If you're wanting to get started with Blogger, there are a few tools/tips I have to get started.
- Microsoft Word -> Google Drive/Docs -> Blogger
- Since making large posts with a lot of content in Blogger can have unintended consequences (potentially resulting in data loss), I create the content in Microsoft Word. When I am ready to publish, I upload the Word document to a folder in my Google Drive, open the file and go to File -> Save as Google Docs. Then with the new file that is created, content can be copy/pasted directly into a Blogger blog post.
- From this point I make sure that all hyperlinks open in a new window.
- Previewing the post, I resize any images that go over the side of the blog content area (usually resized to extra large). Additionally I resized the default width from the theme I used as my template to 1100 px to help with fitting larger images.
- Merge Images Online with Pinetools
- The first image in a blog post is usually used as the preview thumbnail when sharing a link to the post in other places. If there are multiple interesting visuals, it can help to use this tool to merge images together for eye-catching thumbnail previews that could help draw visitors to the blog. Typically I would merge images together vertically but there have been some posts where I have used a combination of horizontal/vertical to combine 3 images (example images courtesy of sgeier.net).
- Snip & Sketch (with ruler)
- Snip & Sketch is included with Windows 10. It can be activated by pressing Win + Shift + S
- It has a built-in ruler that can be used to draw straight lines with the highlighter or pen/pencil. It can also be rotated at any angle. A protractor is available as well to help with drawing circles.
- Use CSS to apply your favorite font for the page title
- Find a font on Google Fonts or CDN Fonts. I used the Stargate font from CDN Fonts
- Backup your theme and choose the option Edit HTML
- Copy the standard embed code and paste it into your theme under the <head> section. Be sure to put a forward slash ( / ) before the closing of the HTML tag ( > )
- Under the /* Headings section, specify the font (and a backup font to use) to be used for the blog title. Fonts could also be specified for other content in the blog, but for readability it's probably best to use something simple.
