As with any new software you want to use, you need to take some time to understand what all the links, buttons, icons, and tools that are offered on your screen can do for you. Most of the features provided by Blogger can be accessed directly from the Blogger dashboard — it’s the first page that opens when you sign in to your Blogger account.
Signing in to Blogger
You can access your blog’s dashboard at any time after you log into Blogger.
1. Visit the Blogger home page.
To get there, enter the URL www.blogger.com into your browser.
2. Enter your username and password in the text boxes in the upperright
corner of the page.
Use the e-mail address and password you provided when you registered for your Google account and started your Blogger blog.
3. Click the Sign In button.
Your Blogger dashboard automatically opens.
If you forget your username or password, you can click the question mark link above the login fields on the Blogger home page or type the URL www.blogger.com/forgot.g into your Web browser. This action opens the Forgot Your Username or Password page where you can enter the requested
information to recover your username or password.
Introducing the Blogger dashboard
From your Blogger dashboard, you can access all the controls for your blog, just like the tools to drive your car are located on your car’s dashboard. The primary elements of the main Blogger dashboard are described in this list:
Manage Your Blogs: This section lists your existing blogs with links to each one, where you can write new posts, change the blog’s settings, revise the blog’s layout, or even view the blog live online. Each of these options is discussed in detail later in this chapter. You can also click the
Create a Blog link to start another blog that is then added to the Manage Your Blogs section of the dashboard.
Blogs of Note: The latest entries from Blogger blogs that you sign up to follow (select the Add button to add blogs you like), the Blogger Buzz blog, and blogs of note according to Blogger appear in the Reading List section of your dashboard so that you can easily see the latest updates
and news of interest to you.
View Profile, Edit Profile, and Edit Photo: These links open your About page, where you can review and revise your bio that appears on your blog.
My Account: This link opens your personal account page, where you can modify your account information, such as your e-mail address and password.
Mobile Devices: Follow the link in this area to begin mobile blogging.
Tools and Resources: You can access your Google AdSense and Google Reader accounts directly from the Blogger dashboard.
Help Resources: The online Help function for Blogger is quite useful. Google Groups dedicated to providing help to Blogger users also exist, which you can access by clicking the links in the Help Resources section of the Blogger dashboard. You can also access help by clicking the link in the Manage Your Blogs section or the link in the upper-right corner of any Blogger account page. You can also access the controls available from the Blogger dashboard from tabs displayed as a navigation bar along the top of any Blogger page.
Entering and publishing posts
When you click the New Post link from the Blogger dashboard, a page automatically opens where you can enter and publish a new post to your blog.
Create: Write new posts to publish on your blog.
Edit Posts: Modify posts that you already published on your blog.
Moderate Comments: Manage the comments that readers leave on your blog.
Changing Blogger settings
The Settings tab gives you quick access to a variety of tools that allow you to customize your blog to meet your needs. From decisions about the way your posts are displayed to the way your posts are archived, you can make the modifications you want on the Settings tab and subtabs:
Basic: Change your blog’s title, add a description to display in your blog’s header, make your blog public, show quick editing and e-mail links, identify adult content, and more.
Publishing: Modify your publishing settings if you want to switch from Blogspot hosting to a third-party host. Read more about third-party
Formatting: Configure date-and-time formats on your blog, time zone, language, and more.
Comments: Choose whether you want to show or hide comments on your blogs, determine who can leave comments on your posts, and decide whether you want to display backlinks, enable comment moderation and verification, and more.
Archiving: Select how often you want your posts archived and configure post page settings.
Site Feed: Set up your blog feed.
Email: Set up Blog Send and Mail-to-Blogger addresses.
OpenID: Configure OpenID settings for your blog. See the nearby sidebar “What is OpenID?” to find out more about it.
Permissions: Add authors and define who can read your blog.
Customizing your blog
One of the best upgrades to Blogger in recent years has been to the Layout tab.
Many tasks that used to require you to insert HTML code can now be completed by using the simple tools provided on the Layout tab, as described in this list:
Page Elements: Add, delete, or move the various elements of your page — such as posts, archives, your profile, ads, and more — by using a simple drag-and-drop system.
Fonts and Colors: Make your blog your own by selecting the colors and fonts you want to use for each element of your blog.
Edit HTML: Back up your existing template, upload a custom template from your hard drive, or restore an old template.
Pick New Template: Select a new template from the free templates provided by Blogger.
Signing out of Blogger
When you’re ready to leave Blogger and complete your blogging session, all it takes is a click of a button. Just click the Sign Out link and you’re automatically logged off the Blogger site, and the Blogger home page opens.
Always remember to sign out of Blogger when you’re done updating your blog, to ensure that your blog and your account stay secure.
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