100+more Ways toMakeaBloggerBlogLookand ActLike a Website| Sylvia...

May 1, 201406:01:19 PM Latest2:15 PM Jasmine Hambling Artist - You were once Wild Here – Don’t Let them Tame You Home» Art Promotion» Artist Websites» blogging»How to Make your Blog at Blogger look more Professional How to Make your Blog at Blogger look more Professional Blogging has become very popular among artists on the internet. Typically, artists choose one of two blogging platforms – Blogger or Wordpress. A free blog can be created at both of these sites. I have two main blogs myself, both hosted by Blogger. In my time online, I have discovered several ways to make these blogs appear more professional, even though they are freely hosted by Google. The advantages of using Blogger are many. *.In minutes anyone with little technical knowledge can have a free blog of their own. *.Blogger is also known for itshigh security. Your blog is as secure as your Google password. *.Blogger has 100% uptime. Hosted websites sometimes experience periods of downtime. You can feel confident that people will always find your blog. *.Plenty of free widgets, tutorials and codesare available on the web to optimize the blog. For those who have a blog hosted by Google Blogger, here are some steps you can take it make it appear more professional. How to Make a Professional Looking Blog at Google Blogger 1. Search for a free premium templateYou have the option of choosing one of the free templateswhich Blogger provides. But, there are certain advantages of finding a premium Blogger template. Uniqueness– Much less people using it than the free templates from Blogger. Optimized for SEO– Many of the premium templates are created by web designers and are optimized for search engines. Search at Google forfree Blogger portfolio template(search under images to see some very good free templates) orfree Blogger magazine template, depending on the type you want. To add your new template, clickTemplatein your Blogger dashboard menu. HitBackup/Restoreat the top right. Backup your current template first by clickingDownload full template, in case you are not satisfied with the look of the new one. Then, click theChoose Filebutton to upload your new Blogger template. 2. Remove the Blogger navbar at the topThe blogger navigation bar has several functions, includingsearch, next blog, flag blog, and asigninfor your Dashboard. But, the main disadvantage is that it makes a blog look like millions of blogs out there. So, in the interest of having a professional looking and unique blog, I recommend removing this navbar. Login to your Bloggerdashboard. SelectLayoutin the main menu. Click the edit link next to Navbar at the top to get a Navbar configure menu. At the bottom, of this menu, check theOffoption. HitSaveand you are done. Your blog will now display a blank space where the navbar once was. If you don’t like this blank space, there is a more complicated way of removing the code by editing your template. Tutorials can be found for this by searching forremove blogger navbarat Google. Remember though, before editing your Blogger template, always back it up! 3. Get a unique custom domainIf your goal is to receive visitors via search engines, you will be fighting an uphill battle without a custom domain for your blog. The normal domain for blogger normally looks like this: gr ahammatthewsart.blogspot.com. With recent changes, these domains actually redirect to country specific domains such as .ca, depending on where a visitor lives. Technically, your visitors will be going to different blogs, since the domains are different. Of course this presents several problems if you are hoping to get your blog ranked in search engines. Blogger trafficis spread out across several country specific domains! There is a very simple solution to this… but it is surprising how often it is overlooked – aCustom Domain. Buying and setting up a custom domain is very easy. Blogger has their own service for just $10 a year. Godaddyalso has an easy setup page for Blogger. We have a tutorial for redirecting a custom domain to Blogger – Redirect Godaddy Domain to BloggerIf you need help setting up a domain, please mention it below. 4. Blogger FaviconThe favicon is the tiny icon seen near the name of your website, at the address bar in your browser. They make a blog appear more professional and are one of the ways to brand yourself on the web. A favicon is typically 16 X 16 px in size. To create one, search online for free favicon creator or go to the free tool at Dynamic Drive. Use a logo, or even use a photo of yourself or a painting. Refer to this tutorial for creating a logo: Make a Logo When your favicon is created, go toLayoutin your Blogger dashboard. Near the Favicon section at the top, clickedit. Find the favicon file on your computer, upload it, Save, and you are all done. 5. Create an attractive banner for the top.A banner can include your logo, your name, and even image(s) of your artwork. The size will depend on the size which your template allows. If you have knowledge of Photoshopor other image editing software, I recommend creating one there. There are also numerousfree online banner makerswhich may be found by searching using that phrase. If you want a tutorial for creating a banner using Photoshop or other software, please let me know. These are just a few things which can be done to make a Blogger blog appear more professional. After these are done, take additional steps, such as adding a label cloud, a form for your contact page, and exploring the many free widgets available online. I have completed these steps for my own blog at Graham Matthews Art. 30 Jan 2013 Posted by Graham Matthews Labels: Art Promotion, Artist Websites, blogging Next Founder Misha Stoutenbeek on the Global Art Community Noenga Previous Helen Duplassie Artist - Finding Myself After Retiring Related Posts Advantages of Testimonials for Artist Websites Are you using testimonials on your artist website? Testimonials are typically short endorsements fr... Read more » 10 Feb 2014 Touchtalent – Social Network for Artists to Promote and Sell Art I recently discovered Touchtalent and have set up a free profile at this creative social network. T... Read more » 03 Feb 2014 David Munroe Art – Win a Free Original Painting by Sharing your Picture on his Facebook Page David Munroe Art is holding a competition at his Facebook page where the prize will be his large... Read more » 25 Jan 2014 How Artists Can Get Noticed on the Internet There is one thing which most online artists desire, and that is to get their artwork noticed and m... Read more » 20 Jan 2014 Artpromotivate Top Monthly Articles of 2013 – Part 1 The new year is almost here! 2013 has been a very successful year for this site – both in readership... Read more » 28 Dec 2013 6 comments: Karen Middleton January 31, 2013 at 10:25 AM Graham - your blog rocks! I've never seen that effect before with the sliddy pictures. I've jsut started a blog and used the same name as my website, and looking forward to seeing how it goes. Thank you again for sharing your knowledge. Reply Graham Matthews January 31, 2013 at 2:43 PM @ Karen Middleton Thank-you Karen! Glad you like my blog..I REALLY like your site.. especially the graphics and layout! Reply melvin jason April 8, 2013 at 5:41 AM give a comment, please.. Reply InSeason Mom Cynthia May 3, 2013 at 6:25 PM Goggle search engine brought me to your site and I definitely plan to browse further. I've already used one of your tips to make my blog look more professional. Thank you so much for sharing and providing great "easy to follow" tips! Reply john writs May 9, 2013 at 9:57 PM can you provide the html code of your sharing buttons below your posts. please contact me at pleasecatchus@ gmail.com Reply akshay July 28, 2013 at 5:38 AM Good techniques,i Will definitely use them in my blog. I Have removed the navbar and i want to make my blog more professional looking. Reply Add comment Thank-you for your comment! Click to see the code! To insert emoticon you must added at least one space before the code. 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