Have your say in Community Polls: What was/is your greatest motivation to start your own business?

Re: How do I respond to comments on blog posts

How do I respond to comments on blog posts

pjmmpls
Explorer
42 0 141

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

Replies 165 (165)
persephonelove
Tourist
13 0 12

Hi there, please add me to this list too. Part of the whole point of a blog is to be able to engage with people, so NOT having this feature is just silly. This shouldn't be something we have to pay extra just to have. With the current functionality lacking a reply feature, you're only essentially offering half of a service. Please fix, and please fix quickly! 😞

-Hazel Lehtonen @ Persephone Love

www.persephonelove.com

Store link within Shopify: https://persephone-love.myshopify.com/

KateShore
Tourist
9 0 50

It seems that the Shopify team may not be looking at this thread anymore because it was marked as solved. I started a new one called "Blog Comments" and encourage you to all add to it here:

 

https://community.shopify.com/c/Shopify-Discussion/Blog-comments/td-p/689392

pjmmpls
Explorer
42 0 141

I am assuming I am not the only person that would like this feature. It has been a few months since I asked about adding the feature to respond to a blog post. Have there been any updates in that area? It seems to be a rather nobrainer request, newspapers, reddit, FB, and so many other platforms have it! TIA

pjmmpls
Explorer
42 0 141

Ok checking back in? Has there been any solution to this issue? I am finding very few sites that people can not respond directly to other comments. I am wondering why this can be done here?

Eliz_MatchaAlt
Tourist
3 0 27

I'd like to add my voice to this request - please PLEASE please add this basic functionality as soon as possible. It's not reasonable to expect your Shopify customers to pay extra to reply to blog comments. This is 2020, and something that shouldn't be too hard to fix, but will make a big difference to all of us merchants (your customers!!). Thank you.

pjmmpls
Explorer
42 0 141

Please change this to not resolved! 

pjmmpls
Explorer
42 0 141

I have tried and it won't let me. I have also asked Shopify to change it. I am kicking myself for hitting the resolved button, I only meant to imply I heard their response, not that I accepted it!

KateShore
Tourist
9 0 50
@Rae - please the the other comments on this thread. It was marked solved by the poster by mistake. This is issue is NOT resolved. We need to be able to reply to comments via admin and to be notified when new comments are made on blog posts.
Jakob2
Excursionist
11 0 51
Admin: Please reopen the issue!
KateShore
Tourist
9 0 50

@Jakob2  @pjmmpls  @Dale_Horeczy  @Rae 

It seems that the Shopify team may not be looking at this thread anymore because it was marked as solved. I started a new one called "Blog Comments" and encourage you to all add to it here:

 

https://community.shopify.com/c/Shopify-Discussion/Blog-comments/td-p/689392

Rae
Shopify Staff (Retired)
1166 95 366

Hi, all! 

 

Thank you for continuing to reach out to share your feedback about this. I have submitted all of the feedback that has previously been shared with our teams already. 

 

As of today, the best method for replying directly to comments on blog posts is by following these steps that I previously shared: 

 

At this time, the best way to reply to blog comments is to go directly onto your site from your URL and visit your blog as if you were a customer, or a visitor, like you mentioned. Then, just reply to the comment there by using the field directly below the comment to enter in your information and type your reply. 

In addition to this, some of the apps that I mentioned originally may also be useful. 

 

However, I understand how beneficial it would be to reply to comments on blogs from within the Shopify admin, so I will continue to share your feedback about this with our teams. Please reply to me here with your .myshopify.com URL if you'd like to request this feature. Once I submit your feedback, I will 'Like'  your reply to indicate that I've sent your request to our teams for further review. 

 

We don't have any updates to share on this feature request at the moment, but if we do release more information, you can find this on our changelog and our Announcements page, so please keep an eye out there. In addition to this, it's important to note that we can't guarantee when, or if, this feature request will be considered by our teams. 

 

@pjmmpls I also wanted to confirm that I have removed the 'accepted solution' upon your request. 

 

Thanks, everyone! 

 

To learn more visit the Shopify Help Center or the Community Blog.

pjmmpls
Explorer
42 0 141

I am confused about you asking me if I want to request this feature? I thought that was implied through these many posts? My shop is Laughing Ogre Press. 

Eliz_MatchaAlt
Tourist
3 0 27

Hi Rae, 

Thank you for re-opening this ticket, and your response. I'm wondering if there's an issue that Shopify isn't aware of - you say in your message to "just reply to the comment there by using the field directly below the comment to enter in your information and type your reply." However, there is no field directly below the comment, there is only the option to write a brand-new, unrelated comment. 

Here is a screenshot of the comments section of our blog:

Can't Reply to Blog Comments.JPG

 

You can see, there is no way to reply to the comments at all. 

 

Our shop URL is https://matcha-alternatives.myshopify.com/admin and our public-facing URL is https://matchaalternatives.com/ and we would definitely definitely definitely like this basic feature.

 

Thank you and stay safe,

Elizabeth

robertsjetc
Visitor
1 0 2

I would like this feature as well! My shop is https://late-blooming-watercolors.myshopify.com/. Very disappointed today to learn this situation has not changed in years.

 

ETA: And what's worse is that I took the only work around and commented as a visitor to my site, but I still then have to go into my store back end and approve my own comment. This functionality is desperately needed as a quick look through the Shopify App store presents no viable alternatives.

lowbrowcustoms
Tourist
3 0 4

I am a Shopify Plus customer and I am throwing my vote in here for this functionality as well. Super basic, we need to be able to communicate directly with commenters on our blog, pairing the response to their initial comment.

 

This is very basic functionality, c'mon Shopify!! You are so good in so many ways, but certain things that are lacking really surprise me.

Sadie_
Tourist
8 0 4

We would very much like to be added to the list of businesses looking to reply to comments on our blog. This seems like a basic feature and it's so frustrating having to find work arounds for a simple task.

 https://bambushop.myshopify.com/, front facing URL is bambuhome.com

 

newbie2021
Tourist
8 0 5

Hello,

I have just moved to Shopify. It makes setting up an e-commerce store really easy. That's a great thing.

However, I have noticed that even for some basic features/functionality, we are expected to buy a paid app. That really annoys me.

For example. Being able to reply to comments in your blog, I would have thought this functionality should have come out of the box.

No one should be required to pay for that.  We are in 2020 and not 2000, please Shopify add this functionality.

Content-marketing is a big thing and not being able to communicate with your readers is a cardinal sin.

I see that this has been asked since 2014. Does this take 6 years to implement? If third-party folks can build an app for this, surely your developers should also be able to do better than them.

Asking your customers to pay for such a must have functionality on top of what they are already paying is so unacceptable.

My site name is - https://testshop20192020.myshopify.com/

Regards,

keith88
Excursionist
17 0 24

Absolutely critical functionality. Please ensure we are notified if a Shopify developed solution is implemented. rubiomonocoatusa.myshopify.com

 

@Rae Will someone commenting on a blog post get an email every time someone else comments or are no notifications sent? Either option is not-suitable for a blog as one seems spammy and the other is terrible customer service. 

Also, the customer email is already collected when they leave a comment!

 

IF reply button is clicked, SEND email notification once comment is approved. 

(I understand this is a gross simplification)

I could email each commenter individually but oh my goodness! What a pain! 

Rae
Shopify Staff (Retired)
1166 95 366

Hi, @keith88

 

Thanks for reaching out with this question, and sharing your feedback. 

 

Currently, Shopify does not send any notifications regarding new blog comments. However, I'd love to hear more about your ideal functionality for this, as well as what type of notification you're looking for. Please feel free to share some more details on this with me, and I'll be glad to submit this feedback to our teams. 

 

In the meantime, I've been passing all of the feedback already shared in this thread to our teams, and will continue to do so for new comments, too. Thank you all for sharing your experiences and insight. We take this type of feedback into consideration as we continue to build and improve our platform. 

 

Best, 

To learn more visit the Shopify Help Center or the Community Blog.

Animainbloom
Visitor
1 0 2

Hello,

 

Thank you for responding. This is a major problem for me. I have potential customers asking questions about my products via the blog and there is not even a reply button for me to answer their questions if I access comments via the front end. The person who commented will not even be notified that I have responded, and it will appear as though a random person has replied. I haven't fleshed out my blog yet, but it is an important part of generating traffic and I don't want it to malfunction or leave customers waiting. Are there any new developments?

Flaxa
Tourist
9 0 13

Same here, I was just getting some comments on my blog posts and couldn't find a reply-button.
Can't be, right? I am just not seeing it, right?
Asked Google, now I am here and kinda furious why this really a thing and after so many years that Shopify exists there still is no such (simple) feature.

It is really a big downer when you cannot reply to someone and the person does not even have the chance to be notified when I reply.
Posting a new comment on the front end is kinda hilarious in 2020 😕

Please add my voice to the "Reply-Function"-Counter, maybe it will help push this feature a little bit more to the top 😉

luckybreakacres
Visitor
2 0 4

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

frankieZing
Tourist
3 0 6

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
Tourist
9 0 13

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
Visitor
1 0 3

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
Explorer
42 0 141

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
Shopify Staff (Retired)
4531 434 1028

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 postsAt 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. 

To learn more visit the Shopify Help Center or the Community Blog.

pjmmpls
Explorer
42 0 141

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
Tourist
5 0 16

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
Visitor
1 0 3

@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
Visitor
1 0 2

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
Tourist
3 0 7

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
Visitor
1 0 6

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
Tourist
4 0 7

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

SEANHAWG
Shopify Partner
6 0 10

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
Visitor
1 0 1

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
Explorer
42 0 141

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
Shopify Staff (Retired)
4531 434 1028

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.

To learn more visit the Shopify Help Center or the Community Blog.

trachorn
Tourist
3 0 7

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
Shopify Staff (Retired)
4531 434 1028

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.

To learn more visit the Shopify Help Center or the Community Blog.

trachorn
Tourist
3 0 7

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
Explorer
42 0 141

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
Shopify Staff (Retired)
463 71 1239

@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 

TyW | Online Community Manager @ Shopify 
 - Was my reply helpful? Click Like to let me know! 
 - Was your question answered? Mark it as an Accepted Solution
 - To learn more visit the Shopify Help Center or the Shopify Blog

pjmmpls
Explorer
42 0 141

@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
Visitor
2 0 2

Hi Rae,

Has Shopify updated this feature yet?

itsOkay
Visitor
1 0 2

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
Visitor
1 0 2

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

MonsterMawd
Excursionist
28 0 64

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
Excursionist
20 0 11

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
Excursionist
10 0 13

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

www.emilyhare.co.uk