Owner: Blogger Buster URL:http://www.bloggerbuster.com Join Date: Fri, 15 Jun 2007 14:34:13 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: Blogger Buster provides a lighthearted look at blogging hints, hacks, tips and tricks for bloggers across all platforms. Site statistics:Click here
Custom "blog headlines" widgets in development... 2007-08-15 14:43:00 I'm currently developing a "mini-site" where you will be able to generate "Blog Headlines" widgets
for your blog, having complete control over the widget's appearance. Once your headlines
widget is created, you would be presented with a short piece of Javascript code which you can copy and paste into your sidebar where you would like the widget to appear. Is anyone interested in using such a service?
I began considering this when searching for an alternative to the FeedBurner headlines box you see in the top of my left sidebar. Whilst I have discovered a usable alternative for myself, I couldn't create something which you readers can easily configure to use in your own blogs. So instead I'm developing a "mini-site" which uses PHP scripts to generate Javascript code that will feature headlines (and summaries) of any RSS (and possibly Atom) feed. You will also be able to alter the style, height, colors and fonts of the headlines boxes to suit the theme of your own blog.As yet, th
"Popular Posts" widget updated! 2007-08-14 18:49:00 You can now install a new version of the "Popular Posts" widget
(the Blog Window widget) from AffiliateBrand.com which has no borders and is completely customizable for your own blog! This is a great new update, since you will now be able to make changes to your widget using the AffiliateBrand dashboard (which unfortunately my customization for the previous version of this widget did not allow). To see the new version of the Blog Window widget in action, take a look at my right sidebar-the only difference from my previous version of the widget is that it now includes a "subtitle" beneath the header!
If you are already using the Blog Window widget, you can easily switch to this new version using the AffiliateBrand dashboard:
If you are a member of AffiliateBrand, log in to your dashboard, click "Configure" and then on "Customize" to see the new "No Borders" option available for your widget.
If you are not a member (or choose not to be), simply visit AffiliateBrand.com, click on Cre
Your opinions needed for future templates 2007-08-22 05:23:00 Since my template designs are one of the most popular features of this site, I would very much appreciate your opinions so that in future I can design templates you would most like to download! In the left sidebar I have created a poll for you to vote for design elements you would most like to see in future templates. It would be of great help to me if you would vote in this poll or leave your comments below to let me know which features of template design are most important to you.
Here's a full explanation of the polling options:
Three column modifications of existing Blogger templates:
I have already created three column versions of Minima and 897 for you to download. If you would also like to see other existing Blogger templates transformed to include an extra sidebar (eg: Scribe, Rounders, Dots) then please choose this option.
Decorative:
The "Magical" and "Sweet Dreams" templates are examples of decorative templates, which feature animated gifs and optional add-ons. If you
"Magical" 3 Column Template now available (inspired by Harry Potter!) 2007-08-21 17:32:00 After such a lot of work, I have finally completed the "Magical
" 3 column Blogger template for you to use in your blogs. I have to say that this is my favorite template design so far! The theme was inspired by the HarryPotter
series of books/films, and features optional widgets that complement the theme. Here's a screenshot for you:
As usual, this screenshot doesn't do the template justice! Please take a look at the demonstration blog for this template here to get a better look (link opens in a new window).While the heavy use of images and Javascripts make this template load slower than my other templates, I'm sure you'll agree this is a fair compromise for the overall effect.This template features:
Unique magical theme
Animated blog header (watch out for the bat!)
Customizable background, fonts, sidebar backgrounds and font colors
Optional widgets to complement the design
Label cloud designed to suit the theme
Post dividers
"Drop Caps" span style for the first letter of each Read more:Column
, available
"Inline comments" hack 2007-08-20 11:52:00 I came across a hack on Singpolyma's blog which enables you to feature "Wordpress" style comments beneath your blog posts, so readers can leave their comments without having to leave the page!
You can choose to install regular inline comments, or have them perform a "peek-a-boo" function where the comments only appear when your readers click on the appropriate link. Full instructions can be found here on Singpolyma's blog. The hack is quite complex, so be sure to follow his instructions to the letter in order to make this work properly in your blog.If you would prefer to simply install a template which features a similar hack, try the K1 template from Blogger Templates, which is a (new) Blogger layouts style template featuring commenting below the posts.Technorati Tags: templates | comments | hacks
Read more:Inline
Add "Digg it!", "Del.icio.us" and other social bookmark links to your posts 2007-08-19 14:51:00 Although I am a faithful user of "AddThis" social bookmark buttons, I've been looking for a way to insert specific social bookmarking links
so readers can easily submit individual posts
to Digg
, Del.icio.us, Technorati and other social bookmarking sites. Now, if you take a look at the bottom of each post, you'll notice these links in place. Here's how to add such links to your own blog posts:
The links you need to add to your template are called by the <a expr...> expression, and are unlike regular links in that they use javascript-style coding to work properly. Each link will look something like this:
<a expr:href=http://www.bloggerbuster.com/feeds/posts/'"http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&url=" +
data:post.url + "&title=" + data:post.title'
target='_blank'>DiggIt!</a>
Unlike regular links which you could feature in the body of your posts, you need to replace some HTML code (escape the code), which is why the & symbol is replaced by &
Recent comments widget update! (This works in IE7) 2007-08-24 04:17:00 Since the Recent
Comments Widget suddenly stopped working in IE7, I've updated the code and uploaded it to my site in order for us all to continue using it! You can download the new code below. I've tested this in both IE and Firefox and it seems to work just fine (take a look in my right sidebar).
Here's the updated code for the widget
which should work fine for all browsers (copy and paste into an HTML/Javascript widget in your blog sidebar):
<script src="http://kunoichi.info/blogger_buster/comments.js"></script><script>var a_rc=3;var m_rc=true;var n_rc=true;var o_rc=100;</script><script src="http://yourblog.blogspot.com/feeds/comments/default?alt=json-in-script&callback=showrecentcomments"></script>
You need to change the portion in red to your own blog address in order for the widget to work.If anyone has problems using this widget, please let me know!Technorati Tags: recent+comments | widget | javascript
Good news for template users! 2007-08-23 14:31:00 I've decided to upgrade my hosting account, which means that from now on there will be no need to upload template
images to your own image hosts. Things may act a little odd on site for the next 24 hours or so until the new hosting account is set up and fully operational. But by this time tomorrow everything will be back to normal.
I do apologise if these changes affect current users
of my blog templates in any way. It may happen that some images related to your template become unavailable for a couple of hours while the new hosting account comes into effect. This is because I am changing from a Windows to a Linux based server and need to transfer the files myself. Believe me, I will do what I can to make things go as smoothly as possible, and in the long run the benefits will be great for all of us.Thank you to all my readers for your continued support which has made it possible for me to upgrade to a higher quality hosting plan!
"Rounders 2" three column template for download 2007-08-23 07:17:00 I have modified the original Rounders 2 template
to add a second sidebar. Here's a screen-shot for you:
This template also features a complementary Label Cloud and AddThis buttons at the end of each post to enable your readers to add your posts to their favorite social bookmarking sites. You can see the Rounders 2 template in action on the demonstration blog.To download the XML file for this template, please right click the link below and choose "Save As". You can then save the file to your computer and upload this to your Blogger dashboard from the Edit HTML page.Download Rounders 2 three column templateRelated posts:
Rounders three column template download
Rounders 3 three column template
Rounders 4 three column templateTechnorati Tags: rounders | 3+column | template
"Rounders" three column template available for download 2007-08-22 17:19:00 I've modified the classic "Rounders" template
to become a three column design, complete with complementary Label Cloud and AddThis social bookmark buttons. Here's a screenshot for you (click to enlarge):
You can see this template in action on the Rounders demonstration blog.To download this XML template, please use the link below (right click and choose "Save As)Download Three Column Rounders TemplateRelated posts:
Rounders 2 three column template download
Rounders 3 three column template
Rounders 4 three column templateTechnorati Tags: template | rounders | 3+column |
Read more:available
Translate your blog using the Google Translator Widget 2007-08-22 10:30:00 Here's a useful tool for those of you who would like the ability to translate your blog into other languages: the GoogleTranslator
Widget. If you take a look in my right sidebar you'll see that I've implemented this as a sidebar widget.
This widget is really easy to use: simply visit the Google Translator Widget page and choose the option you would like to use for your blog. There are three options available:
Just the widget code, which features written links to translate into different languages.
The widget with big flags, which features large flags instead of text links
The widget with small flags (as I have featured in the right sidebar).Once you've chosen the format, click on the appropriate link and you will be taken to a page which features the HTML code required for the widget to display. For (new) Blogger Layouts templates, highlight all of this code (CTRL+A) and copy it to your clipboard. Next, open your Blogger dashboard and choose to add a new HTML/Javascript widget Read more:Translate
Rounders 4 Three Column Template for download 2007-08-29 11:05:00 I have now uploaded the Rounders 4 three column template for you to download. Additional features include a customized label cloud and Addthis social bookmarking buttons beneath each post. Here's a screenshot for you:
You can see a demonstration of this template in the Rounders 4 demonstration blog.To download this template, right click on the link below and choose "Save As..."Download Rounders 4 Three
column templateFor more free Blogger templates, please visit the Templates sectionTechnorati Tags: blogger+templates | download | rounders
Read more:Column
Create your own recent comments widgets here! 2007-08-28 06:20:00 Since many of you would prefer to have different features for your "Recent Comments" widgets
, I've decided to post this widget generator. Using this tool means you can customize your recent posts widget to your personal preferences and then automatically insert the widget into your Blogger blog!
Simply choose your preferences in the boxes below, click "Apply" and then "Add Widget to my Blog" when you are ready. I've tested this in both IE and Firefox and the widgets seem to appear fine.Customize Recent Comments WidgetWidget title: Blog address: http://(eg: "yourblog.blogspot.com" or "www.yourblog.com")Comments to display: Show comment date: Show post title: Summary size: characters ">Please get in touch if you experience any problems using this widget generator. I hope this helps you all customize the widget to your personal preferences!Technorati Tags: recent+comments | widget | widget | generator
"Rounders 3" three column template available for download 2007-08-27 10:51:00 I've completed work on the Rounders 3 template
to transform the original Blogger template into a three column design. Here's a screenshot for you:
This template also features a complementary label cloud and AddThis buttons at the end of each post for readers to bookmark using their favorite social bookmarking services.You can see a demonstration of the Rounders 3 three column template here.To download the Rounders 3 XML template, please use the link below (right click the link and choose "Save As"Download Rounders 3 Three Column Blogger TemplateOther Rounders three column templates are available
to download too:
Rounders three column template
Rounders 2 three column templateBe sure to check out the Blogger Templates section for loads more free Blogger layouts templates.Technorati Tags: blogger+templates | three+column | download | templates | rounders
How to add BlogThis! links to each of your blog posts 2007-08-31 10:37:00 In a previous post, I explained how to add a BlogThis! button to your browser links
bar. In this post, I will explain how you can also add this link to your blog posts
. This will allow your readers to blog about your posts without having to visit their Blogger dashboard, and can assist in publicizing your blog.
First, let me explain how the BlogThis! function works.The BlogThis! function uses javascript to acquire the url and title of the page you are looking at, sends this to Blogger and also sends you to the posting page in your Blogger dashboard.So, if you were reading this post from my blog's homepage and wanted to blog about it, the url sent to Blogger would be www.bloggerbuster.com and the title would be Blogger Buster. Since you are reading this post on the "post page", the url would be that of this particular blog post, and the title will be "How to add BlogThis! links to each of your blog posts".With this in mind, you should understand that it is much better for the Blog
Add a "BlogThis" button to your toolbar 2007-08-31 04:37:00 "BlogThis!" is an easy way to make a blog post without having to visit your Blogger dashboard. It can come in very useful of you find a web page or blog post you want to blog about straight away.
The easiest way to use the "BlogThis!" function is to add a BlogThis button
to your browser's link bar. There are two ways you can do this:
Create a link in your existing linkbar
If you use the Google Toolbar, enable the BlogThis link in the toolbar menuWhen you click on the BlogThis! button, a small pop-up screen will appear which contains a link to the page you are on including the title of the page (as it appears in the top left corner of your browser). You can then add more text to the post and publish your post without even having to visit Blogger.com! The pop-up box should look something like this:
You can experiment with the BlogThis! function by clicking on the link below. This link functions in the same way as the link bar BlogThis! link.BlogThis!Here's how to create a BlogThis!
"Mobile" (tech-style) Blogger template available for download 2007-08-30 09:57:00 This is the first "technology" style template
I have created, which features a clean and simple layout with a mobile phone in the header background. here's a screenshot for you:
You can see a demonstration of this template on the Mobile
Template demonstration blog.This template also features:
Optional "expandable posts" (script provided by Ramani)
Hidden Blogger
Nav-Bar
Complementary Label cloud
AddThis social bookmark buttons at the end of each post
Fully customizable (fonts, colors, etc)
To download this template, please use the link below. This is a zip file which also contains a help file and the template for use with the selective expandable posts.Download "Mobile" Blogger TemplateAll images featured in this template are hosted by Blogger Buster; you do not need to upload images to your own hosting provider.You are free to modify this template as you wish; however, I do ask that you keep the authorship credits intact within the template. A link back to Blogger Buster is alwa Read more:available
Create rounded corners without using external images 2007-09-26 03:53:00 Rounded corners are one of the biggest web design trends. Usually rounded corners are created using images as backgrounds for the section we want to appear rounded (such as those used in the Rounders template or created using Cornershop). However, it is also possible to create rounded corners using only CSS styling!
Spiffy corners is a site which can generate the code for you, based on the foreground and background colors you specify. Then all you need to do is add the code to your blog template, and your rounded corners will appear in your sidebar, your main posts section, or indeed anywhere you wish in your blog!The rounded corners wizard is really simple to use: all you need to do is specify the colors you wish to use and a preview image is generated for you. You can then choose the amount of "roundness" you require and the wizaed will generate two sets of code for you to use: the CSS style code, and the html code to wrap around your blog elements. Then all you need to do is cop
Free blog icon set download 2007-09-25 13:18:00 Here are three sets of blog icons I designed while working on the new template for this site. There are 10 icons in all in red, blue and green color schemes, each against a transparent background for use in any color scheme.
You can download these icons using the link below:Download blog icons setThese icons are all in .gif format to ensure that the transparency is compatible across all major browsers. Feel free to use them in your templates and websites, or to modify them as you wish. However, please do not redistribute these icons without also including the license document in the file.Please feel free to leave your comments and suggestions below.Technorati Tags: blog+icons | images | icon+set | template | design
Will Google PageRank be updated soon? 2007-09-24 12:12:00 If you use the Google
Toolbar, you may well be familiar with Google PageRank
as you can see the rank of any site in your toolbar. The toolbar PageRank was usually updated every three months, but we have not yet seen an update since April-almost five months ago now!For many newer sites, this has been rather disappointing (here at Blogger Buster, for example, we still have a PageRank of 0, despite efforts to improve this). So why is this update taking so long, and when can we expect to see an update?
PageRank is the status given to sites by Google which can help web-users understand their importance. Rank is determined on a scale of 0-10 with a rank of ten being attained only by sites such as Google Yahoo and MSN. IOt has long been understood that if you can acquire backlinks from high ranking sites, your own site's PR will in turn be improved, since effectively the higher PR site will be "endorsing" the content of your own.However, many services have taken this too far, offering pa
Learn about Web 2.0 in five minutes 2007-09-22 03:52:00 Here is a great video I found over at Deziner Folio which explains Web 2.0 in a way we can all understand:
I actually found this while researching Web 2.0 design, and was so impressed by this great explanation of Web 2.0 I thought I'd share it with you all. For me, this video embodies everything I love about the web. And when you consider that blogging is a part of this online revolution, it can be quite inspirational too!Please let me know what you think too by leaving your comments below.Technorati Tags: web+2.0 | video | deziner+folio | blogging | inspiration
Read more:minutes
How I copy widgets from one template to another 2007-09-21 11:31:00 When you choose a new default Blogger template
, all of your widgets
are copied over to the new template. However, if you try to upload a customized template (such as the ones featured here), you will probably get a message asking if you want to delete most of your existing widgets. I am often asked "how can I copy my widgets over to a new template?", so in this tutorial I will share the method I use to do this quickly and painlessly.
Your blog widgets are saved in your Blogger account, rather than in the actual template of the blog. The widgets are called to your blog by anchors within the template which look like this:
<b:widget locked='false' title='My Widget Title' type='HTML'/>
As you can see in this example, each widget in your blog is given a unique identity (in this case, "HTML1") and a title, which is the same as the title you provide when you create the widget.If you upload a template to your blog which contains the same widget identifiers, then the widgets wil
Find free icons for your blog with the Iconlet search engine 2007-09-20 16:40:00 Iconlet.com is a great new search service to help you find free icons you can use in your blog posts and templates. This service runs like a simple search service, allowing you to input search terms for the icons you need and returning results in image format for you to download to your computer. There are loads of "Web 2.0" style icons to use, and even full icon sets (such as Home/About/Contact icons of a matching theme).
Don't be put off ny the simple layout of the front page: this is truly a very useful design tool, and can also provide you with great inspiration for your blog template design. Let me know what you think of Iconlet by leaving your comments below.Technorati Tags: icon | search+engine | blog+design
How to set up a test blog (and why you may want to use one) 2007-09-20 15:50:00 A test blog can be very useful for testing template changes and other hacks before implementing the changes into your own. I always use test blogs when designing new templates, testing scripts and other such experiments. In this post I'll explain how you can set up your own test blog, and the reasons you will find it useful to use one.
What is a test blog?For me, a test blog is a temporary blog I use for experimenting with template design, javascripts and to copy widgets from one blog to another. Since these blogs are usually temporary (or used only for experimental reasons) I set them up differently from my main blogs, so that they do not attract visitors or interfere with the preferences of other bloggers.How do I set up a test blog?Luckily, Blogger allows us to set up any number of blogs in our free account. You will probably want to set up your test blog differently to your regular blogs, so follow the steps below to learn how to do this:
Go to your Blogger Dashboard and look
5 best free file hosting for your images and scripts 2007-09-19 11:06:00 Although Blogger allows us to upload image and video files for our posts and sidebar widgets, we are unable to upload other file types (eg: Javascripts) for use within our blogs. This can prove quite awkward for those who rely on such files, so I have compiled a list of the top five free file hosting services I have encountered. All of these services will allow you to upload Javascripts, text and image files, and to "hotlink" to these files for personal use.
Top 5 Free File Hosting ServicesHotlinkFiles.comThis service provides 8000mb of bandwidth so you can be pretty sure you won't exceed your monthly quota! No need to register to upload image files, though this is nescessary if you wish to upload any other file type. Maximum file size is 50mb, and with up to 1000mb of webspace available, this is surely a free hosting service that is difficult to beat!
NakidoFiles are saved forever on this free host! You need to register to use, and can choose to install the "Nakido Flag" software
Inline comments hack 2007-09-17 07:04:00 Would you like to be able to feature comments and the comments box beneath your blog posts, Wordpress-style? In this tutorial I will explain how this can be achieved in your Blogger "layouts" template. After you implement this hack, your readers will never have to leave the page to post a comment on your blog!
This is an example of what the inline comments looks like in one of my test blogs (click on the image for a larger version):You can also see an example of this hack in action on this demonstration blog.You will be able to change some elements of the inline comments' appearance as I will explain later in this post. For now, let's see how this hack can be done.
How to implement the inline comments hackBefore you do anything to your template, be sure to make a back-up of your existing template. This can be done by going to the Edit HTML page and selecting the "Download Full Template" link near the top of the page. It is always good practise to back-up your template before maki Read more:Inline
I think Blogger Buster needs a makeover... 2007-09-15 15:35:00 Despite my recent changes to the BloggerBuster
site, I'm still unhappy with the overall look and feel of this blog. It takes ages to load, it isn't quite as easy as I'd like to find relevent information, and let's be honest: the overall look isn't anywhere near as eye-catching as most of the templates I design!So I'm planning a bit of an overhaul...
Personally I think
these are the main problems with this existing template:
It takes too long to load.
Navigation is a little awkward.
There is too much excess content in the sidebars.
And let's be honest: this template isn't nearly so eye-catching as most of the templates I design!So, in answer to these problems, I plan to design a whole new look for Blogger Buster, including a more definitive logo, a "Web 2.0" style theme, easier navigation, no unnecessary distractions, and much faster loading times.Sound good?As always your opinions matter to me, so I would appreciate any suggestions or comments to help me design a better bl
Tic Tac Green Three Column Template 2007-09-15 15:24:00 Sorry for the delay in getting this template ready for download! Here is a screenshot of the modified Tic Tac green template for your perusal:
You can download the XML file for this template using the link below (this is contained within a zip file which you can save to your computer):Download three column Tic Tac (green) templateAll images are hosted by Blogger Buster so you do not need to upload them to your own servers. Feel free to modify this template as you wish; however I do ask that the author credits remain intact within the template. Please do not redistribute this template without a link back to Blogger Buster!For loads more free Blogger template downloads, be sure to visit the Blogger Templates section.Technorati Tags: blogger+templates | tic+tac | three+column | template | green
Read more:Green
, Three
, Column
How to show links to related posts 2007-09-15 12:27:00 Over at Hoctro's Place, I found a great hack which can help you show links
to relatedposts
(by label) beside each of your blog posts (in the sidebar section). This can be a very useful hack because many visitors to your blog will land on a "post page" rather than on your home page, and these links can direct them to other posts of interest on your blog.
This hack uses the JSON Callback technique to retrieve post titles from your blog's labels feed. Also, the inclusion of more than one label set is possible, so if you have more than one label for a post, related titles will displayed for each of these labels.You can choose the maximum number of labels to display as well as the maximum number of posts for each label, which is handy if you feature a great many posts under one particular label.Hoctro's instructions for this hack are very good, and take you through the modifications to your template step-by-step. It is advisable to pay close attention to the instructions though as t
Mobilize your blog with Widsets 2007-09-13 15:18:00 I recently came across a new service from Widsets
which enables you to syndicate your content for people to read as a widget on their mobile phone!
Using WidSets, you can create a widget using your blog's Atom/RSS feed which can be read on a mobile phone. Readers can subscribe to your WidSets widget and receive updates on their mobile device where a regular feed reader may be unavailable. You can see an example of the subscription button for WidSets in my right sidebar.WidSets is a free service for both subscribers and publishers, and may be very useful in generating traffic from the new wave of readers using their mobile phone to surf the web. To create your own account and begin creating widgets to syndicate your blog content, head on over to WidSets and register your account details. You will be sent a confirmation message to your mobile phone and email account, and can begin creating your WidSets widgets straight away.Do note that the text message sent by WidSets will contain
Recommend Site To A Friend
