Add Recent Comments Widget with Avatars To Blogger

In one of my previous tutorials, I have shared a simple Recent Comments widget having the ability to display the latest comments published on the blog posts. However, the main disadvantage of it was that it didn't have the option of showing the users' avatars; so for those who'd like to see something more, here's a stylish Recent comments widget with round avatars and comment excerpts. Besides providing the option of displaying the commenters avatars, we'll be able to change the default image for the anonymous avatar, as well.

Isn't that great? Let's begin adding it!

How to add recent comments widget with avatars

Step 1. Go to Blogger Dashboard > select your blog > go to 'Layout' & click the 'Add a Gadget' link.

Step 2. When the popup window appears, scroll down and choose the 'HTML/Javascript' gadget.

Step 3. Now, copy and paste the following code inside the empty box:

<style type="text/css">
ul.helploggercomments{list-style: none;margin: 0;padding: 0;}
.helploggercomments li {background: none !important;margin: 0 0 6px !important;padding: 0 0 6px 0 !important;display: block;clear: both;overflow: hidden;list-style: none;word-break:break-all;}
.helploggercomments li .avatarImage {padding: 3px;
background: #fefefe;-webkit-box-shadow: 0 1px 1px #ccc;-moz-box-shadow: 0 1px 1px #ccc;box-shadow: 0 1px 1px #ccc;float: left;margin: 0 6px 0 0;position: relative;overflow: hidden;}
.avatarRound {-webkit-border-radius: 100px;-moz-border-radius: 100px;border-radius: 100px;}
.helploggercomments li img {padding: 0px;position: relative;overflow: hidden;display: block;}
.helploggercomments li span {margin-top: 4px;color: #666;display: block;font-size: 12px;font-style: italic;line-height: 1.4;}
</style>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
    // Recent Comments Settings
    var
 numComments  = 5,
 showAvatar  = true,
 avatarSize  = 60,
 roundAvatar = true,
 characters  = 40,
 showMorelink = false,
 moreLinktext = "More »",
 defaultAvatar  = "https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG40OLCbN6IzopBwXi6JcsRrHE0znqYX5W3LUBQUjr0M5ueYA8h1jIwdl8cFsU6WptY80Q5U6gsDXk8MJ59I0PhRTa8X2_rjRdWX-Db2sBqUyP0Lz60xfea4e7oBzhnYyC3T_YDIrX_B4h/s1600/default-avatar.jpg",
 hideCredits = true;
//]]>
</script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://helplogger.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/helplogger/[helplogger.blogspot.com]recent-comments.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="/feeds/comments/default?alt=json&callback=helploggercomments&max-results=5"></script><div style="font-size: 10px; float: right; margin-top: -15px">Get this <a href="http://bloggerchive.blogspot.com/2012/03/add-recent-comments-widget-with-avatar.html" >Recent Comments Widget</a></div>

Note
- by default, 5 comments will be displayed... to show more replace the "5" values in red
- to change the avatar for anonymous users, replace the following address with the url of your image:

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG40OLCbN6IzopBwXi6JcsRrHE0znqYX5W3LUBQUjr0M5ueYA8h1jIwdl8cFsU6WptY80Q5U6gsDXk8MJ59I0PhRTa8X2_rjRdWX-Db2sBqUyP0Lz60xfea4e7oBzhnYyC3T_YDIrX_B4h/s1600/default-avatar.jpg

- to change the size of the avatar, replace 60 value in green.
- for square avatars, remove the line in red

Step 4. After you've made the changes, click Save... and we're done!

Once a reader sees the recent comments widget in the blog's sidebar, he comes to know that your blog is pretty active and that encourages him to post comments on your blog. This way, you can gather some active user base to comment on your blog posts.