How to Start a Blogger Blog


Blogger is a bit of a hit or miss with the blogging community. Some people love it. Some people hate it. Some people deal with it because they don't want to make a switch and risk losing everything.

I've been on blogger for 2 years now and I have grown to love it. When I started I didn't know anything about CSS or HTML. After a couple years and a lot of helpful tutorials I have learned a lot and I can edit just about anything on my blog now!

I still get pretty frustrated with blogger every once in awhile but I know that there is usually an HTML or CSS fix out there somewhere. So if you are starting a blog and want blogger or can't decide check out my list of pros and cons for blogger and my step my step how-to and see if blogger is for you.

Pros of using Blogger:

- Free Hosting even with a custom domain
- Easy customization with some simple CSS and HTML
- Tons of templates are out there for you if you aren't the editing time
- The backend of adding gadgets and creating new posts is very user friendly


Cons of using Blogger:

- If you aren't good with CSS or HTML you're going to be frustrated a lot
- A lot of Blogger Gadgets aren't very customizable
- The customization options in the post write is limited
- There aren't a lot of font options, however there are all google fonts so they are guaranteed to appear the same on every device and in every country.





Part 1: Making Your Blog


1. Sign into Blogger with your gmail account or sign-up for a new one.


2. Click on the "New Blog" button on your Blogger Dashboard.


3. Choose your blog name and address. Your blog's address = yourblogname.blogspot.com


4. Choose a template. I suggest the Simple template. It is the best option if you want to add in extra thing and edit the HTML. Some HTML Gadgets don't work with certain templates.


5. (Optional) Go to the settings at the bottom of the bar on the left. Scroll to the bottom and change the blog to private. This is so your blog can not be viewed until you are done editing. You can set it back to public when you are happy with how it looks.





Part 2: Customizing Your Blog


1. Go to Template on the left sidebar and click customize.


2. Choose a layout. I recommend The main post on the left and a sidebar on the right. And a footer of three.


3. You can adjust the widths of your blog and the side bar.
Mine is Entire Blog: 1230px    Right Sidebar: 400px 

You can do any size you like. Though I would not suggest the Entire Blog Size go any bigger than 1240px.


4. Click on Advanced and choose your fonts, text sizes, and colors. 
You may want to add a test post before this so you can blog posts will look on your site. You can always delete it when your done.


5. You can also change background colors and add a background image under the background tab.





Part 3: Adding Gadgets


Gadgets are everything on your blog that is not a blog post. Everything on the sidebar. Don't worry if you can find a gadget you want. You can add almost anything you want with the "Add JavaScript/HTML" option.

1. Go to the Layout Option above the Template Option.


2. Click "Add a Gadget" under the section you want to the gadget to. 


3. Select the gadget you want, edit the options given to your liking and click save.


4. You can move the gadget any there you like. You can reorder the gadgets and way you like and you can move the gadgets from section to section. The most useful Gadget on blogger is the HTML Gadget. You can make anything with HTML code. I'll be getting into those gadgets later in this series.





Part 4: Creating Posts


1. Click the "New Post" button and the top of the left sidebar on your dashboard.


2. Enter your title in the title box.


3. Chose for font with the fancy F in the toolbar as well as text size with the double T. I use Helvetica and normal. I also italicize the text. You can also chose a font color here, though there is not a very large selection. I'll show you how to chose a post text color and change text size with CSS in a post later in this series.


4. To add an image click the little image of mountains next to the word Link on the toolbar. Select "Upload an Image" and choose the photo you want to add from your computer.


5. To add a link highlight over the text you want to link like you are going to copy it then click the link button on the toolbar. Copy and paste the URL you want the text to link to into the box that says "To what URL should this link go to?" and click the box next to "Open in new window" then think save. This will cause your link to open in a new tab when a reader clicks on it so that it will not take them away from your blog.


6. If you would like to change the comment settings they can be found under the options tab on the right sidebar of the post write page. You can turn them off before or after publishing. Leave the line break setting as "Press Enter" This is so when you start a new line all you have to do is press enter so you don't have to do it with code.


7. You can schedule a post to upload on the right sidebar as well.You can also change the setting to a past date by selecting set date and time and choosing a date of your choosing.


8. Blogger Automatically makes the URL for each post when you publish it. If you would like a custom link click on "Permalink" on the right sidebar and select custom then enter the url you'd like. You must do this before you publish your post.



9. As for Labels you can add them on the sidebar or on the posts page of your dashboard.


10. You may have seen on my blog and other blogs that there is a small amount of the post on the home page and then a "Read More" or "Keep Reading" button. To add this you simply choose where you want the post to stop on the home page and then make a space under that line and click the little icon on the toolbar that looks like a page torn in half. This is called a jump break. It will cause the post to stop there and you have to click on read more to see the read. 


11. You can choose the alignment of the text with the button that looks like lines on the toolbar. You can create a numbered list with the button next to it. And the button next to take is for a bullet point list.


I think that is about it for the posts side of things. You can preview your post with the review button. You can save it and come back with the save button then close the post. And when you are happy with your post you can publish it with the orange publish button.


Those are the basics of starting a blog on blogger. Let me know what blogging tutorials I should do in the comments below!

xoxo, Cassie



About The Author


Cassie // ZombieGoddess Beauty

My name is Cassie. I write a beauty, geek & lifestyle, a little bit of everything blog. I'm a nerdy gamer with a lipstick addiction & a true makeup obsession. I created GirlsWhoBlog to retweet great blog posts and share other bloggers content! I am so excited that it is now a fully fledged blog!



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