Tools for Your Blog Readers

26. Jun, 2007 5 Comments - Leave your comment

Readers appreciation blog tools A special host has special guests. A special blog has special readers. A special blogger provides readers with special tools to make them feel comfortable, and to help them enjoy the great content of the blog.
What tools do you offer to your special readers?

Here’s a list of ideas from Readers Appreciation Project:

1. Give your readers the possibility to edit their comments: WP Ajax Edit Comments WordPress plugin. We all make mistakes when typing. But only those of us who read blogs which use this plugin have the chance to correct them.

2. Give them the possibility to change the font size: wp-chfontsize WordPress plugin. Many people don’t know or forget that they can do this from their browser. Why not making it easier?

3. Promote appreciation between your readers: Brian’s Threaded Comments WordPress plugin. Your readers will be allowed to answer directly other readers’ comments, thus enhancing interactivity on your blog and appreciation (or disputes?) between your readers.

4. Let your readers see your blog the way they like it: Theme Switcher WordPress plugin. What bigger sign of appreciation do you want, than letting you change my site’s appearance as you wish? Wouldn’t you, my reader, feel a little bit like a web designer yourself?

5. Offer your readers the spoken alternative to your blog posts: WordPress Odiogo ListenButton plugin. Why not make it easier for visually impaired readers to hear your thoughts? As this plugin comes with the possibility for readers to get your feed on the iPod or other mp3 player, everybody can benefit from it.

Any more ideas? Which of the above do you see as offering added value for your readers?

5 Comments on “Tools for Your Blog Readers” - Add yours!

Ronald Huereca Reply 26. Jun, 2007 at 9:38 am

I really like the font-size WordPress plugin. I’m on the line on the threaded comments simply because I haven’t seen a good implementation yet (from a design perspective).

I’ve seen the theme-switcher used on other blogs, but haven’t played with it much. From my forum days, I know that each new theme adds one more additional headache when new software (WordPress updates) is released.
Simonne Reply 26. Jun, 2007 at 11:52 pm

The theme-switcher can also be dangerous from another point of view: you have to pay attention at all changes you make to the code (you have to make them across all themes).
Bes Reply 29. Jun, 2007 at 11:24 pm

Nice article Simonne. Allowing users to edit their comments can be a good thing on many levels.

The font-change plugin should help, as I am trying to let my friends decide on their own what kind of a style they want. Thanks.

I like Brian’s threaded comments plugin, but the only reason I am not using it right now is because of its uninstallation drawback: if I remove the plugin, the comments appear weird. For example, if you and Ronald comment, and I reply to your comment first, and then to your comment, removing this plugin results in the following comment order:

Ronald’s comment
Simonne’s comment
Bes’s reply to Ronald
Bes’s reply to Simonne

It becomes messy if there are many comments. For example, check out this thread:

Example of comments after Briands threaded comments is uninstalled

It makes my comments look weird, right? It seems as if I am talking to myself. I wonder if there is a way to have that plugin sort comments in a way so that when the plugin is uninstalled, it puts each reply comment right under the comment for which it is a response to. Maybe changing the timestamp for each reply will help? Many wordpress plugins today do not know how to work considering the fact that a blogger may uninstall the plugin; why not work in a way so that once a plugin is uninstalled, things are not left messy?

I have to try the Theme Switcher, though I think I am going to use it a lot since in the future I want readers to choose between multiple themes.

Regarding Odiogo, I saw it last month and it seems interesting. It is an excellent concept and I am going to implement it soon, as I want everyone to access my site. I myself hate being excluded from things, and thus visually impaired readers who may be stuck with browsers that do not do a good job can benefit from this.

Thanks Simonne! This helps. I think all of the above points can add value to my site and to almost every site, though the threaded comments plugin above is something that I am really hoping to have a fix for.
Simonne Reply 30. Jun, 2007 at 10:40 am

Thank you Bes, for your comments. I did not try Brian’s Threaded Comments, but I was strongly considering to implement it on my blog. I was not aware it causes such things. I hope they’ll fix it soon.
Ronald Huereca Reply 01. Jul, 2007 at 4:24 pm

Simonne,

I don’t think it’s a bug Bes is mentioning. But it is a problem when you uninstall the plugin in the future if you tend to do a lot of replying to individual comments.