Disqus has long had the option to simultaneously publish a blog comment on either Twitter or Facebook but this feature is rather intuitive and seems like a great way to help jump start conversations among individual users.

I’m definitely looking forward to using this feature in the future.

There is however a bit of tweaking you’ll need to do if you want to be able to dynamically display your comment count on individual post pages. Adding the code itself is a pretty straightforward process. The most difficult part, at least for me, was wading through and finding the right documentation which is why I’m putting this up, in hopes that it will save someone else some time.

Adding Disqus Comment Count on Individual Posts

Step 1: Add the following code to the bottom of your template directly before the </body> tag.
Important: Be sure to edit the disqus_shortname and change ‘example’ to your Disqus shortname:
<script type="text/javascript">
/* * * CONFIGURATION VARIABLES: EDIT BEFORE PASTING INTO YOUR WEBPAGE * * */
var disqus_shortname = 'example'; // required: replace example with your forum shortname
/* * * DON'T EDIT BELOW THIS LINE * * */
(function () {
var s = document.createElement('script'); s.async = true;
s.type = 'text/javascript';
s.src = 'http://' + disqus_shortname + '.disqus.com/count.js';
(document.getElementsByTagName('HEAD')[0] || document.getElementsByTagName('BODY')[0]).appendChild(s);
}());
</script>

Once that’s added you simply have to find where the WordPress “View Comments” link is displaying on your post pages and append #disqus_thread to the href attribute at the end of your link. For example:
<a href="<?php the_permalink(); ?>#disqus_thread">View Comments</a>

That’s it! Once the page loads it will use the javascript to pull in your dynamic post count from Disqus and replace the static “View Comments” link. To see it in action simply reload this page and keep an eye on the comment count above the post.

Facebook now seems poised to start making a major push to compete with the likes of Disqus and Echo, among others.

“Based on feedback from developers about ways to improve our existing comments plugin, we’re testing an updated plugin that leverages authenticity and social relevancy to increase distribution. We’re testing the plugin on our Facebook Blog and Developer Blog but have no further details to share at this time,” a facebook spokesperson wrote.

What do you think? Would you make the switch? Cast your vote below.

In an a post I wrote called How to: Build a Vibrant Community of Blog Commenters one of the points I made was “keeping it simple”. In other words, made it as simple as possible for your commenters to post, don’t make them jump through hoops just to leave some feedback on your site.

Disqus definitely meets this criteria by allowing your users to login three different ways to leave a comment on your site. I’m very impressed with the amount of growth I’ve seen in this commenting system and I will definitely be sticking with them for quite a while.

Plus, once you start commenting, not only on this blog, but on any blog or site using Disqus, even if you’re not a member now, you can sign up at Disqus and claim all of your comments which are stored in a blog format. It’s basically a great way for people to follow your train of though as you leave your mark around the web.

If you’re interested on using Disqus comments on your WordPress site, you should definitely check out the new and improved plugin. It’s incredibly easy to install and even has full integration with your existing WordPress comments. All of my old comments were automatically imported into the new system.

Please, feel free to give it a try and leave a comment or three. Although I must say I am finicky and while I sort of dig it now, I reserve the right to revert back to WordPress comments at any time.

Has anyone else with a WordPress blog made the switch to Disqus? Would love to hear your thoughts about it.