How to setup a custom Blogger template.

 

 If you're starting a blog website, you must have heard of  blogger. Blogger is a popular free site that you can actually set up your blog website at minimum costs. Using Blogger is a popular way to start up your site but let's be honest blogger templates are out of touch and aren't that attractive. We all need our website to look unique as possible so as to represent your own brand and be user friendly. You need it to make it look appealing and user friendly as possible for your visitors.

With that in mind, let me show how you can customize your blog to be all you want it to be. It all starts with these simple steps

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1. choose a custom  template.

The first thing need to do is choose a template that fit your needs and that can be customized to how you want it to be. Of course you can create you own custom template but that might need you to be an expert and will definitely take time rather than just download a custom one. There a lot of websites out here that you can choose your custom template to use e.g Sora templates, B templates and Theme forest . If you need help to find the best sites where to download your templates, you might want to check out this article.

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2. Things you may want to consider before choosing your template.

Before choosing and downloading a custom template here are a few things you might want to consider before choosing a template. This should help your template align with blog's goal and brings on a positive user experience. Here are some of the considerations :

• Mobile-Friendliness: Ensure the template is responsive, meaning it adapts well to different screen sizes, especially for mobile devices. Google prioritizes mobile-friendly sites in search rankings.
• Cross-Browser Compatibility: Check if the template works well across different browsers (e.g., Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge).
• Ease of Customization: Look for templates that are easy to customize without requiring advanced coding skills. This includes the ability to change colors, fonts, and layout through the Blogger interface.
• Support for Widgets: Ensure the template supports the Blogger widgets you plan to use, such as social media buttons, search bars, or subscription forms.
• SEO-Friendly Structure: A good template should be optimized for search engines with clean, semantic code. Look for features like fast loading times, proper use of heading tags (H1, H2, etc.), and built-in SEO settings.
• Schema Markup: Some templates come with built-in schema markup, which helps search engines understand your content better, leading to potential rich snippets in search results.
• Lightweight Design: Choose a template that is optimized for speed. Bloated templates with excessive scripts or large images can slow down your site, negatively affecting user experience and SEO.
• Performance Testing: Before finalizing, test the template’s demo using tools like GTmetrix or Google PageSpeed Insights to ensure it performs well.
• Navigation: The template should offer a user-friendly navigation structure, making it easy for visitors to find content. Consider how menus, sidebars, and internal links are designed.
• Readability: Ensure that the template offers good readability with clear fonts, appropriate text size, and sufficient line spacing.
• Developer Support: Check if the template comes with support from the developer, especially if it's a premium template. Good support can be crucial for resolving issues or customizing the template.
• Regular Updates: Ensure that the template is regularly updated to fix bugs, improve performance, and stay compatible with Blogger’s updates.
• Visual Appeal: The design should align with your blog’s niche and audience. Whether you need a minimalist design, a vibrant layout, or something more formal, make sure the template matches your content style.
• Content Focus: Choose a template that emphasizes content, especially if your blog is text-heavy. For visual blogs, look for templates that showcase images or videos effectively.
• Clean Code: Ensure the template is free of malicious code or vulnerabilities. Download templates from reputable sources to avoid security risks.
• CostFree vs. Premium: Free templates are great for beginners, but premium templates often offer better design, support, and features. Consider your budget and whether the additional features of a premium template are worth buying.
• User Reviews: Look for reviews or testimonials from other users who have used the template. Positive feedback and a large user base can indicate a reliable and well-designed template.
• Community Support: Templates with a strong community around them (forums, Facebook groups) can provide additional help and resources.
• Scalability: Choose a template that can grow with your blog. If you plan to expand your content or add new features, ensure the template can accommodate those changes without needing a complete redesign.
• Blogger Compatibility: Ensure the template is compatible with the latest version of Blogger and will continue to receive updates to maintain compatibility.

3. Download You chosen template

After choosing your custom template you want to use you need to download it whether is free or premium version. Most template providers have clear and simple way on how you can download their templates. The download file is usually a zip file or in some rare cases a xml file. There is usually a difference between a premium template and free version. Most templates usually give much a detailed difference between the two version. For instance, the premium version usually has  customer support, more layouts and features while the free version may contain credits, encrypted scripts and less features. It good to check if the free version meets your goals before buying a premium version. Make sure the premium version is worth buying before making a purchase.

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4. Back Up your existing template ( IMPORTANT)

Before installing your download template it is very important to make a back up of your current template so if things do not go as expected, you have something you can revert to.  To make a backup of your existing template, follow the following guidelines:

1. Log in to your blogger dashboard
2. Navigate to Theme
3. Click customize then click backup.

 

And you're done. Keep your backup safe you might need it when things go unexpected.

5.Installing a your new custom template

The downloaded file usually comes in a zip file format, so you need a software unzipping tool such as WinRar. After unzipping the files into a folder, follow these steps to install your new template.

1. Login to Blogger Dashboard
2. Navigate to Theme
3. Click Customize then click Restore
4. select the folder that has the unzipped files and select the XML file.

 

6. Customizing Your New Templates 

This the fun part. Take time to customize your template to how you want it. Most of the customization is usually at the layout section. Navigate to layout after logging to your blogger dashboard. However, most template providers have a fully documented document or an article on how you can customize the template. It usually provided in the in the zip file download and also available in their website. Open the the layout boxes to customize different sections of your blog.

To edit more advanced features such as fonts, Text size or add css, navigate to layout section. And above it click, Theme Designer.

7. Testing your template and finalizing

After customizing your template, it time to check how your website looks on various devices, how it responds and general performance.

Testing layout responsiveness

This is crucial since it will determine if your site is suitable to view on mobile, pc's and tablets. One way to look at this is opening your web on different devices such as mobile, Monitor or pc and tablet. Take a look is the site responsive to the layout? 

A second approach would be using web developers tool found in pc's browsers. You can access this feature by pressing F12 or right clicking and selecting Developers tools. This feature allows to simulate your site on various screen sizes which might help you to see how your site responds.

A third approach would be using Seomator. Note this feature only checks your site responsiveness on mobile and mobile friendliness. Open the site and paste your websites url and it will tell if your site is mobile responsive.

Testing User friendliness

You can test for user friendliness using the following tools. This tools will help you get a broader range of insights, accessibility and best practices which impacts user-friendliness.

First approach is to use Google's lighthouse. Lighthouse is an open source, automated tool for improving the quality of web pages. You can run it against any web page, public or requiring authentication. It has audits for performance, accessibility, progressive web apps, SEO and more.

Second approach is to use tools like Hotjar or crazy egg that offers features such as heatmaps and user behavior analytics to see how your visitors responds with your site.

 

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Analyzing Website Performance 

Analyzing website performance means focusing on factors like page speed, structure and overall performance. One way to do this is by using GTmetrix. Gtmetrix can be used to :

• Page Load Speed: It analyzes how quickly your website loads, which is crucial for user experience and SEO.
• Performance Metrics: It provides various metrics like Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), Total Blocking Time (TBT), and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS), which are important for user experience.
• Structure and Recommendations: It offers suggestions on optimizing images, leveraging browser caching, and minimizing CSS/JavaScript, which indirectly contribute to better usability.

To use it just place your website url and it will analyze your site and give you reports.

 

Conclusion

After testing and found out that template works for you and your visitors that maybe a great start for a blogging career. Note that the journey doesn't end with a great template but it is a continuous journey of great content.