How do I respond to comments on blog posts

[pjmmpls]

Hi, I searched and found an answer to my question from 2010. I am wondering if things have been updated? I would like to respond directly to comments (similar to how it works on FB or IG)  and not have to add them as a visitor does. Is this possible?

Thank you for your help!

Pam

[luckybreakacres]

I am interested in having a reply feature for comments on my blog. My url is lucky-break-acres.myshopify.com 

[frankieZing]

I have just used a work around that helps keep the conversation going: in your 'manage comments' section in admin, you can see the email address of the person who commented. So, as well as replying 'as a visitor' on the blog post page, you can email the person letting them know you've replied. You can include a link to the actual blog post comment (when you create a comment it generates an updated url with the comment number appended).

[Flaxa]

I have just used a work around that helps keep the conversation going: in your 'manage comments' section in admin, you can see the email address of the person who commented. So, as well as replying 'as a visitor' on the blog post page, you can email the person letting them know you've replied. You can include a link to the actual blog post comment (when you create a comment it generates an updated url with the comment number appended).

@frankieZing  Thats not a bad workaround if you have not that many comments to manage and I don't know about other parts of the world, but at least in Germany (maybe even EU?) it is mostly forbidden to contact the customer if he/she has not agreed with that.
I could imagine getting in trouble because of something like that. Unlikely, because it is the customer that is asking a question, but possible.

A reply function with some kind of notification system for the customer would be greatly appreciated! 🙂

[AlanaE]

I completely agree.  I've just migrated over from WordPress and am flabbergasted that replying to a comment requires a workaround.  It should be as easy as it is for this feed I'm replying to right now.  Hmmm...

Mark me down as unimpressed and looking for a reply/notification to be considered a basic (read - unpaid) blog expectation.

A

[pjmmpls]

Hi Rae,

It has now been over a year since I contacted you and there are 6 pages of comments with people asking for the same product. Ironically I am replying to your response, which is on a Shopify run site. How is that even possible I can do this here but you (Shopify) can't add it to our sites? At this point, I am now assuming this issue has no importance to the Shopify design team. I would imagine many people would have increased sales, which would benefit Shopify.

So what is the update?

Remaining confused, frustrated, and kinda mad, Pam @lLaughing Ogre Press

[Nick]

Thanks, @pjmmpls, and others for your feedback. 

We understand your desire for this feature and are capturing feedback for our product teams' consideration and review whenever shared per @Rae 's previous posts. At this time we do not have any information to provide beyond we are capturing feedback so please continue to share detailed examples of why this feature is valuable as it helps highlight the value and impact for our product team. If this feature comes to fruition we will do our best follow-up. We also recommend bookmarking and visiting the Shopify Changelog every so often as well, Thanks. 

[pjmmpls]

So @Nick, please respond to this is a very specific question myself and many other would like the answer to. Why is the technology available to this very response I am typing right now, but it can't be added to our shops?

Not to be a broken record, but this is ridiculous!

[AS_Bloom]

Surely the length of time that users have been asking for this feature should also be taken into account...not just the number of people actively asking for it. I hope this request is being fast-tracked since it's been so long. The ability to reply to blog comments is not an "out there" request. It's so basic that I frankly can't believe that Shopify didn't include it to begin with. It's like building a house and not creating any doors between the rooms.

[krittle]

@Nick Just to add to this thread how important the need for a simple "Reply" button is on blog comments.  I have customers actually asking specific questions and I cannot reply to them directly on the blog??  That is unacceptable.  Within a couple of minutes, I was able to reply to your message.  It should be as simple.

Furthermore, how does the customer know that we have posted a reply using the current platform?  Are they notified by email?  That would mean that every commenter is notified that a comment was posted since one cannot reply to any directly?  This is a necessary function.  People are asking questions about orders, etc.  It is invaluable.  Please add this feature!!

[thediywarrior]

Nick, 

I am in the same boat as others on this topic. This seems like a very basic, out of the box feature that should be built out immediately. Had I known there was an inability to interact with site visitors commenting on blog posts prior to selecting Shopify as my blog site, I would have went in a completely different direction. As bloggers we need to interact with readers leaving comments as it is singlehandedly the most important step to keeping an engaged audience, and one that continues to come back to your site. Please escalate this to top and get this done for the community. It appears this thread has had so many requests with some over a year old and no resolution...

[trachorn]

Nick and Rae, the purpose of comments on a blog is so that people can comment, and the assumption is that you can also respond to their comment. For example, "Wow, I love the green shirt, when will you have it available?" If you're the next commenter, maybe using the customer facing side kind of works. But what if you have a popular post and your response is two or three lines down? Also, people expect a reply to be broken out as a reply, not as another comment somewhere down the list.

Please implement a reply function. The comments section is broken without it.

[mavenandsmith]

Just chiming in to agree with others who have said this simple feature should be a priority. In a world where customer reviews and feedback are paramount, users expect to see brands responding directly to comments - especially if there is a question or concern. It really looks bad when we are not able to do this. This is a straightforward blog function that should be part of the Shopify platform. Thank you for your consideration in this.

[Colleen_O_Conn1]

It's nuts that we can't be notified and respond ot blog questions from customers.  This is such a basic functionality!

[SEANHAWG]

This is another one of those Shopify Head Scratching Whoppers. Similar to not having the ability to assign different sized boxes to different products.
Shopify has the best ecommerce platform by far so when we see no-brainer stuff like this it just makes us go WTH?

Please go slap someone on the head to make this get developed. Should be easy!

[RhiannonTST]

I agree this is poor form on shopify's end for not enabling a BASIC function.

I'd really like to reply to customer's comments on blog posts internally - so that they may even get a notification that it's been replied to

[pjmmpls]

Hi Rae,

could you please give us an update or an explanation, or a link to a person that can explain to us why we haven't received an answer to why I can reply to your comments here but you won't activate the same courtesy to our clients?  

Thanks, Pam

Laughing Ogre Press

[Nick]

Hi all,

When there is information to share we will provide an update. To keep the thread on topic, with feedback prominently shown we will remove posts asking for an update going forward.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

[trachorn]

To reiterate, since we now know you're reading this: The Shopify blog is broken without a reply function. A reply function is assumed for any blog that allows comments.

Even though this statement will cause this post to be deleted, you (Nick) will have at least read it: Requesting an acknowledgment every 4 months that you are aware of something that your customers believe to be a major issue (and that you are passing that feedback on to the appropriate department) is not a ridiculous request (nor is it off topic). Shopify advertises that its system includes a blog, but the functionality is so bad that one person in this thread just said that he's having to look other places. I would be too, if I were making larger use of the blog (which I should be, but it's broken, so it's low on my very long to do list). pjmmpls' question about why this comment thread has a reply function but it can't be integrated into our blogs also isn't unreasonable or off topic. Literally the only thing you have to say is, "The code that this board is based on is different from the code in the blogs, and unfortunately it's not that simple of a fix," and pjmmpls (and the rest of us) will feel like we've been heard.

I am surprised and disappointed by Shopify that you wish to silence people asking for an update, and am submitting a complaint about this to customer service.

[Nick]

Hi @trachorn,

---

"The code that this board is based on is different from the code in the blogs, and unfortunately it's not that simple of a fix," and pjmmpls (and the rest of us) will feel like we've been heard.

---

The community you are using here is a separate platform than the platform used to power your Shop. They are not connected. Due to volume we cannot provide proactive ‘stay tuned’ updates. Instead, we stay on top of our feature requests through a tight feedback loop with our product teams which is how we are informed of change when it occurs, at which point we follow up in topics like this. I understand the importance of this feature but can confirm we are not dismissing feedback. We are trying to keep this topic on point with feedback versus posts asking for updates that can clutter things and result in duplicate feedback being submitted.

[trachorn]

Thank you for your reply, Nick. I appreciate you taking the time to respond, and I recognize and appreciate that the volume of requests and updates that you have to deal with on a daily basis makes it difficult to keep up with everything.

I do still want to encourage regular check-ins with Shopify's customers who have concerns about the platform. It can be as simple as, "We hear you and we're passing everything on, but I don't have any updates at this time." That's basically what you posted in November, as I recall. If Shopify can do that every few months in active threads, then people won't start getting worked up about not being heard. If the moderators don't have the time, have a bot (or intern) do it. We won't know the difference.

Feel free to delete after reading if you want. This post is actually off topic, after all, but I don't know another way to send something directly to you.

[pjmmpls]

Hi, 

If possible will you share with me any response you get from customer service, I have not had much luck with them either. Although, that was almost 2 years ago. 

Thanks, Pam

[TyW]

@pjmmpls , we are not censoring - your post wasn't removed.  

What we are going to be doing is removing posts that asks for an update only since they create clutter in the thread and result in duplicate feedback as others discover this topic. This is based on past experience with several other popular feature request topics.Your post asked for an update, and included a question so I apologize for @Nick failing to address that initially.

He did provide feedback about your question here, but did not tag you - sorry.

To recap, this community, and your Shop use two different platforms so this isn't a case of Shopify choosing to not 'enable' an option - these are two separate properties.

@trachorn, I received your support ticket and thank you for the feedback. We are trying to implement some automation here but for now rely on our feedback loops internally so when we are told 'Feature X has been delivered' we can take action and follow-up on our tickets, and topics such as this one. 

To all, we understand how important this feature is, and your feedback has been previously captured, and continues to be captured but due to volume we are unable to reply to every 'is there an update' type post that comes in which is why we post a statement like we did to let you know we will update the moment there is more information to share. 

Thank for your understanding 

[pjmmpls]

@Nick, 

So to better understand your response you are saying you are deleting my posts and not answering my questions. I am extremely concerned about the censoring of this issue. My posts are mine they were not offensive. They were me showing concern for a much-needed function.

I am now more than ever disappointed with the customer service offered by Shopify.

With regrets, Pam Mehlin

Laughing Ogre Press

[CarolineNicks]

Hi Rae,

Has Shopify updated this feature yet?

[itsOkay]

We are now 3 years later and this is still not possible. We get a lot of comments on our blogs and can't respond properly. Can this please be updated soon?

[K3V3N]

Yes, please add a better way for blog writer to receive notifications and to respond to readers. 🙂 

[MonsterMawd]

We create the content in our blogs that drives traffic to our Shopify store. Not allowing us to respond to blog posts hurts sales. It stunts our store's growth, which ultimately hurts Shopify's revenue. I do believe Shopify will fix this oversight, but we have to keep this topic alive.

[Fenriz]

They don't seem to care at all. Had I  known I would have to search for third party apps for everything I would have not chosen Shopify.

[Artbyemilyhare]

Yeah, super frustrating. It is such a ballache to change sites though, I'm kind of stuck with it I think at the moment. 😕

[MonsterMawd]

I understand it's hard to justify the expense of apps, esp when you're small, but they are write-offs for your business. Trust me, when you have good year in sales, these annoying write-offs add up and save you from owing alot in taxes. Your business must registered with state and federal, so you're given a tax ID (if you havent already).

I've been doing e-commerce since 2001. I moved to Shopify in 2019 by the advice of a friend already on it. It's SEO is unmatched by any other e-store because Shopify uses Google Cloud to power its platform. What does this mean? If you setup your product pages correctly, ie: good photos with white background, long description with key search terms, you'll be easily discovered in Google searches. Shopify allows you to easily plug-in your store to Google Shopping. Google just launched a massive billboard AD campaign to attract the public into using Google Shopping.    

Keep this thread alive. Shopify added the ablility to BLOCK people in live chat, because disgruntled owners came here and kept the request thread alive. 

[Artbyemilyhare]

Of course it's a tax write off, however for a blog system to not have a built in replying system already there is BONKERS. 

[keith88]

Agree! I really want the blog comments feature to be added and robust, but this will only be further helped if everyone keeps requesting it. Shopify took years to add the customer merge feature but that launched recently. Still have fingers crossed that one day this will be added, but I am not hopeful for anytime in the near future.

[MonsterMawd]

Yes, it's very annoying since our blog content drives a great deal of traffic. 

[Carol_AJS]

@MonsterMawd I agree that Shopify is a fantastic site and it does everything we want and more.  However, I believe that if you can't respond to comments, there should be no functionality to leave a comment, as this does hurt your business.  As far as paying for another app., that's probably what we will do but this is basic functionality that should be included, in my opinion.

[Tanya64]

It's now 2023 and there's still no option for store owners to directly reply to blog post comments.  

Come on Shopify! Rae said back in 2019 that if enough people were interested you'd do something about it.  You just have to look at the years of comments to know it's a priority for store owners.  And I have to agree with the comment above "This is such a basic feature and the problem shouldn't even exist"