So, I’ve been blogging for quite some time now, and I follow hundreds of book blogs – literally, hundreds. But there’s something I’ve always wanted to know.
Why do some blogs not have “like” buttons for their posts?
I mean, having a “like” button is very convenient for me. It means I can visit someone’s blog, look at their post and let them know that I like it without having to leave a comment. Mind you, when I have something to say, I will comment on those posts even if I can’t hit a like button along the way. But sometimes I don’t have anything to say (shocker, I know), and I just want that blogger to know I appreciate them and the hard work that goes into writing a blog post.
Back when I was on Blogspot, I actually went out of my way to put in a “like” button for my posts. Okay, so it was a Facebook like button, but even so, I was really glad I did it because I got essentially NO comments when I was using that platform. This is not hyperbole here – I started blogging in 2013, and there are all of FIVE (count them, 5) comments on my blog here. I also tried to put up another way for people to comment, and that got me maybe another 2-3 comments, at best. So, having a “like” button there was one way to see if I people were actually reading my posts.
Now that I’m on WordPress, I really appreciate that this platform lets you put a “like” button on all your posts with just the click of a box. But I’ve also seen some WP blogs that don’t have them.
We won’t even discuss how I follow several blogs where no matter what I do, I can’t seem to comment on them, and invariably, these don’t have like buttons either.
So…
- Does your blog platform let you have a “like” button?
- If so, do you choose to have one your posts?
- If not, why do you not want a “like” button?
- If your platform doesn’t have a “like” button option, would you want one?
- Do you even like the idea of a “like” button at all?
(PSST: Blogspot bloggers… if you want to add a “like” button to your blog, I just found this site that has a demo and everything to help you add a like button to your blog! And for your WordPress bloggers who don’t have a like button yet, click here and scroll about half way down the page to find out how to add one to your blog!)
Please tell me your answers to these questions in the comments.
This post is my second entry in the 2020 Discussion Challenge, hosted by Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction and Shannon @ It Starts at Midnight!
The Chocolate Lady's Book Review Blog 
Reader, I clicked it!
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Hehehehe! Thanks!
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I think it depends on the platform. I have WordPress.org and would need to download a plugin for that. I do have share buttons and follow buttons.
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Actually… In WordPress to turn Likes on or off:
Go to My Site(s).
Click on Tools → Marketing.
Click on Sharing Buttons.
Check the box next to Show like button.
Click Save Changes.
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At several of our blogs we do have “Like” buttons, so people can let us know that they enjoyed the article. Though writing about not such a popular subject, and being lovers of the Only One true God, Jehovah, Who is One, we do not find many people liking our articles. Perhaps people sometimes forget that clicking such “Like” button not only lets us know what sort of article might interest the reader, how they liked or disliked it or did not have a particular interest in it, but also gives us some encouragement, which can be useful to continue the (hard) or intensive work writing might demand.
For us, the “Like” buttons on other sites are also interesting to let our readers know what we do find worthwhile to read. There is so much to read, we can not read all the blogs. Therefore it is a great help when bloggers show their readers what articles they liked or found interesting. This way we and others can gain time by coming straight ahead by interesting articles;
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I have a Like button and I prefer when posts I read have one too so I can tell the blogger I’ve read their post and enjoyed it. Sometimes, a glitch makes my button disappear and it drives me mad!
I talked with a couple of bloggers who decided not to have a Like button because they were after comments, to have a real discussion. To each their view!
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Yeah, I hate it when the like button won’t show up, too!
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I do have one and I appreciate it when other blogs do, too, for much the reason you suggest. I don’t always have something to say, but I do want to leave some record I’ve been by to read. I’m sure I occasionally get “likes” from people who haven’t read, but I don’t mind. People are busy and if they take the time to wave as they wander by, that’s ok with me.
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Often that what comes up in our mind to say, is already said by an other reader. Duplication can be avoided by such like buttons as well, Not always there have to be words added. For visual blogs, just showing a photo such “Like” button gives than a nice way to show appreciation for sharing such a beautiful or interesting photograph.
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Thank you, thank you, thank you!! It drives me crazy, for the same reasons. I could be the grandmother to the hundreds (yes, me too) of book blog authors I visit, and obviously, many end up talking about books I have no interest in. But I would love to encourage the bloggers, telling them I visited, even though I really don’t have anything else to say. And I’m always, why on earth isn’t there any like button here?
Or a sharing button. There are so many blog posts I could reshare on twitter and facebook. You can have this button on Blogger, even if you don’t have a twitter or facebook account yourself. It’s easy to add, it’s part of the Blogger edits.
And this problem with like buttons is one of the reasons I left Blogger for WordPress.
Another thing that drives me crazy is the ID when people leave comments. Many have just their IP or an email address, or a broken website link. By principle, I like to visit and comment on the blog of the person who has just left a comment on mine. But sometimes, it’s hard work to find their blog. I wish everybody would update their ID, plus it would bring them more traffic.
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You are very welcome. I’m glad that I found this opportunity to put out there the things that need discussing among bloggers. Misery loves company, right?
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Ahhh, such a great discussion post! I often find myself metaphorically screaming LET ME LOVE YOU when I read a post but don’t have enough to say to warrant a comment… only to find they don’t have likes enabled. I find this most often on self-hosted wordpress blogs, and I think it is because they don’t realize it can be anabled really easily in jetpack settings.
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Okay, confession: I’ve been blogging for seven years now, most of them on WordPress, and I have no idea how to add a like button to my posts. I have social sharing but not the ability to Like. I just went to see if I could figure it out, but I have no idea where the option is to add it!
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Okay, so… go here https://en.support.wordpress.com/likes/ and about half way down the page you’ll see how to turn on the like button for WordPress! Hope that helps!
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Thanks so much for the info! I have a self-hosted WordPress site, so it doesn’t seem to work according to those instructions, but after doing some more web searching, I did find that it’s an option in my Jetpack plugin. I just turned it on and we’ll see how it works out. (I’d love it if you could go over there and like a post for me so I can make sure it works!)
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BINGO! You did it! Brava!
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I was so excited to see this post! As a new blogger there are so many things I’m learning and still confused about, and one of them is why on some blogs when I click the ‘like’ button, it doesn’t work. I can’t click it on this post, for example, which is pretty ironic. Ha! I’ve allowed pop-ups, too, but that doesn’t seem to change anything. So, at least now I know it’s not just happening to me. 😉
I have a WordPress blog and I love having the ‘like’ button, too!
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You are welcome! Keep doing what you’re doing. You’re on the right track!
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It can be a matter of your safety rules. By your Adblocker you should allow social reactions.
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Oh ok. I’ll give that a try! Thank you. 😊
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Interesting! I have never clicked the like button on a blog, and I don’t have one on my blog. I guess I’ll look into getting a like button. I’ve never felt like I needed one.
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Really! I hope you do get one. So far, everyone seems to believe they’re a good idea.
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You also may not forget a “Like” button can bring like minded souls together – by them going to see who liked it and what they are writing about.
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I’d love a like button! I often read posts but dont comment because I have nothing to say so I’m sure many others do too. Having that little button to show that I was there would be nice. Will be checking out the blogger like button link you shared to see if I can make it work for my blog. 🙂
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Hope it works for you!
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I’m a supporter of ‘Team Like’ it allows me to be social even if I have nothing to say.
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I don’t tihink I can put a like button on my posts, but I would rather leave a comment anyway.
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The problem is, many blogs that don’t have like buttons also seem to throw my comments into the black hole that is their spam boxes.
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You’re on blogspot? I think you can add a like button. Try here https://likebtn.com/en/blogger-like-button
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I like having a like button, I don’t get many comments or likes, but at least it let’s me know one person has read and enjoyed my blog. I hate it when I come across a blog without one as I too don’t always want to leave a comment but would like to let the blogger know I’ve liked their post. The AWW posts are the ones I really get upset about not being able to like, especially as I’m one of the bloggers and have no idea if anyone is reading it.
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Who runs the AWW blog? Maybe they can fix that?
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I’ve asked in the past and was told it caused issues/glitches, though I don’t know why it would.
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Maybe its their platform. I just went there… I don’t think it is a regular blogging type of site, so that might be the reason.
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Possibly, computers and different programs and platforms are completely beyond me. I can manage to use WordPress, just, but have no idea how to make some of the changes I’d like to make sometimes. I’m setting up a website (well a friend is) for my new business soon, so guess I’ll have to learn something about that. I’ll use WordPress for my blog on their too as it’s pretty easy to use.
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That’s a big part of why I decided to have my personal book blog on WordPress. I’d done blogging projects for college on Blogspot and while I didn’t need it for those projects I found that I missed the easy validation. I also like pressing the like button on other people’s stuff. It’s easy. And in a lot of cases that’s all the interaction I feel like we need on a particular piece of content. I am trying to be better at writing thoughtful comments though.
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Yep. Blogspot is terrible for likes and comments. WP is much better for both. And sharing!
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Yes, I love my ‘like’ button. I have one on my WordPress blog and find it very useful.
I feel frustrated when I cannot LIKE another person’s post. How will they know I’ve visited, read their post, liked it?
Even more frustrating for me is when I have no way to share their posts on Twitter. Many blogs I follow have not sharing buttons at all. WHY?
To me it would be like blogging to the black abyss. If you don’t know that someone has visited, liked, or shared your post, how do you know that you’re not blogging for an audience of one? Namely yourself?
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Exactly!
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I love like buttons because that way I can let the blogger know I stopped by! It’s frustrating to me, too, when blogs don’t have them or the commenting is difficult! Occasionally the like button won’t register my like and I’m not sure if that’s me or WordPress or general platform compatibility. I definitely agree that everyone needs a like button!
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Mine has, and I get extremely excited whenever anyone clicks on it 🙂 , but it just came up as the default setting. I’m never sure how it works – there are some blogs I’ve been able to follow from the actual page, and others I’ve only been able to follow from going to the search page in reader and clicking “follow” on there. I know you can get too hung up on “likes”, but they are a very good way of letting you know if people are reading what you’re writing. I find it quite frustrating when I can’t comment on blogs, but I suppose the author just wants it that way.
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Really! There are a few blogs where I can’t comment at all – apparently all my comments end up in their spam box and they don’t seem to know they’re there!
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I get some in the spam box, but they’re usually obviously spam …. but I don’t know how things decide what is and isn’t spam.!
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