Creating a Blogger Blog: the Essential Guide
Overview
Blogger, provided by Google, is the most popular, free blogging service on the Internet. This tutorial will give you easy-to-follow directions on how to set up a Blogger blog and create your first post.
First, let's look at some definitions:
- Blog: a website, often free, for writing and publishing short articles. The blogging service offers a variety of blog designs and a friendly interface for creating blog articles.
- Post: (Noun) - an individual blog article. (Verb) - to publish a blog article.
- Blogger: a person who has a blog. Also the name of Google's blogging service.
- Layout or Template: a blog site design style. Templates vary according to color scheme, sidebar location, width, etc.
- Widget or Gadget: an optional area added to a blog that contains an image, text, or extra functionality.
Prerequisites
To create a Blogger blog, you need a Google account. If you have a Google account, skip to "Creating Your Blog." Having a Google account also gives you access to other Google services you will probably use; such as Picasa to manage images for your blog, and activity-monitoring tools such as Google Analytics and Google Webmaster Tools.
If you don't have a Google account yet, get a Gmail account. Why? If you have a Gmail account, you automatically have a Google account, and a Gmail account is easier to create. Also, it's faster to sign into Google each time because you only have to enter the "name portion" of your Gmail email address instead of an entire email address.
Sign up for a free Gmail or Google account. Then proceed to "Create Your Blog."
Creating Your Blog
- In the URL box, type blogger.com and sign in with your Google ID. If you are already signed into Google, you will only have to enter your password.
- On the first window, type a Display name. This is how your blog posts will be signed. Click I accept the Terms of Service after reviewing them, and then click Continue.
- Next, type the name of your blog, and then obtain a domain for your blog. If your domain is superman, the URL for your blog will be superman.blogspot.com. After typing a domain, click Check Availability until you find a domain that is available. Enter a Word Verification (captcha) if there is one, and click Continue.
- On the next window, choose a template and click Continue. Don't spend too much time here. If you change the template after the blog is created, you actually have more choices! You can preview a template by clicking preview template.
- The next window informs you that "Your blog has been created!" - so click Start Blogging. You are now on the New Post window of the Postings tab of your blog's Main Page. But we have a few Set-up tasks to complete first.
Set-up Tasks
From the Main Window of your blog, click the following tabs and make the changes indicated.
Settings tab
Click Basic:- Change the Blog Title if desired
- Write a short description of your blog. It will display on some templates.
- If you want your blog private - only for family and friends to access, change the setting for "Add your blog to our listings" and "Let Search engines find your blog" to No.
- Review the other settings and make changes if they apply to your blog. Then click Save Settings at the bottom of the window
- Choose your preferred date and time formats.
- Change the Time Zone and Language if necessary.
- Click Save Settings at the bottom of the window.
- If you will allow comments, choose who can comment.
- At the bottom, decide how you will moderate (approve/reject) comments before they post. You should moderate if you are going to allow anyone to comment.
- Either enter an email address, or plan to look at your Dashboard regularly to see if there is a comment that needs moderating.
- Decide if you want visitors to have to type a captcha (word verification) in order to comment. Since Google has made changes that discourage spam comments, this may not be as necessary as it once was. You can change this setting at any time.
- Click Save Settings.
Layout Tab
- Click Edit on the About Me gadget.
- If you don't want your profile displayed, click Remove and click OK.
- If you DO want your profile displayed, make sure the "Share my profile" box is checked, enter the information you want displayed on your blog, and click Save.
- Then click Save on the Layout Tab.
Remove any other gadgets that you don't want on the Layout. You can always add them later. To view your blog, click View Blog. To view your blog in a separate browser window or tab, right-click on View Blog and choose an option.
Blogger Profile
Before creating our first post, we need to edit our Blogger Profile. We do this from the Blogger Dashboard, so click Dashboard from your blog's main window. Then in the upper left corner, click Edit Profile.
If you want About Me to display on your blog, you must keep Share my profile checked. When you looked at your blog, you may have noticed that underneath the information in About Me there was a link that said "View my complete profile." Any additional information you add to your profile in this window will be visible when folks click on that link. If you include your photograph in your profile, it will display on your blog in the About Me section.
Anytime you create a new blog, Blogger will, by default, display the blog name on your profile. To manage which of your blogs display on your profile, click Select blogs to display and make your selection. Then click Save Settings at the bottom of the window.
If you want others to see the blogs that you are following, make sure Show sites I follow is checked. Then view your profile. The sites you are following will display at the bottom of your profile. To choose which blogs to display, click Manage Blogs I Follow. You can add and delete blogs, and choose to follow blogs publically (will display) or privately (will not display).
Creating Your First Post
If you are on the Blogger Dashboard, click New Post below your blog name. If you are already on the Main Window for your blog, just click the Wordpress.org is the other free blogging service on the Internet. Wordpress has a nice variety of templates to choose from, but the New Post tab.
Above the text area there are two tabs: HTML and Compose. If you do not know HTML, you need to click the Compose tab. Hover the cursor over the set of icons above the text area. These icons, when clicked, allow you to change the font size and color, insert an image, insert a hyperlink, etc. Just click on an icon and follow directions.
When you have completed your post, click Preview. Don't forget to type a blog post title and a label (optional). When all looks well, click Publish.
Other Free Blog Service
Wordpress.org is the other free blogging service on the Internet. Wordpress has a nice variety of templates to choose from, but the customization options are limited compared to Blogger and advertising is not allowed on their free blogs. Their user interface is very friendly.
If you do not want to customize your blog very much or monetize your blog, you might wish to consider a free WordPress blog. Please see our tutorial Creating a Free WordPress Blog.
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