How to create a stand alone page on Blogger

If you want a permanent place on your blog for a 'Privacy and Cookie Policy',  an  ' About Me' page or  a 'Disclosure of Material Conections' then you need to use a page rather than a post.

Before making changes to your blog template please take a backup first and perhaps play around on a test blog if you are really unsure about what you are doing first.

Using the the new Blogger interface, this is the way to create a page:

Instead of posts, use the 'pages' link on the left hand side.  Then 'new page', 'blank page'

Now complete your page details just like it was a blog post.  Everything works just the same.   When you have finished, think about whether you want to accept comments or not. I don't on my 'policies'.

Once you have 'published' the page you will get a screen that asks you how you want to show it on your blog.  I choose 'don't show' - I'll show you what I do next - but have a play you might find the options there suit you just fine and then you are finished,  I find they mess up my template but that may not be the same for yours.  If it does you can come back to this screen and change it to don't show simply by clicking on the pages link on the left hand side.

 If you decide to show your page through a gadget on your blog (I'm about to show you how) you need the page url.  Just click on the page title from the 'pages' link and where it takes you to is your page,  copy the url at the top of your browser.

I show my pages through gadgets, my bar across the top of my blog has my 'About Me' page linked from it.  I use the link list gadget to do this.

In your layout screen either edit your link list or if you don't have that gadget then choose 'add gadget' from where you want it to go. And scroll down the gadgets to Linklist and click on the + sign. .

The 'new site url' is the url of your page.  The 'new site name' is  whatever you want people to see the title of it as on the link/bar/list e.g 'My Cookie Policy' or 'About Me'  Now click 'Add link'.   The arrows you see help you change the order of of your list.  Remember to 'save' to close the window you are in.

You might want to place a link to a page somewhere else on your blog.  You can do this with any type of link, it's the same as before, you just need the URL of whatever you want to link to.  So your page url is what you need in this case.

From your 'layout' screen, choose ' add gadget', the scroll down to 'html/java script' and click on the + sign.

The code you place in the Content box looks like this.  Just <a href="http://your/page/url">My Link Title</a> You can give it another Title if you like from the 'Title' box. Remember to save to exit.

Hope this help, if you have any questions I'll try to help and update this post with anything that isn't clear.

Remember your backups and perhaps play around with a test blog if you are really unsure about what you are doing first.

Read more...

How to backup a Blogger Blog

Why would you want to backup your blog? Under the normal course of events you probably don't need to. Google will have a level of resilience in their servers that means you aren't likely to lose your blog through any fault of theirs (or if you do so will lots of others!).

But what Google don't protect you against is you. It's really easy to play around with your template and mess it up and it's really quite easy to delete a blog by mistake. A backup and restore is also a really easy way to create a test blog that you can play around with.

There are 2 types of Blogger backup, your template and then your actually content (posts).

Template Backup

Before you make changes to your layout you should always back up your template first.  Backing up your template does not back up your content.  When you make template changes you are changing the way your blog looks not your posts, it's important if you mess up your code completely you can go back to the way it used to look.

On the menu on the left choose 'template', then over on the far right choose 'backup/restore'

Now click on the orange 'Download full template'

You will get the chance to save it to somewhere, this is important....save it to somewhere obvious and give it an obvious name.  I have lots of backups called stupid things like 'before I messed with colours' because I understand that at midnight...I will not understand the standard name blogger gives it.

Don't change the .xml part on the end.

Well done, you have a template backup.  Now before you do anything, navigate to the folder where you put the backup and say "ohhh, look there is my backup".  If you can't find it, don't start making changes, go do a backup again until you have one you can see and touch and feel all good about.

If you love fiddling like me, you'll backup your template regularly, I also keep my gadget/widget code in separate notepad files because I'm ace at screwing them up through playing around too.

Content Backup

I rarely backup my content, I trust google to have resilience, bless their free cotton socks.  But sometimes I want to upload my posts to a test blog, or sometimes I just want to feel like I'm in control.  But if you move platforms and want to take content (your posts) with you then you will need to do an 'export'.

Choose 'settings' from the left hand menu.  Then, still on the left, 'other'.  Then in the top middle of the page 'export blog'.   (OK, don't panic that 'delete blog' is really close, if the cat knocks your hand at the crucial moment I promise you there is another box that pops up that gives you the chance to cancel.)  Click on 'export blog'.

 Now click on download blog.

Save it to a folder you know where it is and give it a sensible name.  Don't change the .xml part on the end.


Well done, you have an export (content backup). Now before you do anything, navigate to the folder where you put the backup and say "ohhh, look there is my export file". If you can't find it go do it again until you have one you can see and touch and feel all good about. (But I still suspect that your content is way safer on Google's servers than your home PC - but maybe I'm too trusting!)
Google, whilst they might protect your content will not be version protecting your template, so if you stuff that up it's up to you to have a decent backup and restore it.  If you glossed over the first part of this then go back to the start (do not collect £200) and do it, go on, shoo!

If you want any help, have questions or I've confused you, please ask and I will try to help and I will update this post.

Read more...