Question: How hard would it be to add reaction buttons to posts (maybe only a single option like a thumbs up or heart), and then display the total somewhere beside the title or the excerpt?
Obviously, you’d have to store the data somewhere in the database. But I wouldn’t think it would be too big a deal.
I’m trying to increase engagement with the stories on our site. (Also working on getting more comments.)
Thoughts?
In case you don’t know, you can use Applause button as a workaround: https://applause-button.com
I think reaction feature should be considered as part of comments module, including collecting reactions on other platforms like Social Web or Bluesky. I believe this will eventually come to the table in the feature, also to make Social Web more functional.
Thank you for the tip! I was excited to try out the Applause button, as it was exactly what I was looking for.
Unfortunately, in digging around in the Github repository, there was a note that the backend was no longer supported, and you would have to host it yourself. Since I don’t have access to my site’s back end, I could not set that up myself, and setting up another droplet just to have the Applause button was not something I was interested in. So, back to square one.
But, again, thanks for the tip!
Hmm, sorry I missed that they don’t provide a backend anymore. Maybe I can consider providing a backend via Synaps Media. I’ll look into it.
I forked the backend server, renovated it (it was a very old, AWS based solution), and released at applause.synaps.media address.
You need to point this server as api attribute of the component, like:
<applause-button api="https://applause.synaps.media"></applause-button>
And don’t forget to put required JS and CSS files as well (either in code injection, to header, or to the same place you put your button)
Give it a try. Backend is very lightweight. I can donate some of my server resources for more applauses to content creators 
Excellent! Will give it a try.
One question: How do I show the claps beside the title on a story list so that it is read-only (you can’t clap from just the title).
Thanks again!
That will require running extra JS codes. A JavaScript code should fetch clap counts for all post urls on the page, then put those numbers next to the title. And this can vary to the themes.
Thanks for your effort on this! I took a look at the API docs, and I’m not sure I feel comfortable coding the GET for the clap number into my site’s code. I could easily get the Clap button on the individual posts – but without being able to show the total counts on the front page, I’m not sure it is that useful. (Obvs, my goal is for people visiting to see what other people thought was worth their while.)
Seriously, thanks.
Late to this but wanted to add a couple of things since we have had this exact conversation with a client recently.
The Applause button is a solid option if you can self-host the backend - the fork @muratcorlu linked is genuinely nice. For clients who do not want another server to maintain, there is also a lightweight approach using Tally or even a simple iframe embed pointing to a Typeform with a single thumbs-up question. Hacky, but zero infrastructure.
The other thing worth knowing: Ghost’s native comment system (if you have it enabled) actually gives you a hearts/likes layer built in for comments, which is not quite what you are asking for but does surface some engagement signal without any extra plumbing.
What worked for us on a client site was combining two things: a simple “Did you find this useful?” Yes/No at the bottom of each post (done via a Tally embed) and making sure the comment section was open and visible above the fold. The Tally form collected the data to a spreadsheet, the client got a weekly digest. Not the most elegant solution, but it took about 45 minutes to set up and the client was happy.
If you want something that actually displays a running like count on the post cards in the index, that requires a bit more work - you would need a custom theme modification and external storage. Worth it for some publications, overkill for others. What is the site’s setup? Managed Ghost Pro, or self-hosted?
Hah – now I’m having second thoughts about putting the clap count on the story list. 
I am worried that, rather than encourage people to read a story, seeing a low clap count would discourage them from reading. Ah, the troubles of the solopreneur! 
I’m going to consider your solution, possibly along with a few other ideas. This discussion has revealed to me that I have more than one goal here, and I need to step back and clarify better what I want to achieve.
Thank you all for your input! And thanks to @muratcorlu for the work to fork the Applause button and provide a back end for it!