- Choosing a New Template
- Switching to a Third-Party Template
- Customizing Fonts and Colors
- Creating an Image Header
- Adding Gadgets to the Sidebar
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Adding Gadgets to the Sidebar
There’s one more thing you can do to personalize your blog, and it involves the sidebar—that part of your blog page that always appears beside your posts. Blogger lets you add all manner of gadgets to the sidebar.
A gadget is a small, dedicated application that does one thing and one thing only. For example, there are gadgets that display your blog’s archive posts, gadgets that display a list of text items or web links, gadgets that display a single picture or slideshow, and even gadgets that display a live poll for your blog’s visitors to take. All gadgets are sized to fit within your template’s sidebar; you can add as many as you like—or make sense (Figure 5).
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Figure 5 A variety of sidebar gadgets.
To add a gadget to your blog’s sidebar, start by opening the Blogger Dashboard and selecting the Layout link for your blog. When the Layout tab appears, select the Page Elements sub-tab.
Next, click the Add a Gadget link in the right column. (You can also add gadgets below your blog, but they make more sense in the sidebar.) You now see the Add a Gadget window.
There are several classes of gadgets available, as noted by the tabs in the Add a Gadget window. You can choose from Basics (Google-developed gadgets), Featured, Most Popular, and More Gadgets. The last three categories offer gadgets developed by third parties.
Click the category of gadget you want displayed, then click the + button for the gadget you want to add. You now see a window for the specific gadget you selected, which includes options for that gadget. Make the necessary selections, then click the Save button. The gadget is now added to your sidebar.
You’re not done yet, however. You now get to place the gadget where you want it within the sidebar. Still on the Page Elements sub-tab, click and drag the gadget to the desired position. Click the Save button when you’re done.
By the way, one of the more versatile gadgets is the HTML gadget. This item lets you add any type of item via HTML code. You can use this method to add third-party gadgets and widgets you find elsewhere on the web. Just make sure the gadget is sized to fit within your particular sidebar, then copy and paste the HTML code as necessary.