of traffic to your website.
When I first started publishing websites, article commenters (among lots of other things) were a great mystery to me. We all learn how to publish text, create submission forms and all the other basic techniques, but how to do all these "complex" things? It wasn't until somewhat later that I discovered that these were web programs called "scripts" and written in a variety of languages with acronyms such as CGI, ASP and PHP. Having been a computer programmer for 25 years, it was an easy step for me to begin to write my own scripts.
About 6 months ago, I was approached by a client of mine, who published articles -- lots and lots of articles. His was a politically-oriented website, and he wanted more reader participation. He'd seen websites where people leave comments on the articles, and he asked me to whip up something for him. I was amazed by what happened within a week after I had installed and configured my Max Comments script for him. He got 300 (!) signups within a week, and people were leaving comments all over the place. Here's an example of one of those pages (and puh-leeze, don't blame me for the page design...) Note the comments at the bottom of the article...
Important decisions crop up, when you think about allowing people to leave content of any form, on your website, that other people can view:
Thus, it's best to have a signup (registration) process for anyone who wishes to leave comments. The very first time they leave a comment, they must fill in a form with their name and email address. And receive a login ID for any future comments they want to leave.
Also, since people who leave comments are obviously interested in your products/services, wouldn't it be wise to have their email address, so you can contact them about any great, new products/services that you offer, in the future?
Email addresses should always be confirmed. So part of the signup process is that they receive an automatic email, with a web link within, that they must click on, in order to complete the process. By so doing, you KNOW that all people who signup have a legitimate email address.
Now, once a person leaves a comment, you (the webmaster) get an email with the comment in it. This is very important. Why? Well, think about what happens if they leave an offensive or derogatory comment. Wouldn't you want to know? Sure -- so you can edit/delete the comment, whenever you like. Any good commenting script makes it easy for you to edit comments on your website.
Such "commenting scripts" are a great way to get feedback from your website visitors. They help you know what's popular on your website -- and what's not. Plus, you learn what your visitors really want to see. The best way to manage a website is to know what your visitors are thinking. And these kinds of scripts are a great way to do that.
Naturally, I'd be pleased if you want to check out my own Max Comments script here.
But I'm not the only one writing such scripts, and in this Web Wise Newsletter, I always let you know about other choices and options you have. Here's a list of places that you can investigate, too.
Copyright © 2004-2005 Web Wise News
by Vidya Ishaya
(also known as Burton Smith)
Ashland, OR
