Add Profile Images to Blogger Comments

Today I will show you how easy it is to have Blogger (Blogspot) display profile images in the embedded comments section of your blog even if you are using a custom template.

About a month ago Blogger announced that it was enabling profile images (profile avatars) in the embedded comments section on Blogger (Blogspot) as part of its 10th birthday feature series. The new profile image feature which has been available on other commenting options has now been extended to the embedded comments option. This is good news if you are using a default template as you will now see a small avatar next to your visitors comments and your own avatar if you have uploaded a profile image.



Default Blogger Templates - Enabling Profile Images 
Profile images work on default Blogger templates and have been automatically enabled by Blogger. If you are using a default Blogger template with embedded comments enabled and have recent comments on a post you will see a profile image to the left of visitor comments (provided they have uploaded one that is). Your profile avatar will also display when you respond to visitor comments again provided you have uploaded one. (To upload your profile photo click on Add Photo at the Dashboard). If profile images are not displayed enable them by going to Settings > Comments and checking the Yesradio button at the bottom of the page which says Profile Images Enabled.

Custom Blogger Templates - Enabling Profile Images 
If you are using a custom template you may still be able to see profile images in your embedded comments section. Check out Settings > Comments to make sure Profile Images are enabled. If you can't see profile images you can still add this feature by tweaking your Blogger template. Follow the instructions below to have Blogger display profile images in the embedded comments section of your custom Blogger template.

Add Profile Images to Comments Section of a Custom Blogger Template
If you are using a custom Blogger template you can use the following method to add profile images to the embedded comments section of your Blogger template.

1. Login to Blogger if not already logged in
   
2. Go to Design > Edit HTML
   
3. Back up your Blogger template as a precaution by downloading the full template to your computer
   
4. Expand Widget Templates by checking the box on the right hand side
   
5. Find the following line in your Blogger template by using CTRL + F:
   

   <dl id='comments-block'>

   
   
6. Change the above line to the following:
   

   <dl expr:class='data:post.avatarIndentClass' id='comments-block'>

   
   
7. Scroll down a few lines and find the following line in your Blogger template:
   

   <a expr:name='data:comment.anchorName'/>

   
   
8. Directly before the above line paste the following code block:
   

   <b:if cond='data:comment.favicon'>
   <img expr:src='data:comment.favicon' height='35px' style='margin-bottom:-2px;' width='35px'/>
   </b:if>
   <a expr:name='data:comment.anchorName'/>
   <b:if cond='data:blog.enabledCommentProfileImages'>
   <data:comment.authorAvatarImage/>
   </b:if>

   
   
9. Click Save Template
   
10. Click View Blog and navigate to a page with commenting to see avatars next to comments in the embedded comments area

Tips and Troubleshooting

• If you have added the author commenting highlight hack to your Blogger template there will be 2 instances of the code at Step 7 to change
  
• If your template does not have the code mentioned in Step 5 and Step 6 check that dl has not be replaced by div. In this case leave the div as is and replace the rest of the code in the line.
  
• Blogger has only enabled profile images for Blogger and Google profiles so if your visitors comment using identities such as "Anonymous" or "Name/URL" their image profile will not be displayed. If OpenID, AIM or other identities are used these favicons will be displayed instead.
  
• Profile avatars load last so they will not prevent visitors viewing your content if you have a lot of comments on some pages

In today's Blogger tutorial (Blogspot tutorial) you have learned how to enable profile images in the embedded comments section in Blogger. If you are using a default Blogger template this can be achieved by enabling profile avatars in your Blogger template. If you are using a third party custom template I have shown you a Blogger hack that will display profile images next to comments on your blog. As always I am interested in how you get on with this tweak. Good luck!

How to Highlight Author Comments in Blogger Posts

In this Blogger tutorial I will show you how to highlight the author comments section of your Blogger template (Blogspot template)using CSS styling.

Benefits of Adding CSS Styling to Author Comments
If you are using a default Blogger template chances are it is difficult to differentiate between comments made by visitors and comments made by you, the blog author. If you only have a few comments per post that may not be enough of an issue for you. If however, you have some posts with lots of comments you may need to make your remarks stand out from those of your visitors. We can do that by adding CSS styling to highlight your author comments.

What Will I Learn in This Tutorial?
In this Blogger tutorial you will learn how to easily add some highlighting to your comments so that they will never get lost in the crowd again. This requires a small amount of tweaking to your Blogger template which is not difficult to do if care is taken. The image below shows one example of what can be achieved using this Blogger hack and some CSS styling.



Will This Blogger Hack Work on My Template?
I have tested this Blogger hack on both the old generation of Blogger templates (Minima and Sand Dollar) and the latest generation of default Blogger templates eg Simple. It will also work on custom templates as the comments code is likely to be very similar.

If you are using a custom Blogger template and run into difficulty you can also try this alternative method to highlight author comments in Blogger posts

How to Add CSS Styling to Author Comments in a Blogger Post
The following instructions will highlight author comments in the comments section of a Blogger post. The code creates a shaded box around the comments made by the blog author. These changes will not affect the CSS the styling of any of the other comments made.

Instructions to Add CSS Highlighting to Author Comments in Blogger

1. Login to Blogger
2. From the Dashboard go to Design > Edit HTML
3. Back up your template by downloading it to your computer
4. Check the Expand Widget Templates checkbox on the top righthand side
5. Use CTRL + F by entering the following into the search box
   

   <dd class='comment-body'>

6. Immediately above this line paste the following code:
   

   <b:if cond='data:comment.author == data:post.author'>
   <dd class='comment-body-author'>
   <p><data:comment.body/></p>
   </dd>
   <b:else/>

7. Now look for this code block
   

   <dd class='comment-body'>
   <b:if cond='data:comment.isDeleted'>
   <span class='deleted-comment'><data:comment.body/></span>
   <b:else/>
   <p><data:comment.body/></p>
   </b:if>
   </dd>

   
   and paste </b:if> immediately after it.
8. Your code will now look like this:
   

   <div expr:id='data:widget.instanceId + &quot;_comments-block-wrapper&quot;'>
   <dl expr:class='data:post.avatarIndentClass' id='comments-block'>
   <b:loop values='data:post.comments' var='comment'>
   <dt expr:class='&quot;comment-author &quot; + data:comment.authorClass' expr:id='data:comment.anchorName'>
   <b:if cond='data:comment.favicon'>
   <img expr:src='data:comment.favicon' height='16px' style='margin-bottom:-2px;' width='16px'/>
   </b:if>
   <a expr:name='data:comment.anchorName'/>
   <b:if cond='data:blog.enabledCommentProfileImages'>
   <data:comment.authorAvatarImage/>
   </b:if>
   <b:if cond='data:comment.authorUrl'>
   <a expr:href='data:comment.authorUrl' rel='nofollow'><data:comment.author/></a>
   <b:else/>
   <data:comment.author/>
   </b:if>
   <data:commentPostedByMsg/>
   </dt>
   
   
   <b:if cond='data:comment.author == data:post.author'>
   <dd class='comment-body-author'>
   <p><data:comment.body/></p>
   </dd>
   <b:else/>
   
   <dd class='comment-body' expr:id='data:widget.instanceId + data:comment.cmtBodyIdPostfix'>
   <b:if cond='data:comment.isDeleted'>
   <span class='deleted-comment'><data:comment.body/></span>
   <b:else/>
   <p>
   <data:comment.body/>
   </p>
   </b:if>
   </dd>
   
   </b:if>
   
   </dd>
   <dd class='comment-footer'>
   <span class='comment-timestamp'>
   <a expr:href='data:comment.url' title='comment permalink'>
   <data:comment.timestamp/>
   </a>
   <b:include data='comment' name='commentDeleteIcon'/>
   </span>
   </dd>
   </b:loop>
   </dl>
   </div>

9. Now using CTRL + F again find this line ]]></b:skin>
10. Paste the following immediately before ]]></b:skin>
    

    .comment-body-author {
    background: #f5deb3;
    border: 2px solid #de7008;
    padding: 5px;
    }

11. Save your template changes
12. Click on View Blog and go to a post that you have commented on to see the CSS styling has highlighted your comments.

Alternative Method to Add Highlighting to Author Comments in Blogger
The following method will also add highlighting to author comments in Blogger and can be used if you have difficulty with the first method. It does however involve changing some code rather than just adding some so this is not as desirable in terms of future proofing your template for Blogger updates. 

1. Login to Blogger
2. From the Dashboard go to Design > Edit HTML
3. Back up your template by downloading it to your computer
4. Check the Expand Widget Templates checkbox on the top righthand side
5. Find the following section of code by using CTRL + F and entering <data:comment.body/> into the search box
   

   <span class='deleted-comment'><data:comment.body/></span>
   <b:else/>
   <p><data:comment.body/></p>
   <b:include data='comment' name='commentDeleteIcon'/>
   </b:if>

6. Replace with the following code after <span class='deleted-comment'> and before </b:if> as shown in red:
   

   <span class='deleted-comment'>
   <!--Highlight Author Comments Start-->
   <b:if cond='data:comment.author == data:post.author'>
   <p class='comment-body-author'><data:comment.body/></p>
   <b:else/>
   <p><data:comment.body/></p>
   </b:if>
   <!--Highlight Author Comments End-->
   </b:if>

7. Use CTRL + F to find ]]></b:skin> that closes the CSS styling section
8. Paste the following code immediately above ]]></b:skin>
   

   p.comment-body-author {
   background: #eeeecc;
   border: 2px solid #335577;
   padding: 5px;
   color:#558866;
   }

9. Save your template
10. Click on View Blog and navigate to a post that you have commented on to see the that your comments will now be highlighted

In this Blogger tutorial you have learned two different methods to add CSS styling to highlight the author comments in your Blogger posts. Obviously there is still some work to do on your part to adjust the colors in the CSS styling to match the color scheme of your blog. Good luck!

Add a Comments Counter Button to Blogger Blogspot

In this Blogger tutorial (Blogspot tutorial) you will learn how to add a comments counter button to Blogger (Blogspot) to show off the number of comments each of your posts has received.

A comment counter button (bubble) will have the effect of encouraging visitors to comment on your Blogger blog and also help to highlight the credibility of your articles.


Installing this Blogger hack to add a comment counter button only takes a few minutes. The changes needed to add the comment bubble to Blogger while not difficult do involve adding a small snippet of code to your Blogger template in two places. For this reason I strongly urge you to back up your Blogger template before attempting this blogger hack.

Blogger Tutorial Difficulty - easy to medium

How to Add a Comments Counter Bubble to Blogger
A Step-by-Step Walkthrough
The following steps will insert a fully clickable comments counter button on the same line as the post title in Blogger. The comments counter is right aligned by default.

1. Log in to Blogger and the blog you wish to apply these changes to
   
2. Select Design > Edit HTML
   
3. Click on Download Full Template to back up your template before you make any changes
   
4. Check the Expand Widget Templates box
   
5. In the CSS Styling section of your Blogger template and just before the ]]></b:skin>
   

   .comments-button {
   width : 48px;
   height : 48px;
   background : url(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8bU7uHm6pfuCr6DpmLLvEOVkiU2CkQfmhjsYX0hwZFcAYWV5DLEjur_PlSxAu8RvlxsMp7K3_zqdhpT3c-a-aF-4isH_zMrKzfIZ9fQ-b-krT1j-PRAuaqnzh8kTfRg_AYpzMTrogNp1C/s200/comment-counter-bubble.png) no-repeat;
   float : right;
   font-size : 18px;
   margin-top : -15px;
   margin-right : 2px;
   text-align : center;
   padding-top:10px;
   }

   
   
6. Now find the following block of code using CTRL key + F
   

   <b:includable id='post' var='post'>
   <div class='post hentry uncustomized-post-template'>
   <a expr:name='data:post.id'/>
   <b:if cond='data:post.title'>
   <h3 class='post-title entry-title'>
   <b:if cond='data:post.link'>
   <a expr:href='data:post.link'><data:post.title/></a>

   
   
7. Copy this code block:
   

   <b:if cond='data:post.allowComments'>
   <a class='comments-button' expr:href='data:post.addCommentUrl' expr:onclick='data:post.addCommentOnclick'><data:post.numComments/></a>
   </b:if>

   
   
8. Insert as follows:
   

   <b:includable id='post' var='post'>
   <div class='post hentry uncustomized-post-template'>
   <a expr:name='data:post.id'/>
   <b:if cond='data:post.title'>
   <h3 class='post-title entry-title'>
   <b:if cond='data:post.allowComments'>
   <a class='comments-button' expr:href='data:post.addCommentUrl' expr:onclick='data:post.addCommentOnclick'><data:post.numComments/></a>
   </b:if>
   <b:if cond='data:post.link'>
   <a expr:href='data:post.link'><data:post.title/></a>

   
   
9. Save template and then view blog to admire your new comment counter badge.

Tips and Troubleshooting

1. If you prefer you can replace the button image I have provided with your own image. You can find other buttons easily enough by doing a Google search with a term like "speech button icons".
   Upload your button to a hosting service such as Photobucket and change the URL address of the image in the CSS styling section. The following example will render a smaller blue button. Note I have reduced the font size to accommodate the change. You may need to play around with the settings to get the font sizing right for your image.
   

   .comments-button {
   width : 48px;
   height : 48px;
   background : url(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisT_Aqgowe8DJ8JbAk4Ps56Xg4V3L4uxsOZnGesEf0ufYmxkLZc5nNK2CQhltgfCrI66zRZBks_aC2lf-QK1cr94r7vIW8KmPddBcFQ1EcfT4bkxAzWR_3nUT89pCj3CSlJaZ8pblBpPep/s200/comment-counter-bubble-2.png) no-repeat;
   float : right;
   font-size : 14px;
   margin-top : -15px;
   margin-right : 2px;
   text-align : center;
   padding-top:10px;
   }

   
   
2. If you want your comment counter to be left aligned instead of right you will need to change the CSS styling from float:right; tofloat:left;

In today's Blogger tutorial I have covered how to add a comments counter to a Blogger blog (blogspot blog) that will appear to the right of your blog post title. A comments counter is a way to encourage visitors to comment and is a way of showing off the credibility of your blog posts. Good luck! Any comments about installing this blogger hack are most welcome.