5 Ways To Get The Most Out of Intense Debate

Those of you who have been following this blog have probably seen the Disqus comment box at the end of each post. Disqus is a wonderful comment management system. But it’s not for everyone. In fact, Intense Debate has performed a lot better on my other sites (which is why our team will be changing from Disqus to Intense Debate on all our sites). Intense Debate is very similar to Disqus, but it’s supported by the folks behind WordPress. It’s no wonder Intense Debate is easy to install and get a handle on.

Installing Intense Debate on a blog is just a start. There are plenty of things you can do to get the most out of the system. If you have just switched to Intense Debate or are planning to, here are 5 ways you can optimize your Intense Debate install:

1. Manage Users: one of the biggest issues that top bloggers have to deal with is spam. Spammers always seem to find new ways to get around our systems and add their nonsense. With Intense Debate, you can not only filter spammers, you can ban their IPs and filter profanity too. You can even define additional moderators for your blog if you have a growing team.

2. Add Plugins: this service has a ton of plugins. You can enable video comments and do all kinds of neat things on your blog. I have turned on YouTube videos, PollDaddy, and Seesmic video comment plugin on my other blogs.

3. Customize CSS: this is my favorite feature. With Intense Debate, you have a lot of flexibility when it comes to customizing the look and feel of your comment section. The instructions are very clear, and you don’t have to be a coding genius to get it done.

4. Customize Layout: I love the fact that you can change the behavior of your comment section. You can make it act as a pop up or just the standard way. It only take a couple of clicks to make the change .

5. Comment Luv: this is my favorite plugin and a great way to reward your loyal visitors and those who take time to comment on your blog. This plugin will automatically grab the latest post by your readers and links back to their site.

You can spend days and months trying to master what Intense Debate has to offer. But the above 5 items should give you some ideas.