A Tour of Google Blogger Essentials: Your Step-by-Step Guide
Meta Description: A Tour Of Google Blogger Essentials - Posts, Pages, Layout, Theme, Settings
Google Blogger is a free and user-friendly platform for creating and managing your own blog. Whether you're a seasoned writer or just starting out, this tutorial will walk you through the essential features to get your blog up and running and looking great.
Getting Started: Accessing Blogger
Sign in to Blogger: Go to
blogger.com Create a New Blog (if you haven't already):
On the left sidebar, click the Down arrow next to your current blog name (or "New blog" if it's your first time).
Click New blog.
Enter a Title for your blog (e.g., "My Awesome Blog").
Choose a Blog address (URL). This will be your blog's web address (e.g.,
myawesomeblog.blogspot.com). Blogger will check if it's available.Click Save.
You'll now be in your blog's dashboard, ready to explore!
Section 1: Posts - Your Blog Content
Posts are the core of your blog – these are your individual articles, updates, and stories.
1.1 Creating a New Post
Navigate to Posts: From your Blogger dashboard, click on Posts in the left-hand menu.
Click "New Post": In the top left corner, click the New Post button (usually a large orange "+" icon or a "New post" button).
Enter Your Post Title: Type the title of your blog post in the "Post title" field.
Write Your Content: Use the rich text editor to write your post.
Formatting: You'll find standard formatting options like Bold, Italic, Underline, Font, Text size, Text color, Link, Image, Video, and more.
Adding Images: Click the "Insert image" icon (looks like a mountain with a sun) to upload images from your computer, Google Photos, or by URL.
Adding Videos: Click the "Insert video" icon (looks like a play button) to upload videos or embed from YouTube.
Labels (Categories): On the right sidebar, under "Post settings," click Labels. Type in keywords separated by commas (e.g.,
travel, tips, adventure) to categorize your post. This helps readers find related content.Permalink: Also on the right, under "Post settings," you can customize the URL for your specific post. By default, Blogger generates it from your title.
Scheduled Publishing: You can choose to publish your post immediately or schedule it for a future date and time.
Preview Your Post: Before publishing, click Preview (top right) to see how your post will look to your readers.
Save or Publish:
Save: Click Save to save your post as a draft if you're not ready to publish it yet.
Publish: Click Publish to make your post live on your blog.
1.2 Managing Existing Posts
View Posts: In the Posts section of your dashboard, you'll see a list of all your posts (published and drafts).
Edit a Post: Click on the title of any post to open it in the editor for modifications.
Delete a Post: Hover over a post in the list and click the trash can icon to delete it.
Revert to Draft/Update: If you've published a post and made changes, you'll see an "Update" button. If you want to unpublish it, click "Revert to draft."
Section 2: Pages - Static Content
Pages are for static content that doesn't change frequently, like an "About Me" page, "Contact" page, or a "Privacy Policy." Unlike posts, they aren't part of your regular blog feed.
Navigate to Pages: From your Blogger dashboard, click on Pages in the left-hand menu.
Click "New Page": Similar to posts, click the New Page button.
Enter Title and Content: Give your page a title and add your content using the same rich text editor as for posts.
Save or Publish: Click Save to draft or Publish to make your page live.
Displaying Pages: To make your pages visible on your blog, you'll typically add them to your blog's layout using a "Pages" gadget (see Section 3: Layout).
Section 3: Layout - Structuring Your Blog
The Layout section allows you to arrange the different elements (gadgets/widgets) of your blog's design, such as sidebars, headers, footers, and content areas.
Navigate to Layout: From your Blogger dashboard, click on Layout in the left-hand menu.
Understanding Gadgets: Your blog's layout is made up of various "gadgets" (also known as widgets). These are blocks of content that can be added, removed, or rearranged. Common gadgets include:
Pages: Displays links to your static pages.
About Me: Shows your profile information.
Blog Archive: Provides links to older posts by month/year.
Labels: Displays a cloud or list of your post labels.
Popular Posts: Shows your most viewed posts.
HTML/JavaScript: Allows you to add custom code or embed external content.
Adding a Gadget:
In the layout preview, you'll see "Add a Gadget" links in different sections (e.g., "Sidebar," "Footer," "Main").
Click Add a Gadget in the desired location.
A window will pop up with a list of available gadgets. Scroll through and click the plus icon (+) next to the gadget you want to add.
Configure any settings for the gadget (e.g., for the "Pages" gadget, select which pages to show).
Click Save.
Rearranging Gadgets: Click and drag gadgets within a section to change their order.
Editing/Removing Gadgets: Hover over an existing gadget and click the Edit link (pencil icon) to modify its settings or the Remove link (trash can icon) to delete it.
Save Arrangement: After making changes to your layout, always click the orange Save arrangement button (bottom right) to apply your changes to your live blog.
Section 4: Theme - Your Blog's Look and Feel
The Theme section is where you control the visual appearance of your blog, including colors, fonts, and overall design.
Navigate to Theme: From your Blogger dashboard, click on Theme in the left-hand menu.
Choose a Theme:
Blogger provides a variety of pre-designed themes. Scroll through the available options.
Click on a theme to see a preview of how it would look on your blog.
Once you've found a theme you like, click Apply at the bottom to set it as your blog's theme.
Customize Your Theme:
Under "My theme," click Customize. This opens the Blogger Theme Designer.
Background: Change the background image or color.
Adjust widths: Modify the width of your blog, sidebars, and footer.
Layout: Choose different layouts for your blog (e.g., one sidebar, two sidebars).
Advanced: This is where you can fine-tune fonts, colors for various elements (text, links, titles), and even add custom CSS for more advanced styling (if you know CSS).
Save Changes: As you make adjustments, click the Save icon (disk icon) in the bottom right to apply them.
Backup/Restore: It's a good practice to back up your theme before making significant changes. You can do this by clicking the More button (three dots) next to "Customize" and selecting "Backup." You can also "Restore" a previously backed-up theme here.
Section 5: Settings - Blog Configuration
The Settings section is where you configure important behind-the-scenes aspects of your blog, from basic information to search engine visibility and user permissions.
Navigate to Settings: From your Blogger dashboard, click on Settings in the left-hand menu.
Key Settings to Know:
Basic:
Title: Edit your blog's main title.
Description: Add a brief description of your blog to include keywords. This is important for search engines (do this with Google Gemini etc).
Blog Language: Select the language of your blog.
Adult content: Mark if your blog contains adult content.
Favicon: Upload a custom small icon that appears in browser tabs.
Privacy:
Visible to search engines: Ensure this is enabled if you want your blog to appear in Google search results.
Publishing:
Blog address (URL): You can change your blogspot.com address or, if you own a custom domain, connect it here.
Permissions:
Blog admins and authors: Add or remove other people who can write and manage your blog.
Reader access: Control who can view your blog (Public, Private to authors, or Custom readers).
Posts:
Max posts shown on main page: Set how many posts appear on your blog's homepage.
Image Lightbox: Enable or disable the feature that makes images open in an overlay when clicked.
Comments:
Comment location: Choose where comments appear (Embedded, Full page, or Popup window).
Who can comment? Control who is allowed to leave comments (Anyone, Users with Google Accounts, Only members of this blog).
Comment Moderation: Set up comment moderation to approve comments before they appear on your blog.
Email:
Configure options for posting to your blog via email.
Language and formatting:
Set your Time zone, Date header format, and Timestamp format.
Search preferences:
Meta tags: Enable a search description (a short summary that appears in search results).
Custom Redirects: Set up redirects for broken links.
Crawlers and indexing: Configure custom robots.txt and custom robots header tags (for advanced SEO users).
Other:
Import content: Import posts and comments from another blog.
Backup content: Download a backup of your blog's content.
Remove your blog: Delete your blog (use with caution!).
Save Changes: Remember to click Save after making any changes in the Settings section.
Conclusion
You've now taken a comprehensive tour of Google Blogger's essential features! By understanding and utilizing Posts, Pages, Layout, Theme, and Settings, you have the tools to create, customize, and manage a professional-looking and engaging blog.
Experiment with the different options, find what works best for your content, and most importantly, start sharing your voice with the world!
Module 1: Laying the Foundation – Getting Started with Google Blogger
Welcome to the World of Blogging for Income
Creating a Google account (if you don't have one).
Navigating the Blogger dashboard: key features and settings.
Selecting and customizing a Blogger template for a professional look.
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