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Create a Fantastic Online Photo Gallery with Blogger


Blogger has had a makeover. It's added better mobile and email tools, the option to monitor and import blogs, and has vastly improved its layout. It also has some new Dynamic Views templates. These give visitors to your site the power to pick a display mode from seven different pre-set layouts, including Magazine (an elegant magazine-style layout), Sidebar (an email inbox-like view) and Timeslide (a horizontal view of posts ordered by date). Whenever a different view is selected, the posts are moved to fit the new layout. And while your readers can choose their own layouts, you can influence their choice by making your preferred template the default choice. It’s a great way to create beautiful online photo albums quickly.

In this post, we'll show Blogger novices how to get started, and give tips for advanced users on making more of existing posts. This workshop uses the new Blogger interface, so if your Dashboard is still using the old layout, click the 'Try the updated Blogger interface' link in the top-right corner to update it.
  1. For new blogs, select Dynamic Views under the Template tab during the set-up wizard. For existing blogs, click the drop-down edit menu from your Dashboard. Choose Template. (1) Hover over one of the Dynamic Views and click Apply To Slog. (2) Choose one that best shows off your photos

  2. To add a new post, click the pencil icon in the Dashboard. Start typing to add text, and then edit using the tool bar. (1) Click the 'Insert image' icon (2) to add a photo. Choose files from your PC, (3) Picasa Web Albums (4) or paste an image URL. (5) Click 'Add selected', (6) then Save.

  3. Adding labels (1) makes it easier to search for specific photos or posts. You can also add a location (2) and, under Options, (3) enable or disable comments on individual posts. Click Update (4) when you're done.

  4. You can't adjust the layout of the templates, but you can customize the background image. Click Template from the Posts menu, then Customize. Click Background (1) then the arrow next to the image, (2) and select a picture. (3) Or upload an image from your PC. (4) Click Done. (5)

  5. The templates may not translate well to a phone, so it's worth setting up a phone-specific layout. Click the cog icon under Mobile. (1) Click 'Yes. Show mobile template on mobile devices'. (2) Choose one from the drop-down list. (3) A preview will be shown on the right. (4)

  6. Add a standalone page (such as About or Contact) by clicking Pages from the Template screen menu. Choose 'New page', (1) then 'Blank page'. Name it, insert your text and pictures, and click Publish. Change the page link location in 'Show pages as'. (2) To see your changes, click 'View blog'. (3)

  7. Once you're happy with your set-up, you can back it all up. Go to the Template screen and click Backup/Restore. (1) Click 'Download full template' (2) and save it to your PC. You can also import or restore a previously saved template from here. (3)

  8. In Basic settings, you can change the blog title (1) and description (2) at any time. Click Edit, next to Privacy, and choose if you want your blog to feature in Blogger's listings (3) and search engines. (4) Click 'Save changes. (5) You can also add a domain to your blog, (6) if you have one.

  9. To post photos straight from your phone, go to Settings, 'Mobile and email', and add a secret word into the email box. (1) Create the post on your phone, send it to the email address that includes your secret word, and it will be published directly to your blog (2) or saved as a draft. (3)

  10. In 'Posts and comments', (1) select how many posts are shown on each page (2) and whether your photos open in a lightbox or not. (3) You can then decide who can comment on them (4) and whether they require moderation. (5)

About Blogger 

Blogger is Google's web-based blogging tool, designed to make it easy to publish simple websites. Here, we're using the software to host and publish a simple photo blog, but you can use it to create almost any kind of website. You don't need any technical ability, but it has advanced tools for those who want greater control over layout and design.