Online reactions have become a staple of digital interaction, offering readers a quick way to engage with content without writing a full comment. Whether it’s a simple Like, an emoji-based response, or a rating system, these tools shape how audiences interact with blogs, articles, and social media posts. But not all reaction systems serve the same purpose—some encourage engagement, while others are primarily used to track metrics and visibility.
When I first set up the comment system for my blog—seven years ago—I wanted to create a space for meaningful discussions rather than just a stream of generic praise. That’s when I started looking for a reaction system that would allow readers to engage without cluttering the comment section. What seemed like a simple task quickly turned into a long, frustrating journey filled with compromises, abandoned plugins, and unexpected obstacles.
This post retraces that journey—bringing together the many posts that have documented it—covering the search for the right tool, the setbacks along the way, and the transformation that ultimately reshaped how reactions work on this blog. From an initial, unrefined idea to a fully customized text-based reaction system, every step played a role in refining the approach into what it is today—a carefully crafted reaction system.
Why I sought a reaction system in the first place—and what ended up being the right approach
When I first considered adding a reaction system to my blog, my motivation wasn’t about tracking engagement metrics or boosting visibility—it was about preserving the integrity of the comment section. I wanted my blog to be a place where readers could find valuable discussions, not just a stream of generic praise. While comments like “Great post!” or “Thanks for sharing!” are encouraging for a writer, they don’t add much for other visitors who come looking for insightful exchanges on a topic.
I needed a solution that struck the right balance: a way for readers to react without diluting the comment section with non-informative remarks. The ideal system would allow visitors to share their thoughts efficiently, clearly, and without ambiguity, ensuring that engagement remained useful rather than superficial.
Naturally, the first idea that came to mind was the simplest one: a Like button. After all, it was everywhere—on social media, on blogs, even in comment sections. A quick, effortless way for readers to react without writing a full comment? It seemed like the perfect fit… at first. However, it quickly became clear that a one-sided reaction system didn’t align with my goal—what if someone didn’t like the post? A Dislike button added contrast, but a binary choice still felt too restrictive. I needed something that allowed more nuance in how readers could respond.
Exploring emoji-based reaction plugins seemed like the next logical step. These offered a wider range of expressions—happiness, surprise, sadness, even laughter—but they introduced a new problem: ambiguity. Emojis are often misinterpreted, and I wanted reactions to be clear and informative, not open to interpretation. While these plugins provided fun engagement, they didn’t serve the core purpose of making the comment section more useful.
A rating system briefly crossed my mind—after all, star ratings are widely used to evaluate everything from movies to restaurants. But my posts weren’t meant to be graded or reviewed like a meal or a service. The idea of quantifying content felt completely misaligned with my vision. I wasn’t looking for a way to rank my posts—I wanted a tool for readers to express their reactions in a meaningful way 1.
The answer wasn’t Likes, Dislikes, or emoji—it was reaction buttons. Simple, customizable text-based responses that allowed readers to express their thoughts explicitly and unambiguously. No vague symbols, no arbitrary ratings—just clear, meaningful reactions that complemented the comment section rather than cluttering it. With reaction buttons, visitors could acknowledge a post, share quick feedback, and engage effortlessly—all while keeping discussions focused and informative.
This was the system I had been searching for. But finding the right plugin to implement it? That was another challenge entirely.
The struggle to find the right plugin
If refining my vision was a journey, implementing it was a battle. Finding a reaction plugin that aligned with my needs—text-based, simple, and effective—was far more difficult than I had anticipated. The market was flooded with emoji-driven solutions, analytics-heavy engagement tools, and flashy social-media-inspired reaction bars. But plugins offering straightforward text buttons? They were rare. And as time went on, they became even harder to find.
The first plugin: React & Share
After a long search, React & Share seemed like the perfect solution. Unlike most reaction plugins that relied on emoji or star ratings, this one offered customizable text buttons—exactly what I had envisioned. Readers could react with clear, meaningful responses, keeping engagement useful rather than superficial. Even better, it was multisite compatible, a feature that had disqualified other promising candidates 2.
Of course, there was a catch. While the plugin was freemium, customization required creating an account—a compromise I reluctantly accepted. Still, the free version met my needs, and the small branding at the bottom of the buttons was a minor trade-off. I had found a reaction system that worked, and for a while, everything seemed settled. In June 2018, React & Share became part of my blog.
Out of nowhere, React & Share announced the termination of its freemium plan—with only two weeks’ notice. The justification? They claimed to value privacy and personal service over selling user data, making free access unsustainable. But what was the real cost of four simple buttons? Their pricing revealed the answer: a staggering €99 per month for the cheapest plan. Even with their “50% lifetime discount”, it was absurd.
I had two weeks to find a new plugin—one that wouldn’t vanish overnight.
The Second Plugin: Reaction Buttons
If finding React & Share had been difficult, this time it was far worse. The WordPress Plugin Directory had few viable options, and most reaction plugins were either emoji-based, required an account, or outright abandoned. The trend had shifted—reaction buttons were no longer a priority, overshadowed by social media sharing tools. Despite searching desperately, I found nothing new that met my criteria.
With no alternatives, and the clock ticking, I had to revisit my discard pile. And there it was—Reaction Buttons by Jakob Lenfers, the very plugin I had previously rejected for lacking multisite compatibility. Ironically, that limitation wasn’t actually an issue—something I hadn’t realized at the time—since I only needed it for this blog, meaning network activation wasn’t required. What had once been a dealbreaker was now my best only option.
Except, there was another dealbreaker—one I couldn’t ignore. The plugin was abandoned. No updates, no security patches, and no guarantee that it would remain functional as WordPress evolved. Under normal circumstances, this alone would have been enough to rule it out completely. But with no viable alternatives and the need for a temporary solution, I had little choice but to take the risk.
Despite being outdated, I installed Reaction Buttons as a stopgap solution, fully expecting to replace it soon. That was in October 2019—16 months after React & Share. Surprisingly, the plugin offered more customization options than React & Share. I could adjust the number of buttons, tweak their appearance, and even replicate the look of my previous setup using CSS. Ensuring they matched the look and feel of my previous reaction system was straightforward—far easier than expected.
Had I made the wrong choice? Absolutely. But at the time, it felt like the only choice. What was meant to be a short-term fix stretched into years, not because I was satisfied with the plugin, but because life had other plans.
As the world grappled with the impact of COVID-19, new challenges arose—both for CogitActive and for me personally. A growing family, a new job in a non-English-speaking country, and the strain of being away from loved ones turned my priorities upside down. Time became a scarce resource, forcing me to postpone my CogitActive projects, and put my podcast plans on indefinite hold. The blog remained, but only as a shadow of what it was meant to be—thin content, posted just to keep it alive.
During these trying times, I will undertake to keep up with the demands of a weekly publication schedule (i.e. every Thursday for this blog). Of course, I will have to find a way to cope with the fact that my time will be extremely scarce.CogitActive
Under normal circumstances, I would have replaced the abandoned plugin much sooner. But amidst these trying times, it lingered—until circumstances finally forced my hand.
The Third Plugin: TotalRating
Well, who could have seen this coming? An abandoned plugin, left to gather dust for years, was suddenly flagged for security vulnerabilities and removed from the WordPress repository. Shocking! Or rather, completely predictable. Let’s be honest—this was always going to happen. Using an outdated plugin was like playing with fire, and eventually, I got burned. The warning was clear and urgent:
Critical Problem:
The Plugin “Reaction Buttons” has been removed from wordpress.org but is still installed on your site.
Plugin contains an unpatched security vulnerability.
Unpatched security vulnerability. Those words hit like a gut punch, triggering immediate panic. My temporary measure had overstayed its welcome, lingering for six years—far longer than intended. The lesson? Ignoring the risks doesn’t make them disappear.
With no choice but to find a new plugin, I dove back into the WordPress Plugin Directory, hoping for a miracle. But if finding the second plugin had been difficult, this time it was even worse. The reaction plugin landscape had only deteriorated further—what was once a limited selection had now become almost nonexistent. The trend was clear: reaction plugins were dying out, replaced by social media sharing tools. What had once been a popular feature was now an afterthought, making my search even harder than before.
Reaction plugins were practically extinct.
I scoured the WordPress Plugin Directory in vain. And then, after countless dead ends, I found Rating Widget: Post Rating, 5 Star Rating, Reviews, Thumbs Up & Down, Reaction by TotalSuite. A promising name, perhaps—but misleading. Because despite the word “Reaction” tucked at the very end, this was not a reaction plugin. It was a rating plugin 3. Worse, the plugin didn’t support text-based reactions. Instead, it relied on emoji-based scoring, assigning numerical values to each reaction rather than simply counting votes. Was it better than nothing? Sure. Was it what I actually needed? Not even close.
For a while, I was stuck in frustration mode. The reality was undeniable: what I had found was not what I was looking for – a text-based reaction plugin– and forcing TotalRating into that role felt like a compromise, not a solution. But when the thing you’re searching for no longer exists, what do you do? Do you keep chasing a lost cause, clinging to an outdated vision? Or do you step back, reassess, and adapt?
At first, I resisted. I wanted text-based reactions, not ratings. TotalRating wasn’t designed for this purpose, but its flexibility gave me an opening: the ability to upload custom images. That was my way in. If the perfect plugin didn’t exist, I would bend the tools I had until they fit my vision.
The default emoji-based reactions had to go, replaced with clean, text-only buttons that matched my site’s style. But it wasn’t as simple as swapping images. To ensure the buttons remained sharp and scalable across all screen sizes, I needed SVG files—a format WordPress doesn’t support by default due to security concerns. That meant yet another hurdle: finding a way to enable SVG uploads safely without compromising my site’s integrity.
Winning that battle was just the beginning. Replacing emojis with text-based buttons wasn’t just a matter of swapping images—it required extensive CSS customization. And unlike my previous plugin, where styling was relatively straightforward, TotalRating fought me at every turn. Every tweak, every adjustment, every attempt to recreate my original reaction system felt like a frustrating game of trial and error.
A thoughtful transformation
What started as a frustrating compromise had become an opportunity to refine engagement, ensuring that every reaction carried weight, meaning, and purpose.
After all, I had never truly put thought into the reaction labels—aside from swapping “Don’t get it” for “Thank you.” And let’s be honest: the system never attracted much engagement anyway. Maybe the problem wasn’t just the plugin—maybe it was the entire approach. This was my chance to do more than just restore what was lost—it was an opportunity to build something better, more meaningful, and truly reflective of engagement. And this time, I wasn’t doing it alone.
Through consultations with Copilot, every detail was reconsidered—from the labels to the scoring system to the philosophy behind user feedback. The first change was subtle but significant: the generic prompt “What do you think?” evolved into a more engaging invitation—“Your thoughts matter—share them here!” A small shift, but one that set the tone for a more intentional interaction.
But the biggest transformation? The reaction labels themselves. This wasn’t just about choosing new labels—it was about rethinking engagement itself. Every aspect of the reaction system was scrutinized, debated, and refined. What started as a simple label swap evolved into a deep exploration of user interaction. But getting there wasn’t easy. I pushed, questioned, and refused to settle—testing Copilot’s patience to its limits. Every detail had to be just right, every choice intentional. And while most would have stopped long before, I kept challenging assumptions, chasing that elusive perfect balance. In the end, the process wasn’t just about creating a better reaction system—it was about embracing the value of never being fully satisfied.
Gone were the simple, unrefined choices of Like, Agree, Disagree, Thank You—replaced with a system that embraced nuance, depth, and the plugin’s rating mechanics 4:
Useless (+1): Signals complete dissatisfaction—the content failed to provide any value or relevance.
Not worth it (+2): Expresses mild frustration—the post might contain useful information, but it wasn’t worth the effort to read.
Interesting (+3): A neutral acknowledgment—the content caught the reader’s attention but didn’t necessarily provide deep insight.
Informative (+4): Recognizes value—the post delivered knowledge or useful details that enhanced understanding.
You made my day! (+5): The highest praise—the content was not only helpful but had a meaningful, positive impact.
This wasn’t just a quick fix—far from it! But this was the culmination of seven years of searching, adapting, and refining. From the first reaction plugin to the frustrating compromises to the final transformation, every step shaped the system into what it is today.
And now, the new buttons are here—below—ready to be tested, ready to be used.
The end?
1 Ironically, my third and final plugin would end up being a rating system… though not exactly in the way it was intended. But more on that later—spoiler alert! ^
2 WordPress Multisite is a feature that allows multiple websites to run under a single WordPress installation, sharing the same core files while maintaining separate content and configurations. My WordPress installation is multisite, meaning any plugin I use must be compatible with this structure—a requirement that significantly narrowed my options. Still, the benefits of multisite far outweighed this limitation, making it a trade-off worth accepting. ^
3 That distinction mattered. Ratings and reactions are not the same. A reaction system lets users express quick feedback—Like, Agree, Disagree, Thank You—without assigning a score. A rating system, on the other hand, is built for evaluating content, typically through stars, thumbs, or numerical values. ^
4 This wasn’t just a cosmetic change—it was a fundamental shift in how reactions were framed. Instead of binary approval, the new system encouraged thoughtful evaluation, aligning with the rating structure of the plugin itself. ^