Your Blogger Template Could Be Holding You Back!

Written by Amanda Fazani from Blogger Buster on March 17, 2008

“Content is king” has become a blogging mantra: if you develop great, unique content you should also be able to gain a wide readership for your work.

But then you only get one change to make a good first impression. If your blog’s appearance doesn’t stick in the mind of the casual visitor, how can you be sure they will remember what you have written?

One of the great criticisms of Blogger powered blogs is that so many of them look the same. There are only 16 default Blogger templates available to those who publish with Blogger (albeit in varying shades and styles). If you use a default template for your Blogger blog, what is there to make your blog stand out from the crowd?

In essence, your Blogger template could be holding you back! By using the same design as thousands of other bloggers in your niche, you won’t be able to provide a great first impression - no matter how great your blog’s content may be!

So what can you do to make your Blogger powered blog stand out from the crowd?

Try a new template?

Your blog’s appearance is the first thing visitors will see when they visit your blog. A great visual appearance (especially one themed to match your niche) will create a great first impression, and shows that you care enough about your work to dress it well!

The variety of free Blogger templates may not be as wide as those available for Wordpress users, but there are some excellent themes available to choose from and after some research you are sure to find something to suit you.

Here are some of the best providers of free Blogger templates:

Using a non-standard template will certainly set your blog apart from the thousands who use default Blogger templates. But what if you’d prefer to develop a completely unique look for your blog?

Customize your Blogger Template!

You don’t need to be an HTML expert to develop a unique identity for your Blogger powered blog! There are several simple techniques you could use which would certainly help your blog stand out from the rest!

Design a unique logo or header

Your blog’s header section is the first visual element readers will see, and even default templates can be given a whole new lease of life with the addition if a unique header banner!

Using your favorite image editor, you can easily create a new header banner or a stylish logo in fitting with the theme of your niche. Or if your design skills aren’t quite up to scratch, try using a banner generator instead.

For those who use Blogger’s layout templates, uploading a new header image is as easy as 1-2-3! Simply go to the Page Elements section of your blog, click on the “header” widget and choose to upload your image from your computer. If you choose to use your image instead of the title and description, your whole image will be clickable and lead back to your home page. Alternatively, you can choose to use your image as a background to your title and description, then your original title and description will display over the image instead.

Those using Classic Blogger templates will need to add the code to display their header image manually in their template code. For this to work, you will need to upload your header image to an image file host. Then you can call your image and link this to your blog’s home page, like this:

<a href=”http://your-blog.blogspot.com”><img src=”http://your-image-host.com/yourimage.jpg” alt=”Alt Text” /></a>

Use a new color scheme

A different color scheme and new background instantly transforms a generic template into something unique. Using colors which complement those of your custom header will make your theme appear well designed and certainly give the impression of a unique design.

Color Blender is a great tool which can help you decide a new color scheme for your blog. Simply choose a color you like, and Color Blender will generate a complementary palette of colors for you to use.

Add some new widgets or interactive elements

Carefully chosen widgets in your sidebar can add an element of interaction for your readers and direct them to content which may otherwise be overlooked. Popular Blogger widgets include:

Where possible, you can also style these widgets to match your Blogger template, adding an even greater depth to your blog’s redesign.

Useful Resources

Here are useful sites and articles to help you ensure your own Blogger template design stands out from the crowd:

Share and Enjoy:

Written by Amanda Fazani from Blogger Buster on March 17, 2008 | Filed Under Blogger

3 Responses so far | Have Your Say!

Hopeful Spirit | March 17th, 2008 at 10:37 pm #

A better option would be to ditch Blogger altogether and set up shop on Word Press. I started on Blogger because I didn’t know better, but quickly found its limitations. Within 6 months, I made the switch to WordPress and it was the best thing I could have done. It has limitless possibilities and is easy to use, but also easy to learn & advance in customization techniques. My observations lead me to believe that all of the really successful bloggers use WordPress. And for good reason!
redwall_hp | March 21st, 2008 at 10:36 am #

Note that Blogger could be holding you back… *cough* get WordPress and a real domain *cough*
Manick | March 21st, 2008 at 10:52 am #

Hi Amanda,

Useful information for Blogger bloggers. Thanks for your link to my popular posts widget.