optimizing search engines: April 2012

Saturday, 28 April 2012

Google Translate Widget with Flags For Blogger

The Google Translate Widget for Blogger allows the visitors to translate your site or blog in their own language.
This widget also auto-detect your blog language and then translate it to the readers chosen language.

It supports 12 different languages:
English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Portuguese, Russian, Japanese, Korean, Arabic And Chinese.

google translate for blogger, blogger gadgets, blogger tricks

How To Add The Google Translate Widget To Blogger

Step 1. Go to your Blogger Dashboard >> Layout and click on "Add A Gadget" link

Step 2. From the pop-up window, scroll down and choose HTML/JavaScript

Step 3. Paste the code below in the empty box:

Step 4. Now click on Save

google translate, blogger widgets, gadgets for blogspot

And you're done! Enjoy (:

Simple Recent Posts Widget for Blogger/Blogspot

The main advantage on this Recent Posts widget is that it will show not only post titles but also post excerpts or snippets and it's easy to customize/ apply different style on it. To style it into your own design, you just have to modify the CSS style - you can change the link or background color, the size and color of text/links.

What you can do with this widget:

display post titles only
change the number of posts
change the number of characters of the post snippet/excerpt
show the post dates

See the screenshot below:

How to add Recent Posts Widget to Blogger

Step 1. Log in to your Blogger Dashboard, then go to Layout and click on Add a Gadget link

Step 2. From the pop-up window, scroll down and choose HTML/JavaScript

Step 3. Select & Copy the code from one of the options below and paste it into the new HTML/JavaScript:

Option 1: Recent posts widget with snippets

<div id="hlrpsa">
<script src="http://helplogger.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/recent-posts-with-snippets.js">
</script>
<script>
var numposts = 5;var showpostdate = false;var showpostsummary = true;var numchars = 100;var standardstyling = true;
</script>
<script src="http://your-blog.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?orderby=published&alt=json-in-script&callback=showrecentposts">
</script></div>
<div id="rpdr" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 9px;">
<a href="http://helplogger.blogspot.com/2012/04/recent-posts-widget-for-bloggerblogspot.html" target="_blank" title="Grab this Recent Posts Widget">Recent Posts Widget</a> by <a href="http://helplogger.blogspot.com" title="Recent Posts Widget">Helplogger</a></div>
<noscript>Your browser does not support JavaScript!</noscript>
<style type="text/css">
#hlrpsa a {color: #0B3861; font-size: 13px;} #rpdr {background: url(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp-xwl9NIlDEGDFaZjDwp8JxtLYP0CCK_AdA8dAJKT2xHD4cV2XzaIrx0FXvUJMgZqN0LUnocPP6464y5Oq61d-F8d93xMJ_UUH6eOwIYySBaJV32jnIM0gJZ9Pd_ItDyOEqAUBKUaRcMh/s1600/blogger.png) 0px 0px no-repeat; padding: 1px 0px 0px 19px; height:14px; margin: 5px 0px 0px 0px;line-height:14px;}
#rpdr, #rpdr a {color:#808080;}
#hlrpsa { color: #999999; font-size: 11px; border-bottom:1px #cccccc dotted; margin-top:-10px; padding-bottom:10px;}
.hlrps a {font-weight:bold; }
.hlrpssumm {}
</style>

Option 2: Recent Posts Widget Showing Post Titles Only

<div id="hlrpsb">
<script style="text/javascript" src="http://helplogger.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/recent-posts-with-titles-only.js"></script>
<script style="text/javascript">var numposts = 10;var showpostdate = false;var showpostsummary = false;var numchars = 100;var standardstyling = true;</script>
<script src="http://your-blog.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?orderby=published&alt=json-in-script&callback=showrecentposts"></script></div>
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 9px;" id="rpdr"><a href="http://helplogger.blogspot.com/2012/04/recent-posts-widget-for-bloggerblogspot.html" title="Grab this Recent Posts Widget" target="_blank">Recent Posts Widget</a> by <a href="http://helplogger.blogspot.com" title="Recent Posts Widget">Helplogger</a></div><noscript>Oops! Make sure JavaScript is enabled in your browser.</noscript>
<style type=text/css>
#hlrpsb a {color: #0B3861; font-size: 13px;} #rpdr {background: url( https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp-xwl9NIlDEGDFaZjDwp8JxtLYP0CCK_AdA8dAJKT2xHD4cV2XzaIrx0FXvUJMgZqN0LUnocPP6464y5Oq61d-F8d93xMJ_UUH6eOwIYySBaJV32jnIM0gJZ9Pd_ItDyOEqAUBKUaRcMh/s1600/blogger.png ) 0px 0px no-repeat; padding: 1px 0px 0px 19px; height:14px; margin: 5px 0px 0px 0px;line-height:14px;}
#rpdr, #rpdr a {color:#808080;}
.bbrecpost2 {
padding-top:6px;
padding-bottom:6px;
border-bottom: 1px #cccccc dotted; }
</style>

Step 4.

Change 5 (option 1) and 10 (option 2) with the number of posts you want to display.
Change false to true if you want the posts dates to appear
Change 100 (option 1) if you want more characters to be displayed.
To change the color and font size of the links, modify the values in blue (links) and violet (font-size)
To change the style of posts summary, modify the values in green (color) and orange (font size)
Replace the your-blog text with the name of your blog or if you have a custom domain change all the bolded line with your address like in this example:

http://www.your-site.com/feeds/posts/default....

Step 5. Save your widget. And that's it! Enjoy!

If you need any help, leave a comment below.
And if you liked this post, please consider sharing it. Thanks.

Thursday, 26 April 2012

A Beautiful jQuery Drop-Down Menu For Blogger Blogspot

Alright, this time, we are going to make a stylish and simple jQuery drop down menu. The main objective is to make it as simple as possible, with some little jQuery effect and easy to customize/ apply different style on it. To style it into your own design, you just have to modify the a tag CSS style. You can change colors or put background images, or the size and color of text.

Steps Adding the jQuery Drop-Down menu

Step 1. Go to Dashboard - Template - Edit HTML - Proceed

Step 2. Expand Widget Template (make a backup)

Step 3. Search for the following code:

]]></b:skin>

Step 4. Add the following CSS code before/above it:

#jsddm {
height: 40px;
margin: 0;
overflow: visible;
z-index: 2;
padding: 15px;
position:relative;
}
#jsddm li {
float: left;
list-style: none;
font: 12px Tahoma, Arial;
}
#jsddm li a {
display: block;
white-space: nowrap;
margin:1px 3px;
border: 1px solid #AAAAAA;
background: #cccccc;
background: -webkit-gradient(linear, left top, left bottom, from(#ebebeb), to(#cccccc));
background: -moz-linear-gradient(top, #ebebeb, #cccccc);
padding: 5px 10px;
-webkit-border-radius: 5px;
-moz-border-radius: 5px;
border-radius: 5px;
text-shadow: #ffffff 0 1px 0;
color: #363636;
font-size: 15px;
font-family: Helvetica, Arial, Sans-Serif;
text-decoration: none;
vertical-align: middle;
}
#jsddm li a:hover {
background: #C8C8C8;
}
#jsddm li ul {
margin: 0;
padding: 0;
position: absolute;
visibility: hidden;
border-top: 1px solid white;
}
#jsddm li ul li {
float: none;
display: inline;
}
#jsddm li ul li a {
width: auto;
background: #CAE8FA;
}
#jsddm li ul li a:hover {
background: #A3CEE5;
}

Step 5. Now find this piece of code:

</head>

Step 6. Add this code immediately before/ABOVE it:

<script src='http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.2.6/jquery.js' type='text/javascript'/>
<script type='text/javascript'>
//<![CDATA[
var timeout = 500;
var closetimer = 0;
var ddmenuitem = 0;
function jsddm_open()
{ jsddm_canceltimer();
jsddm_close();
ddmenuitem = $(this).find('ul').css('visibility', 'visible');}
function jsddm_close()
{ if(ddmenuitem) ddmenuitem.css('visibility', 'hidden');}
function jsddm_timer()
{ closetimer = window.setTimeout(jsddm_close, timeout);}
function jsddm_canceltimer()
{ if(closetimer)
{ window.clearTimeout(closetimer);
closetimer = null;}}
$(document).ready(function()
{ $('#jsddm > li').bind('mouseover', jsddm_open)
$('#jsddm > li').bind('mouseout', jsddm_timer)});
document.onclick = jsddm_close;
//]]>
</script>

Step 7. Click on Save Template button.

Step 8. Go to Layout > click on "Add a gadget" link

Step 9. Choose HTML/JavaScript from the pop-up window

Step 10. Paste the following code in the empty box:

<ul id="jsddm">
<li><a href="#">Home</a>
<li><a href="#">Link 1</a>
<ul>
<li><a href="#">Drop 1-1</a></li>
<li><a href="#">Drop 1-2</a></li>
<li><a href="#">Drop 1-3</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a href="#">Link 2</a>
<ul>
<li><a href="#">Drop 2-1</a></li>
<li><a href="#">Drop 2-2</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a href="#">Link 3</a>
<ul>
<li><a href="#">Drop 3-1</a></li>
<li><a href="#">Drop 3-2</a></li>
<li><a href="#">Drop 3-3</a></li>
<li><a href="#">Drop 3-4</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a href="#">Link 4</a></li>
<li><a href="#">Link 5</a></li>
<li><a href="#">Link 6</a></li>
</li></ul>

Note :

You must change links titles and replace the # symbol with the URL address of each of your links

Step 11. Click on Save

Important:

- if your menu is on the sidebar, or footer, just drag it to your page header and click and click Save again.
- if drop down links are not showing, do the following:

Go back to Template > Edit HTML and search (CTRL + F) for this code:

<b:section class='header' id='header' maxwidgets='1' showaddelement='no'>

You should change 1 with 3 and no with yes like this:

<b:section class='header' id='header' maxwidgets='3' showaddelement='yes'>

Save the Template.

Next thing to do is to go to Layout and drag your menu immediately below your header

Then click on Save Arrangement

Here you can see the DEMO.

Enjoy! :)

Wednesday, 18 April 2012

How to Add Emoticons/Smileys in Blogger Comments

Emoticons/Smileys are a great way of making discussions more interesting and fun, so it's a pity that Blogger don't support them. This tutorial will show you some simple steps on how to add some very cute emoticons called Kolobok to your Blogger/Blogspot comments, so that you and your blog visitors will be able to have an enjoyable time together.

Now available for threaded commenting system too!

emoticons in blogger, kolobok smileys, threaded comments

DEMO

How To Add Kolobok Smileys In Blogger Comments

Step 1. Go to Dashboard - Template - Edit HTML - Proceed

Step 2. Expand Widget Template (make a backup)

Step 3. Search (CTRL + F) for this tag:

</body>

Step 4. Copy and paste just above it, this code:

For previous commenting system (comments without reply option)

<script src='http://helplogger.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/[helplogger.blogspot.com]smileys.js' type='text/javascript'/><noscript><a href='http://helplogger.blogspot.com/2012/04/how-to-add-emoticonssmileys-in-blogger.html' target='_blank'><span style='font-size: x-small;'>Add emoticons</span></a></noscript>

For threaded commenting system (comments with reply option)

<script src='https://helplogger.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/kolobok threaded.js' type='text/javascript'/>

Note: ignore steps 5-8 if you are using threaded comments!

Step 5. Now find this code snippet:

<b:loop values='data:post.comments' var='comment'>

Step 6. Paste the following code just above it:

<div id='smileys'>

Step 7. Find the following code (look carefully, it should be somewhere below the code from step 5)

</b:loop>

Step 8. Paste the following tag just after it:

</div>

Step 9. Now find this code:

For previous commenting system:

<data:blogTeamBlogMessage/>

Note: if you'll find it like 4 times, stop to the 2nd one!

For threaded commenting system:

<div class='post-footer-line post-footer-line-3'>

Step 10. And add this code just after it:

<b:if cond='data:blog.pageType == "item"'><script type='text/javascript'>
//<![CDATA[
function moreSmilies() {
    document.getElementById('smiley-more').style.display = 'inline';
    document.getElementById('smiley-toggle').innerHTML = '<a href="javascript:lessSmilies()"><div style="font-size:small; font-weight:bold;color:#000000;">Hide Emoticons /<a href="http://helplogger.blogspot.com/2012/04/how-to-add-emoticonssmileys-in-blogger.html">Add Emoticons</div></a></span>';
}
function lessSmilies() {
    document.getElementById('smiley-more').style.display = 'none';
    document.getElementById('smiley-toggle').innerHTML = '<a href="javascript:moreSmilies()"><div style="font-size:small; font-weight:bold;">Show Emoticons</div></a>';
}
//]]>
</script>
<div class='emoticons'>
<span id='smiley-more' style='display: none;'>
<img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaDlO9g4eUDT3_yQ28tHs7A9LNqlpbhnLo3qGtDWfnCxIkWEkGx9YxGrXSWUYbVgGvv5yeYUYx_1Dc9fugaaj68oPpj6jOEAFwtFrCjK_6_Ns43NKc4btc8IJZuylONl0ItqPu2iY0rGE/s1600/smile3.gif'/>:)
<img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz_4-3Rr6gWcFMk5tLIPMQxWoiElGxXpCdo5zePs2zjxt8wnhYy5b1ssgkkevRkDqnvetRZZPbp6IKDHtHxuQC44CDCZtQhou8LFTZ9Ql82uGS6ZkMdquPb1ETYjKXV1HDt1Nbh_8Z890/s1600/sad.gif'/>:(
<img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC91gR-BN-ZlF4hfjaFiwZHlK3Nlg4YZI14WMHuDEYI75PPdZMdq7WVEFpAjw4WTiGIP3YI1EBO7r2G457u56N9ChugRYsZ57SxLNF-XUr_0uiQULY8Fm0TFc-nXJ7pk5as7ceBC_bS-Q/s1600/taunt.gif'/>:))
<img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNRmxJB6gcLOnakvC0Y8KNIZ8BdhEBUBG40NynrMQT2jnFVn_Mwv6icgadbJ_iWi4aA0s45iz4dn-LjftdfguN28h9HmEg-aVjIDy0GkYSTTdFNjMDbANreyEsVS9x81o8DGvFnpf7NKs/s1600/cry2.gif'/>:((
<img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb6IIKrJxwUZ3OxJFID_I8ZsLbZNs5VXKbjU8S5nlKkOXnhbjAHB2j3UfiEBGAQKYcYoLcGiP01xVWv2x0rKr-20SK69BvkR7t762nbTDsHkDrXjAnyBtDrOnQDUvWeXXV0f2uYw3V7-c/s1600/rofl.gif'/>=))
<img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3Y9DiR2rsrvtCcyNcIU7x_6JZ6-2cdafo7DcTe0BUYSboDoUehDob4DPE7wWvUSTo6lJ2AVJf2qqTHNEMsChlqk4O4PeZlquxtfNZ8bzg9732FYjiEel8YhVgQtf_NilHdQOAg1zCMnU/s1600/suicide.gif'/>=D>
<img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAFnGruVDKEp4CY3YPpV9MAVnsMHD8Gg5RhEcR9kZ139_YqeuIQUP3kTX8pOHQBotp1dDH3pWphaBuJFl_Ycs4xu9cyLf7doT-WVNtc_XvNjAj7D_DxHSNGw7sUgxMSC7HjMj-C8-8EKs/s1600/biggrin.gif'/>:D
<img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLAmeryoNBE7eL91kqrmWMkcK9sQpDoMArGVn0bOy-cOPkyqQWn6LUCJwpqSq_GeG5_NvFtjYevD1VYbBsHVx5-OhkjmQWUbzjsi5_f4DfQycL8PazUE4GjBrpmaMkrKt-zZoismS7APo/s1600/tongue.gif'/>:P
<img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0sK2-4W0PUasjfXd-4Fyn-20IVR4GAeRxZ228PUD0HBCXVNxSHn-WE94V_frA1fAfiF_0ghRqf_IYmyOjPMxavmOuKx5mBatLR5UzDE72rG5mcGjblTT4DVhOQJ720BIC34vJVoU8170/s1600/shock.gif'/>:-O
<img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfIcYqeOhgEyCNhtASscWp8zZnR154Qhb8lo05FkWW6nr92gZOuXBCOCk5bKFVOw3Eu4VYSnbkFlRrx13DwypIl860BeFJgr92A4BPt2YIMvkj6ea3sp6wqgc_rQKWDfLXvxpD-Jq-vVM/s1600/think.gif'/>:-?
<img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVPnAj_UCv-DFJGrAE7CLu4vhkdCEmbmupkcJOBgR-UXW9Lzxmh0if_aE_54zRWqiBxQ7qU-MIo6EX3BIbwBJszOpk_mHqdBwZKev3nwBJJxVgMRPouPUCMW7OhLejc2yBs2viSgPNqco/s1600/unsure.gif'/>:-SS
<img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9RlJ_VELPUmEFmz8266tQpbHXf-2s27UQGuZoqV7AwZDfU4eznw0XDpNmxfC5PLzcPmtYzwwmItAly1G4bkHiURB4NqIRWREXbHR5qaeIAiGzL5n-Fhu8f2VcHIvWZhes0WhTHQgRRvw/s1600/flowers1.gif'/>:-f
<img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirrhXC9X5FJB6Jd_NGFw_S5yl0UeYn8_xF4DltJhwEOz2kj9K1SXNmhkv4xcZ_QBtydLbkvOWM8CjK3eBdGflWPfT3PYxvqNt2lkqknHNnEt_hqBtqqG11ebtaxB72NRZyFbUQgSYDix8/s1600/doh.gif'/>d(
<img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEvp_b8G5SZjdvVlIrndct8bu3hK86OCB9jzcNuLnUnlx4p_8YrkGZGGzYo8UnTak1EhGu6WW8gW-xBJ48Wp7k0iL99H-QozlBUG7X0VN1aeKG6wiVg0DQlUQWPIc8bF4xDiJW6BfPLHU/s1600/air_kiss.gif'/>:-*
<img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRioCDk4w_1wjdSHBLj4EGJk2SKccpkBzetgKtoSkCmFfrv9DMXwWTSsQl0VTKCeRgA6T1jTYfbnrY0Ist6CuNr8l8cwqn3k-f3f1wX3pIZgLA_0eTlUinQNomaVfVCFaIiUIB3Oqyv58/s1600/threaten.gif'/>b-(
<img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHadChkzoCGnwMtMCbN9Mtmb4_3WjsuOBziyu34y0fAW5ozUQ4vqQz6TNEK4CrBHtyUSR2fnKFX66375mneZPtENI1yYn8IPZNL8b6aZxzK7FXDwmJuNrNB9N4Z_kmgbrH15i9WXR-lQo/s1600/help.gif'/>h-(
<img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgucds7cfb93ZrsPNxzI5VFPh9-Uv57tj1dEMuNpbY-j1LgObGGRewYMSMmUC3_T_o48QRrX51t6cbCWy5cfpCLDCnImXuIqRRwWEahMCchycsCyl2Sw7JnNsblEPzbg6eMGMcmgN9JiwA/s1600/good.gif'/>g-)
<img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu69695JwXdNvr7BRR7rTlVVIH_2ZpiYuP7-V2C6bsBk5Ouo575kXCSRdVgSMsILXdz869O_yBRLlQUXH6xgZ0DyCfpmfZkLqf0eB0JWaNSq1pxrTG-gBfn2jO2tQ_VEygRJ-ALnqwFes/s1600/beee.gif'/>5-p
<img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0uKFssuNBh-cbEgDMkWFIyqq8atxAoCbT3i5pxTzuHiatbWgyUAfpmufD0Emyh7lgcyF8QbpgAfFvjVmBlbaEQWwNq2kQ8cz2gHy_raQSY-CrKOeU2ZO8FqhAx2SbrrTwhncsxE6j4Sg/s1600/yahoo.gif'/>y-)
<img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAxbXc-HSm35lTjejPQfuBsj-fWpqBrty8BEuy0s7gMOUCu3lx6QoOa8_JRDKqeBB0J6dGoO7Oc2QxZ_FQ44RgB57DvWwJNU-tCJZh2a9LtU1NJJauNsqtyRqzQmEwpfNZ_XBp3YL2Elg/s1600/crazy.gif'/>c-)
<img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiibnz32kL1oLTFjQaIpfsqlotHq2xzQLpqMu_OLHcn2dVW7Al0l-bjnc4UUmg2l0nFyc1kdKd2oatTuMbkWR_GOcqPFkpWfXrkl2Nt73Jj0jgjQpcXBxFwLgDmz_cjrIJME5FV4OwBVic/s1600/spiteful.gif'/>s-)
<img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHP0T1cEjdH0NKf6hzLfPV2jDaAD9YSkPumHbC7AcXHrwHDZGoCiPrn7rBWHNQ_cQkrCx2bc_0OkkOrRY4opQdMKfs0ztWpEEv-TWU9TnSmakP-p1R6Lp6vJlQ0K8vrYUhA-MxwHbuV2k/s1600/drinks.gif'/>d-)
<img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6fieWBzmT7f2mFk0bQebP0zBlIPxEhwBznRoUYhrzUYx_KtjHpMa_Vt4gyEtCdzFt5TBOzBRcrQL9feqUpuC87B-VMDWfhId1AeucLa1NbGPy0-hmixrndb2m0iUNwL91lKBPGkMsuOU/s1600/cheer.gif'/>w-)
<img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXCeOjQ0MF39YKxBws52ja7K6P5mDkPVMF83vapQ6Cu9vfBAofP11n6stUZ5BsI88_0Qn6RnthzqymEmA_lLNWsJxZUm-zF299Mh88JhtGWCY8m-5Do0TPehGi8d32Jp-2tmAg2hs7fVY/s1600/hi+2.gif'/>:-h
<img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLUFGZlJdPzP9qIjNsCfPhHdLCzKw3u1hJ4Y7giZ_BBcdn7UxOUI-uzXW6jDK_XYS3HnQqdEvz1HlXaLo2B0pG3CD6SrZ0ZqEhqKc6NaQpT-FB6GxRM7GsZ4kWOqdPPJVyIa5NJRfGg40/s1600/give_heart.gif'/>:X
</span>
<span id='smiley-toggle'><a href='javascript:moreSmilies()'><div style='font-size:small;font-weight:bold;'>Show Emoticons <img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaDlO9g4eUDT3_yQ28tHs7A9LNqlpbhnLo3qGtDWfnCxIkWEkGx9YxGrXSWUYbVgGvv5yeYUYx_1Dc9fugaaj68oPpj6jOEAFwtFrCjK_6_Ns43NKc4btc8IJZuylONl0ItqPu2iY0rGE/s1600/smile3.gif'/></div></a></span>
</div></b:if>

Note: Ignore steps 11-12 if you are using threaded comments!

Step 11. Finally, find this code

]]></b:skin>

Step 12. Add this one below, just above ]]></b:skin>

.emoticons {-moz-background-clip: -moz-initial;-moz-background-origin: -moz-initial;-moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;text-align: left;width:400px;}
.emoticons a, .emoticons a:hover {margin-left: 20px;text-decoration:none;}

Note: if you want to change the size of the emoticon container, edit the red code.

Step 13. Save the Template and you're done. Enjoy!

If you have any problem and need help, please leave a comment below.

How To Add or Change Favicon on Blogger Blogspot

Favicon (Favorites Icon) is the small picture (usually 16px x 16px in size) you see beside some some site's name in your browser's address bar. Having your own favicon with a nice graphical reminder of your site beside is a good way to get visitors attention. Blogger users can add a custom favicon for their blogs going to the Layout section and by clicking on the Edit link on the "Favicon" element.

"For many bloggers, having a custom favicon (the tiny image displayed in your browser’s window or tab) is the finishing touch that ties together the design and identity of a great looking blog. Today, we're pleased to announce that Blogger in Draft users can now add a customized favicon to their blog. ~Blogger in Draft"

How To Add a Favicon to Your Blogger Blog

Step 1. Log in to your Blogger's Dashboard, go to the Layout and click on Add a Gadget link

Step 2. Click on the "Edit" link on the "Favicon" setting above the navbar element.

Step 3. A popup window will open where you can search for an image in your hard drive to replace the default favicon image. Click on "Browse" button and search for your favicon (it should have the .ico extension) - then click on "Save".

Step 4. Now you should see your own favicon instead of blogger's default favicon.

It might take some time until your new favicon will appear in your Browser's tab or window.

If you want to add animated favicons to your Blogger blogs, then follow this method below.

How to add an animated favicon in Blogger

Step 1. Log in to your Blogger account > Template > Edit HTML (if needed, click on Proceed button)

Step 2. Select the "Expand widget templates" box

Step 3. Search (CTRL + F) for:

<b:skin>

Step 4. Paste this code just above it:

<link href="your-favicon-links-goes-here" rel="icon" type="image/gif"/>

See the screenshot for more details

Note: replace your-favicon-links-goes-here with your favicon's link location

You can choose from here some cool favicons for your site/blog: http://www.favicon.cc/ (just download the favicon you like - upload it on tinypic or on a blogger's post, then copy the link address/direct link)

Step 5. Save the Template. And you're done!

How to number comments in Blogger/BlogSpot

This Blogger hack will show you how to add comment count inside a speech bubble, so that you & your readers can use the numbers to mention or point to a particular comment on any of your posts and besides this, it could as well improve the look and feel of your blog.

Note: This works with the previous blogger commenting system, so if you want to add this hack, you should remove first the Blogger threaded comments. Learn here How to remove Blogger threaded comments

UPDATE! Now you can add comment bubble in your threaded comments too. Read this tutorial:
How to Add Numbered Comments In Threaded Comments

How to add numbered comments on our Blogger/Blogspot blog

Step 1. Go to Dashboard - Template - Edit HTML (click on Proceed button, if needed)

Step 2. Select "Expand Widget Template" (make a backup)

Step 3. Now find (CTRL+F) the following code in your template:

<b:loop values='data:post.comments' var='comment'>

Step 4. Immediately above/before it, paste this code:

<script type='text/javascript'>var CommentsCounter=0;</script>

Step 5. Find this code:

<data:commentPostedByMsg/>

Step 6. And immediately below/after it, copy and paste this:

<span class='comments-number'>
<a expr:href='data:comment.url' title='Comment Link'>
<script type='text/javascript'>
CommentsCounter=CommentsCounter+1;
document.write(CommentsCounter)
</script>
</a>
</span>

Step 7. Find (CTRL+F) this tag in the template:

</head>

Step 8. Paste this code just above/before it:

<style type="text/css">
.comments-number a:link, .comments-number a:visited {
color: black !important;
text-decoration: none !important;
background: url(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNiyRsfHapgn6sFgrMIOsu9UOzIjPoflIIolxgL5oyFDB92DoW2SVYa0rRXDGbN7vGOVbDkXAy64a8F-JgbXTS2W9hO2uYCw3C9dYYx2si4bmg6FTIbU46rzv5lzTvWADW8iYYvh5Ynjsm/s1600/comment+bubble+1.png) no-repeat;
width: 50px; /*image-width size*/
height: 48px; /*image-height size*/
float: right;
display: block;
margin-right: 5px;
margin-top: -15px; /*comments-counter position*/
text-align: center;
font-family: 'Century Gothic','Lucida Grande',Arial,Helvetica,Sans-Serif;
font-size: 15px;
font-weight: normal;
}
.comments-number a:hover, .comments-number a:active {
color: #1BA0E1 !important;
text-decoration: none !important;
}
</style>

Note:

To change the comment bubble, replace the red text from above with your own address
To change the color of the numbers, replace the blue text with the hex value of your color

Comment Bubbles

To choose a comment bubble, right-click on the image and select "Copy Image Address/Location":

how to blog

IMPORTANT: You could use any image instead of the one linked in the code above (STEP 8) but after that, you should modify the size values (width and height), so that the numbers inside the bubble to be correctly adjusted.

Step 9. Save the template... and enjoy your comments :]

You might also be interested in this tutorial from the same category:
How to Add a Comment Bubble to Blogger Post Titles.

Monday, 16 April 2012

How to Add A Comment Count Bubble To Blogger Post Titles

A comment bubble with current number of comments displayed to each blogger post titles could make your blog more attractive. This improves not only your comments count but also allows your visitors to see what are the most popular posts on your blog. When a post has many comments, then the comment bubble will show the popularity of your posts to readers and visitors so that they might be more interested in reading them.

So let's start adding it:

Step 1. Go to Dashboard - Template - Edit HTML (click on Proceed button, if needed)

Step 2. Select "Expand Widget Template" (make a backup)

Step 3. Find - using CTRL + F - the following piece of code in your template:

]]></b:skin>

Step 4. Add the below code just above ]]></b:skin>:

.comment-bubble {
float : right;
width : 48px;
height : 48px;
background : url(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhacIqBMeGRBePhK1PhkbCL09jR4x6_DYUZ-Eqyl-bDFTEdg0zYWkLAH3u7sSw-7kcUhEuPX_-KFtq31uTwn_AG7V_Bi3wGN8yquRuC2XBiUw-inRa3f5ASbVBT9ykBobPPSygR7m7zNXkl/s1600/speech+bubble+green.png);
background-repeat: no-repeat;
font-size : 18px;
margin-top : -15px;
margin-right : 2px;
text-align : center;
}

Step 5. Now find this code:

<b:if cond='data:post.title'>
<h3 class='post-title entry-title'>

Note: If you can't find it, search this code instead:

<b:if cond='data:post.title'>
<h3 class='post-title entry-title' itemprop='name'>

Step 6. And add this code immediately after it:

<b:if cond='data:post.allowComments'>
<a class='comment-bubble' expr:href='data:post.addCommentUrl' expr:onclick='data:post.addCommentOnclick' style='color: #ffffff; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;'><data:post.numComments/></a>
</b:if>

Note:

to change the color of the comments number, replace #ffffff with the hex value of your color;
to change the font size, increase/decrease the 18px value;

Step 7. Preview your template and if everything is ok, click on Save Template.

Comment Bubbles

You can choose one of the images below - right click on the desired image and select "Copy Image Address/Location", then replace the red code from step 3 with the address you just copied.

bubble comment count, bubble blogger posts

bubble comment count, bubble blogger posts

That's it! Enjoy (:

You might also be interested in reading this tutorial:

Display post author, date, labels and comments with icons below post titles