Add A Sitemap To Blogger

As I mentioned in my earlier post, here are step by step instructions on how to add a sitemap to blogger:

First you need to add your site to the google webmaster tools and verify it.

1. Log in to your Google Webmaster Account

2. Add your url and you will get a message that you have added a site to your account.

3. Now click on the verify link. You need to verify your account to enable access to site statistics.

4. Verify the link using the META tag that Google generates for you and copy/paste it just under the first BODY tag of your HTML.

5. When you have pasted the META tag, return to google webmaster tools account and check the box saying "I have added the META tag to my homepage... You have now only confirmed that you own the site.


Now you have to add the sitemap itself.

Since there is no possible way to add a text file to your blogger account, you have to use your site's feed as a sitemap. So, here is how you do it:

6. Click "add sitemap" and you'll be taken to this window:

7. Simply add the extension atom.xml to your url (which you've set up earlier in your Feed Burner account) and click "Add Web Sitemap"

And that's it. You have now added a sitemap to your blogger account. ;)

How To Add Categories To Blogger

If you wonder why should you use categories on your blog in the first place, it's because of your readers and readers only! You want to make your blog to be easy accessible for anyone! When your readers want to browse your blog a little bit, they want to be able to do it in a very very easy way! They could browse your blog through The Archives but it allows them to browse your blog only through dates and not through topics! That's where the categories come in. ;)

Unfortunately Blogger does not have categories included in their platform. It's one of the things I don't like about Blogger but hey, I guess they'll correct it in near future...

Until they do, I'll show you how to make your own categories using Blogger search for labels! Trust me, It's by far the easiest way to make categories for your Blogger account! (as you can see, I'm using them on this blog ;))

Adding Categories To Blogger (Step By Step Guide):

1. Open your favorite text editor (notepad, wordpad...)

2. Type the following text into it and replace "Your URL Here" with your URL, "Category Name" with desired name for your Category and "Catgory Title" with the name of your category which you want to be displayed in your sidebar! (note that Category title and Category name should be the same!)

I have put the text for only three categories, you can use as many as you like!

3. Open your blog dashboard and click "Customize". Click on "Add a page element", from the opened menu choose "HTML/JavaScript" and paste in the edited text from your favorite text editor, click "Add to Blog" and then "Save Changes"

4. Your Categories should appear on your sidebar ;)


Now that wasn't so hard, was it? :P You have now added categories to your blog! ;)

OK, we're not done here.... In order for your categories to work, you have to use your post labels. Every time you publish a new post you have to use your post labels and write in the name of the category under which you want your post to appear. (If you want your post appear within more than one category than use commas (my categories example: Post Labels: Link Juice, Agloco)

I'm placing this post in the "Blogger - Blogspot Tools" category. Be careful because the Post Label must match the category name EXACTLY!

One more thing, all of the posts published before you added categories to your blog WILL NOT appear in your categories. You can republish the posts and then the categories will detect them!

If you encounter any difficulties with adding categories to your Blogger Platform do not hesitate to ask for help. You can leave me a comment bellow or use the contact me form!

Create A Favicon For Your Blogger Site

I recently added a favicon to my blog (look up in your browser and you'll notice it) and wanted to share the tip, it's really easy to do it!

Creating a favicon helps in branding your blog and helps your readers to recognize your blog a lot easier. When someone bookmarks your blog they see the favicon in their bookmarks also and it even shows up in tabbed browsing with Firefox! (now bookmark this site and check it out - for testing purposes of course ;)


How to create a favicon:

1. Choose an image you wish to use for your favicon. The image can't be larger than 100kb and has to be in a format of not larger than 96 x 96 pixels.
2. Go to MyFavatar and upload your image (the registration process for MyFavatar takes about 1 minute ;)
3. Enter your blog details
   
4. Go to codes section on the top left of the main page.

5. Copy/Paste the code in your blog template under the section. It should look like this:

That's it. You're all done, refresh the page and take a look at your brand new favicon image!