GETTING USED TO THE BLOGGER DASHBOARD

Hello friends. Hope the last post, “how to create your blog for free” was helpful. I’m pleased to inform you that I’ll be starting a series of posts which I’ll break into several episodes. They’ll be based on customizing your blog’s design. Also, please note that posts on these series will be posted on Mondays and Fridays only of each week till the episode comes to an end. For those who chose to use WordPress, we’ll also give you an episode on the WordPress design and customization.

How to get used to the blogger interface

T

he blogger newbie might be wondering how to get his hands around the blogger interface. For beginners, it might seem a little blurry but soon we’ll help you get used to it. You must have logged into your blog on your device by now, so, simply go to www.blogger.com

What shows up in front of you is a page with a couple tabs by the top left-hand corner, Google blogger’s latest update, a summary of your page view stats, a couple stats showing the number of comments awaiting moderation, number of published comments, the day’s page views, the total number of posts on your blog and the number of followers you have on your blog. You’ll see News from Blogger right below the page view stats, Google’s Ads and then a Blogger guide just by the bottom right-hand corner.

The blogger tabs 

The blogger tabs contain about eleven (11) tools on the Blogger interface. We’ll discuss them briefly.

1.       New Post:  This is where you click to share your new post, image, link or video with your audience.

2.       Overview:  This is the default page that is pulled up when you come to the Blogger site. It contains everything listed above.

3.       Posts:  Here, blogger shows you the posts on your blog. It categorizes them into three:

                                I.            The published posts: These are the posts that have been published.

                              II.            Drafts: These are posts that have been saved though not published.

                            III.            Scheduled posts:  These are posts that you’ve scheduled to be published at a later time.

Note also that in the posts tab, you have options of editing, viewing, sharing or deleting your posts.

4.       Pages: A list of standalone page you have on your blog are displayed here. They may include your privacy policy or a page about you. It contains draft pages, published pages and imported pages.

5.       Comments:  This tab displays the comments on your blog. It is categorized into published and spam comments.

6.       Stats: This is one page that could prove a distraction to you in your blogging career. (Sometimes, you could get so overwhelmed with it that you’re constantly pulling it up. Well, simply resist that temptation. Don’t let the number of views you get on your blog as a beginner becloud your mind).  Here, you are shown an overview of your stats, stats for each blog post, your traffic sources and your audience.

7.       Earnings: this is one tab most people quickly check out. At the beginning of your blogging career, it is inactive. Well, this is where those who want to monetize their blog through the Google AdSense program will be registering. You will only be shown a link that says, “How to qualify for AdSense.” However, when your blog has reached the requirement of being active for 5-6 months, depending on your location, the tab becomes active and then you can join the AdSense program.

8.       Campaigns: If you’re looking to get traffic quickly or grow your audience, you should subscribe to Google’s Ad words program where they’ll advertise your blog and you pay only when your blog link gets clicked. You can join this by clicking,” Start now.”

9.       Layout: This is a very important part of your blog. It is here, you dictate “who appears where and how” on your blog. You can edit, remove and add gadgets from here.

10.   Template: This is the “behind the scenes of your blog.” It is here you edit your blog’s design. You can choose one of Blogger’s ready templates or you can design yours by editing the HTML code of your blog. It is advised that you always back up your original template before editing the codes.

11.   Settings: This, as the name implies, is where you edit your blog’s main settings. From the basic settings, posts, comments and sharing, Email, language and formatting, search preferences and others, all can be changed here

Hope our post was helpful? Please, comment in the comment box below. Do you have any challenges about getting around the Blogger interface? We’ll love to help you out. Watch out for our next blog post, “(Episode 1) 3 Basics of blog design”. It’ll be posted on Friday, June 11^th.  Don’t want to miss any post, simply provide your email in the subscriber form and we’ll send you updates. Thanks. Do visit again!