How to Customize Blogger Comment Box Messages: A Step-by-Step Guide

Customize your Blogger comment box messages with our easy guide. Learn to change default texts, add CSS styles, and enhance user engagement.
Engaging with blog comments is crucial for building a community and fostering interaction on your blog.

We all love the feeling of receiving new comments on our blog posts. Comments not only show that readers are engaged, but they also provide valuable feedback and foster a sense of community. To increase the chances of receiving more comments, many bloggers install third-party commenting systems like Facebook comments, Google+ comments, and Disqus. However, a significant number of bloggers who use the Blogger platform prefer the default commenting system.

Even on this blog, we utilize Blogger's default commenting system. Despite its simplicity, it has been customized to blend seamlessly with the blog’s theme. However, one of the most common frustrations is dealing with the default text strings that appear before the comment box, such as "0 Comments" when there are no comments, "2+ comments:", and "Post a Comment". These default messages can be off-putting and detract from the user experience.

We are going to walk you through the steps to change these default text strings to custom messages that better suit your blog's style and encourage more engagement.

In this post, we will show you how to modify these default messages using HTML and CSS. By following our simple guide, you can replace these default strings with messages of your choice, making your comment section more inviting and user-friendly.

How to Customize Blogger Comment Box Messages: A Step-by-Step Guide

Common Issues with Blogger's Commenting System

While Blogger's default commenting system is straightforward and easy to use, it has a few quirks that can be annoying. The most prominent issue is the default text strings that appear when there are no comments or when comments are being posted. These include:

  • "0 Comments" when there are no comments.
  • "2+ comments:" indicating multiple comments.
  • "Post a Comment" prompt.

These default messages can make your comment section look uninviting or impersonal. Customizing these messages can improve the user experience and encourage more interaction from your readers.

Spoiler:

In this section, we'll address these issues and provide detailed steps to change these default messages to something more appealing.

Be sure to follow each step carefully to avoid any issues with your blog’s template.

Steps to Customize Comment Texts

Preparation

Before making any changes to your blog's template, it's crucial to prepare adequately to prevent any loss of data or irreversible changes. Follow these steps to get started:

  1. Log in to your Blogger account and select the blog you want to customize.
  2. Navigate to the Template section and click on Edit HTML.
  3. Click anywhere inside the template code box and save a backup of your template to your desktop.
  4. Press Ctrl+F on Windows or Cmd+F on Mac to open up a search box inside the template code box.

It's essential to back up your template before making any changes. This ensures you can restore your original settings if something goes wrong.

Disabling "0 Comments" Message

To disable the "0 Comments" message when there are no comments, follow these steps:

  1. Open the search box by pressing Ctrl+F (Windows) or Cmd+F (Mac).
  2. Search for <h4> to find the following HTML code:
    <h4>
            <b:if cond='data:post.numComments == 1'>
              1 <data:commentLabel/>:
            <b:else/>
              <data:post.numComments/> <data:commentLabelPlural/>:
            </b:if>
          </h4>
    
  3. Replace the found code with this modified version to disable the "0 Comments" message:
    <b:if cond='data:post.numComments != 0'>
        <h4><span>
        <b:if cond='data:post.numComments == 1'>
        1 Reply so far - Add your comment
        <b:else/>
        <data:post.numComments/> Replies so far - Add your comment
        </b:if>
        </span></h4>
        </b:if>
    

Ensure you replace the code in both instances if it appears twice in your template.

By following these steps, you will prevent the "0 Comments" message from appearing when there are no comments, making your blog look cleaner and more professional.

Changing "Post a Comment" Message

Now that we have disabled the "0 Comments" message, let's move on to customizing the "Post a Comment" message that appears when there are no comments on a blog post.

Follow these steps to modify this message:

Press Ctrl+F (Windows) or Cmd+F (Mac) to open the search box again.

Search for <h4 id='comment-post-message'> to find the following HTML code:

<h4 id='comment-post-message'>
        <a expr:id='data:widget.instanceId + &quot;_comment-editor-toggle-link&quot;' href='javascript:void(0)'><data:postCommentMsg/></a></h4>
      <p><data:blogCommentMessage/></p>
      <data:blogTeamBlogMessage/>
      <a expr:href='data:post.commentFormIframeSrc' id='comment-editor-src'/>
      <iframe allowtransparency='true' class='blogger-iframe-colorize blogger-comment-from-post' frameborder='0' height='410' id='comment-editor' name='comment-editor' src='' style='display: none' width='100%'/>
    <b:else/>
      <h4 id='comment-post-message'><data:postCommentMsg/></h4>
      <p><data:blogCommentMessage/></p>
      <data:blogTeamBlogMessage/>
      <a expr:href='data:post.commentFormIframeSrc' id='comment-editor-src'/>
      <iframe allowtransparency='true' class='blogger-iframe-colorize blogger-comment-from-post' frameborder='0' height='410' id='comment-editor' name='comment-editor' src='' width='100%'/>

Now just delete the highlighted Code and write your message in normal text like as "Leave a Comment", excluding quotes.

With this change, the "Post a Comment" message will now be more inviting, encouraging your readers to participate in the discussion.

Feel free to customize the message further to match your blog's tone and style.

If you're interested in learning more about HTML and CSS to make even more customized changes, consider checking out the “Quick Start to Web Development with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript” E-Book. It’s a great resource for expanding your web development skills. Learn more about the E-Book here.

Adding CSS for Improved Styling

Once you have customized the comment text strings, the next step is to enhance the visual appeal of your comment section using CSS. By adding some style, you can make your comment messages stand out and align with the overall design of your blog.

How to Add and Modify CSS Styles

Follow these steps to apply custom CSS styles to your comment messages:

  1. Find the CSS class for comment messages in your blog’s CSS code. You should look for the class associated with the comment box, which is usually named something like `.comments h4`.
  2. Replace or modify the existing CSS with the following code to enhance the appearance:
    /*---Comment Box Message CSS Style by learntricking.blogspot.com---*/
    .comments h4 {
      background-color: #05A0FF; /* Background color for the message */
      font-weight: normal;
      color: #ffffff; /* Text color */
      padding: 0px;
      text-align: center;
      line-height: 2em;
      border-radius: 2px;
      font-size: 17px; /* Font size */
      font-family: sans-serif; /* Font family */
      width: 100%;
      position: relative;
    }
    
  3. Adjust the CSS properties as needed:
    • background-color: Change the background color to fit your blog’s theme.
    • color: Set the text color to ensure readability.
    • font-size: Modify the font size to suit your design preferences.
    • font-family: Choose a font family that matches your blog’s style.

Customizing the CSS allows you to make the comment messages more visually appealing and aligned with your blog’s design.

With these CSS adjustments, your comment messages will look more engaging and professional, encouraging more interaction from your readers.

If you want to delve deeper into CSS and web development, don’t forget to explore the “Quick Start to Web Development with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript” E-Book. It offers valuable insights and skills to enhance your web development capabilities.

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