The technical aspects of blogging

[Former_Member]

So, I was thinking it might be good to have a thread for the less exciting aspects of blogging, namely, the tech stuff. Here, we could post tips, articles and questions about making our blogs functional and attractive through coding, widgets and whatever! I am sure many people in our team some have wonderful tips and tricks!

[Former_Member]

I will start out.... I just wrote a blog entry on embedding links in your blog photos and formatting them into a table (kind of like the mini-treasuries).

http://www.quixoticfox.com/2011/02/blog-tech-adding-photos-and-links.html

[MishmashClothing]

This is the kind of stuff I need.
I am embarrassed to admit that I don't know how to group pictures together on my blog.
Can anyone help me out?
Like do a side by side or a group of 4 and so on.

[Former_Member]

Thanks for sharing! I am so new to blogging and wish I could figure out a way to make my blog look more professional. I'm just not all that good at it!

[OxArtJewelry]

I just started my blog today and it was a real struggle to upload my photo. I wanted to get it off my computer but had to go thru Picasa and it posted separately from the blog. Anyone else have this problem?

[Former_Member]

I used to publish a very large website and one of the tricks I learned was to NAME you photograph. Instead of publishing a pic that is named by your camera, like 123.whatever, name the photo because the Bots also pick that up!

I get it that it's not easy to upload pictures, I use Photobucket and I would rather upload from my computer too!

[Former_Member]

Good tips. I didn't know about the "name your photos" tip, crememagnolia! I guess I'll have to go back and do some work!

[OxArtJewelry]

Amy, I'm quite impressed with your blog! Of course I had to visit your vintage and jewelry shops. Very nice! This could become my most visited forum!

[Former_Member]

Thanks OxOriginal!
I just wanted to share a quick link, which I am sure most of you already use, but might be helpful for a newbie.
http://www.whalesharkwebsites.com/tools/treasury.php
This will generate a HTML code to insert a treasury into your blog. You can pick the size as well as the number of columns. There is also a way to put treasuries in your blog without the text. All the pics in the treasury will go to the listing page when clicked on. To see an example, you can look at this post:
http://www.quixoticfox.com/2011/01/pomegranates.html
which used the treasury tool.
Best
Amy

[EliseintheAttic]

Terrific article. Thanks. Love your shop and blog too.

[Former_Member]

I think I shall do that with my photos from now on....naming them.

[Orangies119]

I feel like such an idiot every time I try to change some cosmetic on my blog... I swear I AM college educated, but that was WAY before HTML was a common term. So, just made some changes, please go look and see what you think...

http://orangiesattic.blogspot.com/

still cannot for the life of me figure out how to add some jazz to my heading... and also, how do I post 2 pictures side by side? Also, I HATE that FB link at the bottom... any way to make that into a cleaner button? HELP?

[OxArtJewelry]

I can't wait to be able to use the treasury information. It looks great on your blog! Thanks so much!

[Former_Member]

To OrangiesAttic: I cover how to format multiple photos in this blogpost:
http://www.quixoticfox.com/2011/02/blog-tech-adding-photos-and-links.html
Give it a shot, and you can convo me or leave a comment if there is something that is unclear

[Former_Member]

The less exciting aspects?!?! Layouts, design, SEO, add-ons, widgets...that's my favorite part!

If anyone has any questions, feel free to messages me.

http://theintermissionart.blogspot.com

[Former_Member]

For photos, I totally recommend downloading Picasa. It's a free photo editing software made by Google. It allows you to edit photos, make collages and groupings, add text to photos, etc. And it's very, very easy to use!

www.dandelionsandlace.blogspot.com

[Former_Member]

@AmyKristine....you rock girl, I can finally create the code needed for my Treasuries! I just learned how to do treasuries and really want to share them! Thank you!

[Former_Member]

A couple of my wonderful blog followers showed me how to turn off the "word verification" in my blog! Me doing the happy dance!

[Former_Member]

This thread is great! I'm adding all of the links to the team blog so if anyone has helpful links, post them here!

[OxArtJewelry]

Thank you Amy and Orangie'sAttic! Will enjoy keeping up with you!

[Former_Member]

AmyKristineVintage says

http://www.whalesharkwebsites.com/tools/treasury.php
This will generate a HTML code to insert a treasury into your blog...
-------------------------------

Thank you for posting this. Bookmarking that link for future usage :)

[Former_Member]

I still have a lot to learn about blogging. I've been considering an Ebook for $15 that shows how to make your blog be a more of a website that just a blog. Just not sure if it's worth the money.

Marking this thread for learning. However, I do have a tip too:
If you have chosen to approve all comments before publishing them, then I'd recommend turning word verification OFF. No need for a double layer. I find it quite annoying to jump through all the word verification hoops just to have my comment not even appear until approval.

I approve all of the comments on my blog so I can filter spam personally. I turned off word verification then because some people really struggle with it and it can be a big turn off to commenters.

[Former_Member]

fairycardmaker- I wouldn't recommend paying for the information. There are lots of free resources on the internet with information on that topic. Wordpress blogs are much easier to turn into websites. Blogger is a little more limited.

I agree with the word verification on comments. My comments are moderated and I have the capcha turned off. I hate when I'm trying to post a comment and it gives me an extra step. Sometimes, I click "post" and start to leave. I wonder how many people don't realize there is a word verification?

[Former_Member]

I agree with not paying for the ebook. Most of the info you would need is freely available, and just requires a small amount of research to figure out (or you can always ask a fellow blogger). Although, if you wanted the book for ideas on how to improve your blog, I would recommend looking at the blogs you love to read. Figuring out what brings you back to certain blogs will help you think of ways to improve your own. For example, you may like a blog that is easily navigable, so then you search out menu and tab options, etc.

And now you've all got me thinking about word verification and which way I want to prevent spam....

[Former_Member]

Amy your post about embedding our treasuries into our site ... with the html code made my week!