Changing the appearance of your Blogger site using templates

When you set up a new Blogger site, you can choose from sixteen different templates, most of which have more than one theme version. When I first started blogging, I often tried two or three default templates before I organized a site that is relevant to my site's theme. You can use one of the following methods to change an existing template. Selecting a New Blogger Default Template There are a few ways to change the template. The easiest way is to simply switch to one of the other default templates provided by Blogger. You can switch templates by clicking Layout -> New Template Selection in the Blogger Dashboard. You can select a new template as soon as you select the first one. All the information on the blog (posts, pictures, and videos) is retained. Blogger's system separates the actual information (your messages and media) presented in the blog from the way the information is presented – the subject of your blog.

When you change the template by selecting a new template, the Blogger system is smart enough to preserve the currently configured modules. For example, if you added the gadgets using the Add Gadget link on the Layout -> Page Elements tab, the modules remain in the new template design. Later, I'll discuss a method to modify the template design, which requires greater caution.

Editing the Template XML Code

Another way to customize the template is to edit the blog template file. You can access Layout -> Edit HTML in the template file. Blogger would probably give a more accurate name to the "Edit XML" link, as this is what you are actually editing. The template file contains some variable definitions, some CSS style definitions, and finally the body of the blog page that contains a lot of XML tags that look like this:

to effectively edit the template for fonts and Beyond changing the colors in the variable definition section, you need to know (or be ready to learn) some things about CSS and the Blogger XML Schema. You will probably study the existing XML settings and some attempts to find out what fixes you are looking for. When you make changes, you may need to make a backup copy of the last worksheet so you don't have to go back from the original template file if something spoils you.

Installing a Third Party Blogger Template

The third way to change the blog theme is to download and install the Blogger template created by the designer. There are many free Blogger templates available for download over the Internet.

To install a third-party Blogger template, save the template XML file to your computer. Then, on the Layout -> Edit HTML page, click Browse … and locate the template file on your computer. Then click Open to edit the HTML. Click Upload to upload the new template.

Something to keep in mind when using a third-party blogs template is to add gadgets to your blog (eg Followers, Voting, Labels, etc.). avoid the removal of modules. If you download and install a template that does not support custom modules, they will be deleted when you save the new template.

If the new template has no errors, the following message will appear when you click the Upload button.

Widgets are deleted

Please confirm that the following widgets must be deleted. All widgets & # 39; the configuration data is lost.

The warning message then lists the modules that will be deleted if you continue to upload the new template. To avoid losing existing modules, you need to find the XML tags that represent the modules in the current template and combine them with the template you want to upload. This can be a little tricky. You may get help from the original template designer.

All three methods of changing existing themes have advantages and disadvantages. Hopefully this article has helped you understand the issues in question, so you can make an informed decision. Happy blogging!

Source by Richard Robbins

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