Blogger Part 2: Customizing Your Blog

welcome back! here's what we did in last class. as you can see, i have a blog, but it looks so generic! i'm going to show you how to adjust the layout, modify which "Gadjets" are on your blog, add your own backgrounds and color schemes, and add links on the sidebar to other websites-blogs are all about networking!

so, the first step is to click on the link that says "Customize" in the upper right hand corner of the blog screen-i've circled it here.

this screen is a layout of your blog. here, you can add gadgets to the blog and adjust the layout. first, we're adjusting the layout of the blog...which is easy! just pick up the gadjets and move them around to arrange them any way you like.

next, we are adding gadgets to the sidebar of your site. click on the link (circled in the picture) that says "Add a Gadget"

here's the add a gadget panel. here, you can add a list of websites, a list of your followers, rss feeds and more. we're going to add a List of Links- which is halfway down the list of gadgets- for this tutorial, but feel free to expiriment. click on the little plus sign to add the Link List Gadget to your blog sidebar.

here is the setup window for the Link List Gadget. you can title the list anything you want, and put whatever link you want on your site, like other people's blogs, your Xstreet page (if you have one) or your shop's Slurl. Just fill in the url and the name of the site, then click "Add Link" circled here.

as you can see, the link has been added to the Gadget. one you are finished adding links, click on "Save" to exit the window.

the layout has been modified, but you can't see what it looks like. click the link up top that says "Veiw Blog" to see your blog in all it's glory. (a dialog box will pop up asking you if you really want to navigate away, click yes.)

well, now you've got your own gadget that links to your favorite sites. it still looks horrible. so we're gonna spiff it up a bit. we'll start by editing the text colors- click again on cusomize.

you'll be back on the layout screen, but we aren't fiddling with the layout now. click on the link at the top that says "Fonts and Colors" (circled)

the color editing screen looks like this. here you can choose the background, link, and text colors for your blog. it's simple and straightforeward, and you can see a preveiw at the bottom of what your page will look like with the colors you have chosen. when you are done, click "save Changes" to make it permanent.

now doesn't that look better? there's only one more way to edit your blog...and that way i can't teach you, because that is by HTML. and i cannot script. However, i'm sure many of you are familiar with HTML, so i'll show you how to get to the HTML editor. Start by clicking on the Customize link again.

now that you are back here, look to the "Edit HTML" link. that's what you are clicking on. if just the sight of code makes your head spin, i'm warning you now.

and here it is. my head is hurting already, but i'm sure many of you are drooling right now, imagining feats of code so amazing it would make your veiwers head spin. so, one word of caution: backup your site's HTML in case you ruin it!


other than that, have fun! make freinds in the second life blogosphere! or start your own community! heck, you can make a blog about anything you want-your buisiness, your screenshots, your drama, your cat. don't expect to become a celebrity, just have fun with it!