Thursday, 22 March 2012

How to add a gadget/widget inside your Blogger Blog header

Some of you have noticed that many blogs have AdSense Units or other ads and widgets in the header section of the blog, one of the most popular format being the AdSense 468x60 ad unit.

gadget inside blogger header

Unfortunately, we are not always able to add a widget inside the blogger header as a Blogspot user. The reason is that if we are using the Blogger default template, or any other customized template available on the internet, the header may be locked and have no option to Add a gadget inside it or just next to the blog title.

The reason why some bloggers are using AdSense ads or different widgets in a blog header is because of its maximum of number of impressions. For instance, when a visitor goes to a page, this will be the first place where he would give a first look and this makes it one of the hottest spots in our blog.
But how we can add something inside blogger header - be it a Adsense unit, a search bar, social sharing buttons, or a widget? By simply adding a section in the blog's header. First off, to give space for the extra gadget to fit in, our blogger header should be resized.

Important!
Before anything, we need to make a back-up of our Blogger template so that if we do make any major errors, we can easily restore the original working template to our blog.

To make a back-up, go to Template and on the right side - click on the "Backup/Restore" button.


Clicking on this button, will prompt you to save your existing template as an XML file to your hard drive. You can change the name of the file and choose the location to ensure it is easy to find if you need to use this later.


Resize blogger header


Step 1. Go to Blogger Dashboard, click on Template > Edit HTML

Step 2. Click anywhere inside the code area and open the search box by using the CTRL + F keys:

adsense, blogger tricks, blogger widgets

Step 3. Add this code inside the search box, then hit Enter to find it:
<b:section class='header' id='header' maxwidgets=
Note: If you can't find it, make sure that you have no space at the beginning of it.

Step 4. Replace class='header' with class='header header-left'.

Step 5. Now we need to find - CTRL + F - the following line of code:
<div class='header-cap-bottom cap-bottom'>
And just above this line, we should see two div tags:
</div>
</div>
<div class='header-cap-bottom cap-bottom'>
Step 6. Paste the HTML code below just above these div tags:
<div style='clear:both;'/>

Now, let's go one step forward and add an extra gadget section within our Blogger header!

Add a new gadget/widget element to the Blogger Header


Step 7. Just above <div style='clear:both;'/> (step 6)... add this code:
<b:section class='header-right crosscol' id='header-right' maxwidgets='1' showaddelement='yes'/>
Step 8. Now find this tag:

    </head>

Step 9. Just above the </head> tag, add this CSS styling:
<style>
.header-left{
display: inline-block;
float: left;
}
#header-right {
display:inline-block;
float:right;
}
</style>
Note: if your widget is wider than overall area that both elements should occupy, then you might need to add the margin-right property to move it more on the right - see this example:
<style>
.header-left{
display: inline-block;
float: left;
}
#header-right {
display:inline-block;
float:right;
margin-right: -20px;
}
</style>
Step 10. Press the Save Template button to save the changes.

Step 11. Go to Layout of your blogger blog and you should see two gadgets on the header area.
You don't have to worry if the Add a Gadget element doesn't appear side by side as every blogger template is different. They might be slightly up or down or sometimes they might overlap each other. Just make sure that you drag the newly created widget just below the Header section.

widgets for blogger, blogger tricks

As I mentioned before, the header section could be one of the most valuable places in a blog. In that gadget/widget you can add anything like Adsense ads, search boxes, social sharing buttons, or you could, as well, sell that space for advertisement to boost your income.

Monday, 19 March 2012

How to Burn Blogger RSS Feeds at Feedburner

What is RSS?

A RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed is a XML-based format for your content. Most blogging platforms, for example, will have an RSS feed built in. Whenever you start publishing posts, your latest posts will be updated in the RSS feed. Visitors to your website can subscribe to your blog�s RSS feed in an RSS reader such as Google Reader.

What is FeedBurner?
Most blogs have RSS feed which is detected automatically by commonly used feed readers when the blog URL is added to the reader.

However, if you want to make it more obvious and easier for readers to subscribe using RSS, or want to know exactly how many people subscribe to your blog then the best option is to add a Feedburner RSS feed and email subscription to your blog.

Feedburner is a free web service which enhances bloggers and podcasters ability to manage their RSS feeds and track usage of their subscribers.


How to create a feed with feedburner

1. Go to Feedburner and sign in to Feedburner with your Google Account (create a Google Account first if you don�t have one).

2. To set up your RSS feed with Feedburner, simply copy the URL of your RSS feed and paste it into the �Burn a feed right this instant� box. Then click Next >>


3. On the next screen, choose the second options - RSS.


4. On the next screen you will be given your RSS feed�s new URL on Feedburner. You will want to use this URL anywhere you reference your RSS feed on your blog. Change the feed title and address with your own.


5. When you click on Next, you will be given the options to setup tracking features for your RSS feed.
Check "Clickthroughs" and "I want more!..." options.


Adding Your Feedburner Feed To Your Blog

This is used to add the RSS icon and easy subscribe options to your blog side bar using a text widget as explained below:

1. Click on the Publicize Tab > Chicklet Chooser in your Feedburner account and copy the HTML code.

2. Go to Blogger Dashboard > Design > Page Elements and add a new gadget

3. Select HTML/JavaScript from the pop-up window and paste the html code in the box.

Adding a FeedBurner Email Subscription

After you have set up your feed, you will want to consider giving visitors the option to subscribe to your content via email. If so, you will want to go to the Publicize tab and click on Email Subscriptions. Click on the Activate button to start email subscription service for your RSS feed.


You will then want to click on Communication Preferences in the left sidebar menu. This will allow you to customize the activation email subscribers receive to confirm their subscription.



Once customized, click Save. The next options you will want to configure are under Email Branding in the left sidebar menu. This is where you can upload a logo, customize the Email Subject line, and change the font styles, colors, and sizes to format the email subscribers will receive. Click Save when finished.
The last (and most important) setting for your email subscription is the Delivery Options. This is where you will tell Feedburner what time to deliver new RSS feed updates to subscribers.

Once saved, click on the Subscription Management link. Here, you can get the code to add a subscription form on your blog or you can get a link to your take visitors to the opt-in form for subscribing via email.

To add it on your blog:

1. Go to Blogger Dashboard > Design > Page Elements

2. Add a new Gadget

3. Select HTML/JavaScript & paste the code in the box.

Redirecting All Your Blog Feed To Feedburner

Unless you redirect all your blog feed to Feedburner you won�t get accurate subscriber numbers because some of your readers subscribe using your original blog feed.

To do this:

1. Go to Settings > Site Feed in your blog dashboard

2. Add your Feedburner address to Post Feed Redirect URL and click Save Changes.


3. Now all your feeds is automatically redirected through FeedBurner and you�ll be able to track subscribers.

If you are enjoying reading this blog, please consider Subscribing!

Saturday, 17 March 2012

Add Facebook Like Button Below Post Titles

facebook like button, blogger tricks

This Facebook Like button will allow visitors to Like your post and share it to their Facebook friends. In this post we will see how we can add a Like button for each individual Blogger post, and not a Facebook fan box for the entire blog (which is also a good idea to have in your sidebar). Having a Facebook Like button below your post titles makes easier for Facebook users to like specific posts on your blog, which in turn displays the liked content on their profile (and potentially on their friend's feeds).
If you want to add the Facebook Like Button below your blogger post title, then follow these steps:

Adding Facebook Like Button Below Post Titles


Step 1. Go To Blogger Dashboard > Template > Edit HTML 

Screenshot 
facebook for blogger, facebook button

Step 2. Click anywhere inside the code area and search - using CTRL + F keys - for this piece of code:
<data:post.body/>
Note: you might find it more than 3 times, stop to the second one (or third one in case it won't show up after applying the code from step 3)

Step 3.  Just above it, paste this code:
<p><iframe allowTransparency='true' expr:src='&quot;http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=&quot; + data:post.url + &quot;&amp;layout=button_count&amp;show_faces=false&amp;width=100&amp; action=like&amp;font=arial&amp;colorscheme=light&quot;' frameborder='0' scrolling='no' style='border:none; overflow:hidden; width:100px; height:20px;'/></p>
Screenshot

facebook button

Step 4. Save your template and you are done with this simple implementation of the Facebook Like button on your Blogger blog.

Auto Read More with thumbnail for Blogger/Blogspot Posts

How to make posts in the blog homepage to be displayed with an automatic "read more" button and a thumbnail.

To be more specific, this will show the title of the post, then a short summary with a number of characters and a thumbnail, that will be the thumbnail of the first image uploaded inside the post. After the thumbnail and the post summary, there will be a "Read More" link, which when you click on it, will take you to the actual post.
This Automatic Read More script will summarize content and a post summary will be shown only on the main blog page (homepage), category pages, and archive pages.


Using the Automatic Read More feature in Blogger Posts

Step 1. From your Blogger dashboard, go to Template and click on the Edit HTML button:


Step 2. Click anywhere inside the code area, then press the CTRL + F keys and search for this code:
<data:post.body/>
Note: after hitting Enter, you'll find this code more than once but you need to stop at the third one.

Step 3. Replace the code above with this one:
<b:if cond='data:blog.pageType != &quot;static_page&quot;'>
<b:if cond='data:blog.pageType != &quot;item&quot;'>
<div expr:id='&quot;summary&quot; + data:post.id'><data:post.body/></div>
<script type='text/javascript'>createSummaryAndThumb(&quot;summary<data:post.id/>&quot;,&quot;<data:post.url/>&quot;,&quot;<data:post.title/>&quot;);</script>
 <span class='readmore' style='float:right;'><a expr:href='data:post.url'>Read More &#187;</a></span></b:if></b:if>
<b:if cond='data:blog.pageType == &quot;item&quot;'><data:post.body/></b:if>
<b:if cond='data:blog.pageType == &quot;static_page&quot;'><data:post.body/></b:if>
Note: if you don't see any changes after going through all the steps, please try to replace the second <data:post.body/> as well.

Step 4. Now search for the following tag:
</head>
Step 5. Just above the </head> tag, add the following code:
<script type='text/javascript'>
posts_no_thumb_sum = 490;
posts_thumb_sum = 400;
img_thumb_height = 160;
img_thumb_width = 180;
</script>
<script type='text/javascript'>
//<![CDATA[
function removeHtmlTag(strx,chop){
if(strx.indexOf("<")!=-1)
{
var s = strx.split("<");
for(var i=0;i<s.length;i++){
if(s[i].indexOf(">")!=-1){
s[i] = s[i].substring(s[i].indexOf(">")+1,s[i].length);
}
}
strx = s.join("");
}
chop = (chop < strx.length-1) ? chop : strx.length-2;
while(strx.charAt(chop-1)!=' ' && strx.indexOf(' ',chop)!=-1) chop++;
strx = strx.substring(0,chop-1);
return strx+'...';
}
function createSummaryAndThumb(pID, pURL, pTITLE){
var div = document.getElementById(pID);
var imgtag = "";
var img = div.getElementsByTagName("img");
var summ = posts_no_thumb_sum;
if(img.length>=1) {
imgtag = '<span class="posts-thumb" style="float:left; margin-right: 10px;"><a href="'+ pURL +'" title="'+ pTITLE+'"><img src="'+img[0].src+'" width="'+img_thumb_width+'px" height="'+img_thumb_height+'px" /></a></span>';
summ = posts_thumb_sum;
}

var summary = imgtag + '<div>' + removeHtmlTag(div.innerHTML,summ) + '</div>';
div.innerHTML = summary;
}
//]]>
</script>

<b:if cond='data:blog.pageType != &quot;static_page&quot;'>
<b:if cond='data:blog.pageType != &quot;item&quot;'>
<style type='text/css'>
.post-footer {display: none;}
.post {margin-bottom: 10px; border-bottom: 1px dotted #E6E6E6; padding-bottom: 20px;}
 .readmore a {text-decoration: none; }
</style>
</b:if>
</b:if>
Note: 

- To change the number of characters shown when there is no thumbnail, modify the 490 value in blue. For the number of characters shown when a post has a thumbnail, modify the 400 value.
- If you want larger thumbnails, modify the 160 (height) and 180 (width) values in red.

Step 6. Click on the Save template button to save the changes.

That's it, enjoy!

Friday, 16 March 2012

Adsense Ad Code Converter

HTML has special handling for characters like < and > symbols, so it doesn't work well with those characters where they shouldn't be.

Having spurious characters like those symbols in your text can have some weird effects - blocks of text not appearing, broken formatting, and generally just not seeing what you expect to see.

This can all be fixed by 'escaping' those characters. This process involves scanning the text for those characters, and replacing them with a special character-code that browsers can interpret as the correct symbol, without actually embedding that symbol in your text.
For example, the escaped character code for > is &gt;.

This tool automatically converts javascript ad code into the correct format so you can embed it directly into your new xml Blogger template. It�s perfect for converting AdSense, AdBrite, Chitika or any other javascript ad code you may have.

paste code
Instructions

Paste your Adsense code or any HTML in the empty box and then press the Convert button.

How to put Adsense ads on Blogger/Blogspot

If you want to earn money from your site/blog, Google Adsense is the most popular service to monetize your blog or website content. When implemented, Adsense will display targeted Google ads on your blog and they can generate revenue on either a per-click or per-impression basis.

In order to display ads on your site, you should first Sign Up to Google Adsense program.

Before adding your ads, keep in mind that Adsense allows only up to 3 ad units, 3 link units and 2 search boxes per page.

In this tutorial i will show you the three ways you can add Adsense ads to your blog.

1. Adsense Gadget


Use this method to add ad unit as a widget, in places outside the blog post area. You can position it by simply dragging it in Page Elements, just like any other widget. To add the Adsense Gadget, follow these steps:
Step 1. Log in to your Blogger Dashboard, go to Layout and click on the "Add a Gadget" link on the right side.

blogger layout, add a gadget

Step 2. From the pop-up window, select the AdSense Gadget

adsense gadget, blogger widgets

Step 3. Configure ad format and colors (see the screenshot for more details)

adsense format, adsense blogger

Step 4. Finally, click on the Save button and you're done.

2. Inline Ads


This will display an ad unit at the end of each post. To show ads between posts:

Step 1. Go to Design > Page Elements and click the Edit link in Blog Posts gadget box.

blogger posts, blogger layout

Step 2. Check the "Show Ads Between Posts" box.

show ads in blogger

Step 3. Configure ad frequency, ad format, and colors. Live preview is provided beneath the settings.

Step 4. Click on the Save button to save the settings.

3. Adsense code


The most notable benefits of using this method are:
  • You can place ad anywhere in your blog
  • You can add the code anywhere in your blog template - in your post content or page.
  • To find out which format perform the best, custom channels will help you to track the performance of specific groups of ad units.
  • You can choose types other than ad unit i.e. link unit, search box.

To create an ad unit:

Step 1. Go to Google Adsense website.
Step 2. Click on My ads tab, go to Ad units and then click on the "New ad unit" button.


Step 3. Choose your ad type, choose format and colors and assign channels.
Step 4. When you have finished editing, click on the Save and get code >> button and copy the code provided.

To add an ad unit to your blog, you have the following options:
  • Paste the code in a HTML/Javascript gadget
  • Paste the code in the blog post or page HTML section, or
  • Paste the code direct in your template. (if you choose this option, first you should convert adsense ad code)
If you have any more questions, leave a comment below.

Monday, 12 March 2012

How To Remove Blogger Threaded Comments

The Blogger Threaded commenting system allows a reader to reply to other reader comments on that post. Blogger supports threaded commenting with two levels - the original comment, and the replies to that comment. If you want remove threaded comments from your blogger blog, follow these steps:

Important!
Before anything, we need to make a back-up of our Blogger template so that if we do make any major errors, we can easily restore the original working template to our blog.

To make a back-up of your Blogger template, from your Blogger dashboard - go to Template and click on the "Backup/Restore" button on the right side.
Clicking on this button, will prompt you to save your existing template as an XML file to your hard drive. You can change the name of the file and choose the location to ensure it is easy to find if you need to use this later.

Removing the Blogger Threaded Comments (with reply option)


Step 1. Go to Template and click on the Edit HTML button

blogger template edit html

Step 2. Click anywhere inside the code area and press CTRL + F keys to open the Blogger' search box 


Step 3. Paste or type the following code - or the first line of it - inside the search box in order to find it:
<b:if cond='data:post.showThreadedComments'>
            <b:include data='post' name='threaded_comments'/>
          <b:else/>
            <b:include data='post' name='comments'/>
          </b:if>
        </b:if>
        <b:if cond='data:blog.pageType == &quot;item&quot;'>
          <b:if cond='data:post.showThreadedComments'>
            <b:include data='post' name='threaded_comments'/>
          <b:else/>
            <b:include data='post' name='comments'/>
          </b:if>
        </b:if>
Step 4. Now remove it (you'll find this code twice and replace it twice) and paste this code instead:
   <b:include data='post' name='comments'/>
          </b:if>
               <b:if cond='data:blog.pageType == &quot;item&quot;'>
                     <b:include data='post' name='comments'/>
     
        </b:if>

Step 5. Save the changes by clicking on the Save template button.

That was all!