**UPDATED 6/9/09**
OK, I am FINALLY getting this post done--my apologies to any of you who've been waiting for all the links I've been promising. In reality, most of this information could probably be found in my other Blogger Tips & Tricks Posts, but I've tried to add a few other helpful sites here as well. Here are some of the best sites I've found with tips, layouts and more for Blogger:
BLOG TEMPLATES
The Cutest Blog on the Block ~ Specializes in 2- and 3-column templates for blogs, wish super easy "installation." For those of you who remember my first blog layout, that's the site I used.
Simply Fabulous Blogger Templates ~ The site where I found my current blog layout. There are some really great options on this site!
That Blog Place ~ Another site specializing in Blogger layouts. Some of them are reminiscent of TCBOTB, in my opinion.
TIPS, TRICKS & WIDGETS
Blogger Tips & Tricks ~ The home of some great customization tips and various useful widgets. If you recall, I mentioned that I must have unwittingly "stolen" their site name for my series of posts. Oops. :-)
Blogger Buster ~ Another great tips & tricks web site. This is where I learned to add a third column to an existing Blogger template...
Blogger Plugins ~ Another great place for widgets. I think I've used at least 5 or 6 from this site on my own blog.
Blogger Templates ~ The name says it all, though they have some great widgets available, too. Look for their header links to navigate through the site more easily.
Blogging For Good in the Modern World ~ I will forever be grateful to this site for helping me figure out how to get links to work in my header. They also have other helpful information, so check it out!
Blogging Tips ~ Thanks to Jo for mentioning this site. It will be a good resource for all blogging, not just blogger tips and tricks, and you can find it at Book Blogs on Ning. In my opinion, any sites with people exchanging helpful information about blogging are worth mentioning!!
Just Another Pixel - This site is where I discovered how to make scrolling blogrolls. It's actually someone's personal blog, but they have a few tutorials you might find helpful.
MISCELLANEOUS HELPFUL SITES
Photobucket ~ A great picture hosting web site--they offer several different methods for linking pictures--HTML code, direct link, etc. It's great for hosting your blog buttons and more! I've found their site to be one of the most user-friendly out there, and there's no purchase requirement to host your photos, it's 100% free!
FileDen - Another photo hosting site. It supports the favicon (.ico) files, in case the ICONJ site below is still not up and running when you're reading this post.
ICONJ ~ A Favicon generator and hosting site. This is the site I used to host my favicon, the butterfly you see in your browser's address bar.
Favicons from Pics - This little site will generate a nice little favicon kit for you, with the option to have just the .ico file or an animated .gif favicon. It's another great option in case ICON is still out of commission when you decide to work on a favicon for your blog!
HTML Color Codes ~ There are probably dozens of sites where you can find codes for HTML colors, but this is one of my favorites. I get a little obsessed with wanting my text and various generated images/widgets to coordinate with my blog's look & feel, so this site comes in handy for me.
Palette Generator ~ Thanks to Becky for mentioning this site! It's VERY cool... You can upload a picture and it will generate HTML codes and swatches that you can use to coordinate with the picture.
LAST THOUGHTS...
When in doubt... run a Google search! Any time I wanted to figure out how to do something in Blogger, I searched for the answer. Sometimes I'd have to type my query in several different ways before I found what I was looking for, but almost every time I managed to get an answer to my question!
Well folks, this pretty much does it for my Blogger Tips & Tricks series. If anything else comes up down the road I'll be sure to write additional entries, but for now I hope I've provided you with plenty of resources to answer your questions about Blogger! I may also come back from time to time and update this link post with other helpful sites, since I feel like I may be forgetting some now. :-) I know I've heard from several of you that have been able to make use of these posts or plan to in the future, and I'm so glad to hear it! If there's ever anything I can do to be of help, please don't hesitate to ask. I don't proclaim to be an expert, but I know what it's like to try to figure this stuff out on your own and wishing there was someone you could just talk to about it! :-)
BTW, if YOU have any helpful links, I would love for you to leave a comment with the link (and I'm sure others would, too)!
Friday, May 8, 2009
15 comments:
This blog does not use CAPTCHA, please comment freely! However, I have had to disable the "Anonymous" commenting feature since the spammers are just out of control. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment -- I love to hear what you think! Feedback and discussion are always welcome. Happy reading :-)
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Great tips Melissa - I do intend to getting around to adding some to my blog in the not too distant future.
ReplyDeleteThank you! I have been wondering how you all make your blogs three column.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great post. I need to figure out what half of this stuff is you are talking about! I am too afraid to try to mess with my template too much-like adding a 3rd column--I am a chicken heart!
ReplyDelete*smiles*
Kim
The one site I'd add that I think is pretty much one of the most useful I've ever found is Big Huge Lab's palette generator. You upload any image, hit create, and it gives you a good amount of colors (and codes) to choose from.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Melissa! Awesome links there!
ReplyDeleteI don't know if you wish to mention it or not, as it's not always technical blogger tips, but on Book Blogs on Ning there is a whole group dedicated to Blogging Tips. Members ask questions, and pass on info they've discovered, etc, and I myself have found it extremely helpful.
Super set of resources. Thanks!!
ReplyDeleteMelissa.. thanks for putting all this info in one place. Makes it so easy for us to reference. I really appreciate all the info you have posted. Your posts nudged me to finally get those headers up. Without you I would still be googling.
ReplyDeleteThanks! My ice cream blog will soon be all the sweeter!
ReplyDeleteBecky & Jo ~ Thanks for the links! I am going to add them to the post momentarily. I really appreciate that--I was hoping some other people would have site suggestions because I know there are a lot of great ones out there.
ReplyDeleteBeth F, Ti & Brad ~ You're welcome! Glad I could help! :-)
Aaaaaaaand I'm bookmarking this post for future reference. Thanks for the list of tips!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Melissa, I love these posts of yours, they've helped a blogger newbie immeasurably :-)
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteWe have just added your latest post "Melissa's Bookshelf: Blogger Tips & Tricks: Helpful Links" to our Directory of Foreclosure . You can check the inclusion of the post here . We are delighted to invite you to submit all your future posts to the directory and get a huge base of visitors to your website.
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This post was so helpful! More helpful than google! You introduced me to some great sites. Thanks so much!! Your blog is great! I'm a follower :-)
ReplyDelete-booksequallife.blogspot.com
Blogs about books are great and can teach great stuff. Many of the books on my bookshelves were bought at the advices found on blogs.
ReplyDeletei want use 2 coloumn template with fresh colour...san you tell me where i got that mel?
ReplyDelete