Quick Tip: How To Add A Quick And Easy Message To Your Comment Form

Do you want to let your readers know about your comment policy before they comment? By adding a small bit of CSS code to your Design Lab or Magazine Layout - Featured Cards theme you can add a message over the comment form. If you have comment moderation enabled, for instance, you can let your readers know their comments won't appear right away. Or you may just want to ask for all commenters to submit their name and not a pseudonym.

Custom CSS is a feature available with the Pro Unlimited and higher plans. If you're on a lower plan, you'll need to upgrade. 

Typepad offers three types of commenting options: the default comments, Typepad Connect , and Disqus comments. The CSS code is slightly different depending on the commenting system you're using.

Not sure which commenting system you have on your blog? There's an easy way to check. Click on the Blogs tab, then the name of the blog. Select the Settings tab, then Comments. Along the top, it'll either say "Typepad Connect is currently enabled for the blog", "Typepad's default commenting system is currently enabled for the blog", or "Disqus Comments Enabled". Once you know the commenting system your blog is using, you can use the correct code below.

Please note, if you're using another 3rd-party commenting system, the below code will not apply.

Here's what our example will look like: 

For the default commenting system, you can use the CSS code below:

#comments-open-login:before {
content: "Comments for this blog are held for moderation before they are published to the blog.";
display: block;
margin: 10px auto;
text-align: center;
padding: 5px;
border: 1px solid #ccc;
background-color: #f9f9f9;
}

For Typepad Connect comments, you can use the CSS code below:

#comments-signin:before {
content: "Comments for this blog are held for moderation before they are published to the blog.";
display: block;
margin: 10px auto;
text-align: center;
padding: 5px;
border: 1px solid #ccc;
background-color: #f9f9f9;
}

For Disqus comments, you can use the CSS code below:

#disqus_thread:before {
content: "Comments for this blog are held for moderation before they are published to the blog.";
display: block;
margin: 10px auto;
text-align: center;
padding: 5px;
border: 1px solid #ccc;
background-color: #f9f9f9;
}

Within the CSS, you can edit the following attributes:

• The content attribute is where you'll include the text you want to display above the comment form.
• The margin can be increased or decreased to increase the space around the note.
• The text-align attribute can be set to center, left, or right.
• The padding around the text can be increased or decreased. Since our example includes a shaded box, the padding determines distance between the text and the outside of the box.
• The border settings can be changed too. If you don't want a border, remove this attribute entirely.
• The color code for the background-color can be adjusted. If you don't want to have a background color, you can remove this attribute.

You can also include other attribute snips — for example: font-weight: 600; — will make the text of your message bold. You can find other formatting attributes in the article on styling the post title with CSS.

After you customize the CSS specific to your comment type, go to Design > Custom CSS, enter the CSS code in the text field, then click Save Changes to update your site.

Do you already use CSS to insert a message to your readers above the comments? If so, share your tips to make it stand out or let us know in the comments how well it's working for you!