How to add comments in blog posts on GitHub Pages websites

2 minute read

This, https://gabrielstaples.com/, is my Github Pages static website and blog, powered by the Jekyll static site generator, based on a custom-modified version of the Minimal Mistakes Jekyll theme, and written in the efficient, fast, and easy-to-read markup language called markdown.

This website is hosted on GitHub and configured with my custom domain.

I’ve added GitHub-Issue-based comments to the bottom of this website using the plugin called utterances, which is totally awesome and makes it trivial to add a beautiful and user-friendly commenting system to your static website or blog.

Scroll to the bottom and leave a comment if you like. No spam or swearing. I moderate everything.

See also my answer here: WebApps.StackExchange.com: How to add comments in blog posts on GitHub-pages websites.

Utterances (what I currently use on this very website, and recommend)

  1. Utterances main page & installation info.: https://utteranc.es/
  2. Utterances GitHub repo: https://github.com/utterance/utterances
  3. You must install the utterances plugin into your GitHub account, here: https://github.com/apps/utterances
    1. GitHub lets you install this app for all of your repositories, or just repositories you select, which is nice. You may just want to install it on GitHub Pages repos you have, since it only needs access to those repos.
    2. Make sure your repos using utterances are public, or else readers won’t be able to view the issues/comments, or comment.

Other options

Other options also exist. Michael Rose, the creator of the #1 most popular GitHub-Pages-compatible minimal-mistakes Jekyll theme (see a demo here), has put together a short list of commenting systems here.

  1. Disqus
  2. Discourse
  3. Facebook
  4. utterances - my favorite, since it is Free and Open Source (MIT license) and no-cost, and uses convenient GitHub Issues as the commenting system. GitHub Issues comments have excellent markdown support, allow inserting nicely-formatted code blocks right into them, can be edited indefinitely, moderated by you (including editing or deleting comments which are inappropriate), and responded to with upvote buttons–all reasons I like them.
  5. Staticman
  6. Giscus - inspired by Utterances, and brought to my attention by @Henry C in his comment here.

See also

  1. Setting up a GitHub Pages site with Jekyll
  2. https://www.markdownguide.org/getting-started/
  3. GitHub Docs: Basic writing and formatting syntax
  4. Bitbucket tutorial: MarkdownDemo

» You may leave “test comments” below this article. No flagrant spam or self-promotion. I moderate. «

Leave a comment

Comments are powered by Utterances. A free GitHub account is required. Comments are moderated. Be respectful. No swearing or inflammatory language. No spam.
I reserve the right to delete any inappropriate comments. All comments for all pages can be viewed and searched online here.

To edit or delete your comment: Option 1 (recommended): click the date just above your comment, ex: the just now or 5 minutes ago (or equivalent) part where it says YOUR_NAME commented just now or YOUR_NAME commented 5 minutes ago, etc., or Option 2: click the "Comments" link at the top of the comments section below where it says how many comments have been left. Option 1 will take you directly to your comment on GitHub. Option 2 will take you to a GitHub page with all comments for this page. Then: --> find your comment on this GitHub page and click the 3 dots in the top-right of your comment --> click "Edit" or "Delete". Editing or adding a comment from the GitHub page also gives you a nicer editor.