to Start a Blog

In today's Blogger tutorial (Blogspot tutorial) I will show you how to both add a background image to a Blogger template if you don't have one already or change the existing background of your Blogger template. I have chosen to write this article not because there aren't any how to articles already on the net but because they assume quite a bit of knowledge. I have taken a different tack with this post in that I assume you are an absolute beginner with no knowledge of Blogger templates. For this reason I have provided some sample backgrounds for you to play around with. By just cutting and pasting these images you can see first hand how dramatically adding a different background to your Blogger template can change it. You will see that replacing your background image with these images isn't that difficult and hopefully it will give the confidence to branch out further and change the background of your Blogger template to suit your own needs. All that is needed is to ...

In today's Blogger tutorial I show you how to enhance your Blogger blog (Blogspot blog) by adding a post divider to your Blogger template. Used effectively post dividers can really jazz up your blog and will lend it that individual feel which most of us are hoping to create. This tweak is very easy and well within the capabilities of any Blogspot blogger. Only a few simple changes to your Blogger template are required and these are in the CSS styling section. By way of example I will use a divider that I downloaded from the internet free by searching for free divider graphics . Here are some sample dividers you can use to get started: URL address: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg77uNK_cfFmJp9Zz3IzuROQjenjOhaWAKETv7dl6jRdmkdvx5J20F3WPXrzn5lAX_P-oHusS45kWghGpU3GdS84EthhNcI7lkPHej7wa6fLyMw_Ir6qLqOZYc62FAmYqBVHbsiw83l-F0/s400/ribbon.gif URL address: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI9uBBT9LcRUT7k0awmN3iihQDjL7RS0f8ZWrlBtSBerIVuCC...

If you use Twitter then you are going to want to let your Blogger readers know about it. One effective way to show your Twitter updates on Blogger is to add a Twitter profile widget to the sidebar of your blog. This widget is quite a bit more fancy than the current Twitter Updates Widget available through Blogger which I showed you how to insert into your blog in my recent article Add a Twitter Updates Widget to Blogger . On the minus side the widget may slow your blog down so test it out first if fast loading time is crucial to you. How to Insert a Twitter Profile Widget into Blogger Go to Twitter Widgets and sign in Choose Profile Widget and you will be taken to a default profile widget page where you can customize your Twitter widget according to your needs. Choose Settings and make sure that your username is correct Choose Appearance and make any custom color changes you need to so that the widget will blend into your blog. At the very least you will need to change the shell...

In today's Blogger tutorial I show you how to add a simple drop down menu widget sometimes called a select box to the sidebar of your Blogger blog (Blogspot blog). If you want to add lots of links to your Blogger blog but are worried about the amount of space this will take up on your blog this tutorial is for you. A drop down widget is a neat solution to the cluttered sidebar problem as it is both space saving and easy to install. The convenience of a drop down menu widget can be seen on many blogs where it is used for lists like a long Blogroll, Categories list, Labels list or a Recommended Posts list. How to Add a Drop Down Menu Widget to Blogger Adding a drop down menu to Blogger is well within the capabilities of even beginner bloggers. Most of the work is in cutting and pasting the links which is not difficult for anyone with basic computer skills. So let's get started but first here is a working drop down menu list with links to various posts in my blog: - Blog Know H...

In this Blogger tutorial you will learn how to insert jump breaks into your Blogger posts (Blogspot posts) as an aid to quick navigation for your visitors. Jump Breaks in Blogger provide an easy way to show only a snippet of your whole post on the home page of your blog with a read more link below it for the rest of the story. I have already written about a Blogger expandable post summaries hack which provides a read more feature for a Blogger blog homepage. For most Blogger webpublishers (Blogspot webpublishers) this hack is no longer necessary because Blogger as part of its 10th birthday celebration introduced a new feature called Jump Breaks. I cover several methods to insert jump breaks depending on whether you are using a Blogger default template or a customized Blogger template. The advantage of adding jump breaks to your Blogger posts is that your readers can quickly and easily skim your most recent posts for what interests them rather than having to scroll through a whole bunc...

Did you know that Twitter can help drive traffic to your Blogspot blog? In today's Blogger tutorial I show you how to add a free Twitter Retweet button to your Blogger posts. Adding a Tweetmeme Twitter Retweet button to Blogger will help promote your blog on Twitter in 2 ways: one by attracting new Twitter followers and two by increasing the direct traffic to your blog from Twitter. Forget the preamble and take me straight to the instructions to insert the Retweet button into Blogger What is Twitter and How Does it Work? Twitter is currently the fastest growing free social networking site. Essentially, Twitter users micro blog about what they are doing or what others are doing by posting tweets of around 140 characters to Twitter. When Twitter members read these tweets and like what they read they can become followers much in the same way that your readers can choose to follow your blog. Twitter is great news for bloggers because it can be used as a vehicle to promote blogs. Blo...

This is the second article in a series about CSS styling tricks and tips for Blogger written with Blogger beginners and novices in mind but suitable for all bloggers who want to customize their existing Blogger template. While the first article dealt with how to add or remove image borders in Blogger today I show you how to align and justify Blogger posts. Skill Level: Beginner Rating: Easy Time: 1 Minute Many of the questions that my readers ask me are about how to customize various features of their Blogger template (Blogspot template). Over the coming weeks I will be focusing on some simple CSS styling tricks and tips to help you get more out of your Blogger template. Much can be achieved by learning a little about CSS. So before you rush off to download a custom Blogger template consider customizing your existing Blogger template. This tutorial is part of a series of articles that I will publishing over the coming weeks about customizing your Blogger template using CSS styl...