How to Create a Blogger Account?

Are you wondering how to create a Blogger account? Many of us do, because Blogger is one of the most popular blogging platforms out there and it can provide us with an extraordinary, fun way to express ourselves in the online world. Not only is it Blogger a very large blogging website, but it's also full of categories that you can blog on. You have complete control over what you want to blog, and that does make Blogger an amazing platform to begin with. Yet you do have to wonder how to create a blog on Blogger! We are here to help you understand all of that and so much more as fast as possible, thanks to a detailed guide that will showcase all the necessary instructions in a very easy to read manner.

Creating a Google account

What you need to know here is that Google owns Blogger, and because of that you will need to use a Google account to sign in to this platform. You can create a Google account now and then you will be able to continue to the platform without a problem. By creating a Google Account you will be able to access a wide range of Google apps and services like Drive or Mail for example. Visit the page above and share all the necessary information in order to create the necessary Google Account. Thankfully, the process is very easy and it will take only a few minutes of your time. In case you already have a Google Account, you will need to sign on the Blogger page.

Creating your blog

Once you are located on the Blogger page, you will need to press the New Blog button in order to start a blog. You will receive a new window where you will learn how to create a Blogger account. This will enable you to share all the necessary information.

• Make sure that you add a title for your blog in the Title area. This is very important because it will allow you to entice the visitor to read more about you and your content. So, try to make the title relevant and appealing
• In order for users to find your blog, you will need to create an Address for it. Your blog will have a blogspot.com address, but you will need to choose what goes before blogspot.com. Basically, you can opt for something like abcdef.blogspot.com or anything like that. Remember that this can be modified in the long run. The great thing here is that you will immediately be able to see if that address is available or not. This means you will have the ability to check the address availability really fast.
• The next step will require you to choose from any of the presets that are available at this point. Starting with a Template is a good idea, but do remember that this can be modified afterwards as well. So it's a good idea to just pick a template and move onward.

Once you have the blog title, address and template ready to go, you will have to press the Create blog! button. This process will take a little bit until it's completed properly, so just wait for a few seconds as the new blog will soon be added to the blog list. So, if you were wondering how to create a blog on Blogger, this is the simplest way to do it.

Maybe the best thing about how to create a Blogger account is that the entire process is very easy to do. Even beginners will have no problem creating and setting up an account. The customization options are plentiful here, so you shouldn't have any problem setting your account really fast!

Starting to post

Although the blog address will be available, you can't call that a blog unless you start writing content in there. Obviously, you will need to learn how to write a post on Blogger, and we are here to help you with that right now.

In order to start writing, you will need to click the Create a new post link or you can press the New Post button. Once you do that, you will gain immediate access to the post editor and here you can write the blog as well as make any necessary changes to content that you already wrote.

Write a title for your post

Your post needs to have a title. Towards the top of the Blogger editor you will see that there is a Post title box. Add in the desired post title there. This shouldn't eat up a lot of your time, just try to come up with a post title that is enticing, very easy to use and a delight to read for your audience. A catchy title can be great. Don't opt for the clickbait title that you can see nowadays, make your title feel informative and fun to read as that's what you want. If you want to write a first post, you need to make it introductory. Write about the goals you have, the type of content you want to add and so on. It will not be easy to write down the first words, but if you create a good title it will be easier for you to translate thoughts into words!

Start the writing process

You can create a Blogger post in 2 ways. You can either write the post in HTML or you can use the word processor included here. You have a button located in the top left corner which helps you switch between any of these two writing models. The HTML editor helps you create better web content and you can also use it to insert some special web functions. On the other hand, the word processor is more than qualified to offer you all the extra help you might need here.

Customizing text

If you want, you will be able to customize the text you want without a problem. You will have the ability to use the toolbar located on top of the editor to modify the text as you see fit. This includes formatting, color, size, alignment and so on. You have a Normal drop-down that helps you change the type of content you want to add, so you should consider changing between the desired heading type as you see fit. This also changes the way search engines process your content, so keep that in mind.  If possible, try to break the content into easy to read pieces. Use the Headings in a strategic manner.

Add an image to your post

If you want to make your blog post enticing, you should try to add at least an image. These images make posts a lot easier to read and it's a good idea to make the most out of images if you want to share a great experience for your audience. You will have an "Insert Image" button right above your text editor, on the toolbar. There are multiple options, you can either upload them from your PC/Mac, you can share a link or you can use your webcam to take a picture if you want. However, if you link to other websites, make sure that you showcase their copyright or just refrain from doing that to begin with. There are many sites who do not agree with the idea of having their content stolen, so try to stay away from that!

Modify the post settings

If you look on the right side of your Post Editor, you will be able to access some Post settings. Remember that these make it easy for you to customize your post right before you choose to publish it!

• Labels are useful if you want to group multiple posts which are very similar to one another.
• Schedule allows you to publish your content at a later date. It can come in handy if you don't want to share multiple articles at the same time.
• Permalink is an option that allows you to select the way your post will be linked to in the future. Usually it will maintain the title structure, but there are other link types you can choose from as well.
• Location enables you to add a location tag for your post. It's a very good tool for those that move/travel often
• Options allows you to modify some features like the user ability to comment on a post for example. You can also choose the way your HTML code is interpreted here as well.

Previewing

A great thing about previewing your post is that you will be able to see how it looks when a reader will access it. This is the right time when you need to check your post for any errors, be it grammar or structural ones.

Save the post for later

This is not the same as scheduling. When you save the post for later, it means that the post just isn't finished at this time and you will continue to work on it at a later time. You can see this as a draft for your future post.

Publishing the post

If you double or triple checked the post and there are no errors, then you are good to go. Still, it's a good idea to go through it at least one more time to ensure that all the content you want is there and you don't have to make any more changes. Add all the necessary labels and tags, make sure that you inserted any links, images and other information that you might need.

Once everything is ready, you will just have to press the Publish button located at the top of the panel. This is when Blogger will automatically redirect you to the Posts page. Here you will see the post right on top.

Don't believe that your work is done at this point. In fact, it's far from that. You still have a long way to go before you properly optimize and improve your blog. After all, people won't be drawn in to your blog if you have just a single one to begin with. Work hard to write great posts as they will be able to make your blog stand out in the long haul.

Of course, you do need patience. Writing a good blog does require time and you shouldn't rush the content creation. Prioritize quality over quantity all the time. If you don't do that, the experience will be very well worth it in the end.

How can you expand your blog?

As we mentioned earlier, writing a single post is great but it won't draw in a lot of traffic. If you want to write a good post, one that will bring in lots of readers and views, you want to post as often as possible.

Quality content will always bring in traffic. Update the blog as often as you can. If you can share at least a post per week, you should do that. A good stream of posts will always come in handy, so make sure that you always write some good, enticing content that will help populate your blog.

If possible, we recommend you to create a post Schedule as this will help you better optimize the way you post. This way you will be able to prepare your content beforehand, so you can have it ready when you want to create a new post. The best approach is to write more than 1 post at a time. One can be posted and the others can be kept for a later date if you so desire.

Write for a niche

Generalized content works but it won't really deliver good results for your audience. If you want to get the best results, we recommend you to find a niche as fast as possible. Not only does a niche help you target specific users, but it will also help you become an authority on that topic. We recommend you to research a niche and become an expert on it. This is the best way to create a large audience for a niche and from here to reaching success in blogging will be just a small step.

Don't rush the content creation process, especially if you write for a niche. Creating redundant content will just keep people away. As long as you take your time and focus on results for your audience, the experience will be an amazing one. Of course, use the proper content structure in order to cater to the needs of search engines, all while maintaining the content relevant for humans as well!

Reader interaction

Once you learn how to create a blog on Blogger you can create more than a blog in order to reach multiple audiences. But the idea here still remains, you will need to interact with the audience. The community will grow more and more as you put out content, so make sure that you always interact with the audience.

Read the comments and moderate them, make sure that you remove spam. Also, reply to people that are interested in what you write. This will help create and nurture a community around your content, which can be very interesting to do!

Advertising your blog

Your blog will need advertising if you want it to grow really fast. One of the best ways you can do that is by sharing it with people anywhere you can. From social networks to social media or any other location, all of these are great places where you can share your blog. We recommend you to try and do the following:

• Post a short headline and a link to your article on Twitter
• Single Blogger is a Google Product, make sure that you use the Google buttons in order to share on Google Plus and perform other similar actions.
• Encourage readers and friends to share your Blogger posts on Facebook and anywhere they can. This will help you reach a large audience really fast.
• Make sure that you comment on forums and other blogs. Link to your post there if it's meaningful for that particular topic. This type of practice is called backlinking and it's very good for SEO.

Place ads

Ads are very important if you want to monetize the blog. You won't be able to monetize your blog with AdSense unless you have a blog active for around 6 months, so keep that in mind. You also need to have at least 18 years of age and you also have to obey the TOS. AdSense allows you to receive payments based on the amount of impressions generated by your blog.

Blog customization

You can modify just about anything you want on Blogger, it all comes down to you to make the right changes! For example, you will be able to press Layout and then you can modify the block content for each section of your blog. You also have the ability to Add a Gadget if you want. Blogger has lots of add-ons to choose from, all of which can help you better define your blog!

If you want to customize your Template, keep in mind that there are multiple customization options to choose from. You can also keep the template you have now. Programmers can press the Edit HTML button so they can modify the CSS and HTML code.

Stat tracking

Blogger has a dedicated option named Stats where you have the ability to monitor the blog performance. Here you have the ability to see the amount of views you get. This way you can identify what posts are performing better than others. As a result, you know what content works great for your audience in the longer term!

Learning how to create a Blogger account is really easy and you can feel free to create multiple blogs if you want. Just make sure that you write content for all of them. Plus, you can also monetize each one of your blogs if you so desire. Take your time and make sure that you provide valid information for your readers. This should be the main reason to create a Blogger account in the first place!

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How to Get a Disabled Gmail Account Back

It can be a frustrating experience when you find your Gmail account is no longer active. Having your Gmail account disabled means losing access to the products by Google that were linked. There are several reasons why your account may have been ended that are mostly due to the Terms of Service policies by Google itself. So, if you have violated one more of the polices either intentionally or not, you can find yourself with a disabled Gmail account.

Adding to the frustration is that Google will often disable the account with no warning. However, the good news is that there are simple methods for getting your account back online.

Gmail Account Temporarily Disabled

This is generally the easiest to overcome as Google believes that your account may be compromised. To rectify the situation, you will be asked to provide your mobile number or recover email identification. If you do either, they will send you a text message that will allow you to access your account quickly. You will need to do so within a 48-hour period otherwise it will become more difficult to get back your account.

Gmail Account Disabled Due To Perceived ToS Violation

If your Gmail account disabled included a terms of service (ToS) violation warning, then you will need to fill out their contact form so the process of getting your Gmail account back can begin. You should read the ToS thoroughly so that the violation will not happen again and provide the email address. If you do not get a response, repeat the step every two days until you do.

Gmail account disabled - Google contact form screenshot

Once they have responded, the next step should be to get your Gmail back so that you can gain automatic access to all the Google products including AdSense. You can also visit the help forum where you can open a 'Gmail account disabled' topic. Just focus on the Gmail account itself first as that is the key to the rest of your Google services. You'll want to discuss the issues that you are facing and why this needs to be resolved as quickly as possible. If the Top Contributor pings your thread to the staff at Google, then you should expect your account to be back online in 48 hours or two business days.

Gmail Account Disabled Due To Serious ToS Violations

If the Gmail account disabled was due to a serious violation of the Terms of Service agreement, as well as the Google policies that oversee your account, then you will have considerable difficulty in getting your account back. Such violations would include your AdSense account being involved in click fraud, for example. Serious violations that are clear will make it virtually impossible for your account to be restored.

If what happened was not considered a serious violation, then you should be able to get your account up and running within 24 to 48 hours depending on the circumstances. It pays however, to keep all your important data and information outside of your Google accounts in case of getting a Gmail account disabled result. By protecting yourself, the impact will be easier to handle until you can get your account back online.

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5 Best Custom Blogger Contact Form Widgets

In the past, adding a custom contact form for Blogger was quite a complex process, and many bloggers were forced to use third party websites. However, even after Blogger launched its own contact form gadget, it was still considered as highly inadequate. This is because the official gadget would only be implemented on the footer the sidebar. Most bloggers preferred having a separate blogger contact form placed on its own page to make their blogs appear well arranged and more professional as well.

Having a well laid-out Blogger contact form is very important. This is the tool that visitors, companies, and brands can use to contact you and it is simply a must-have feature for every blogger. If you are not comfortable with sharing your main email address directly on your blog, then a custom Blogger contact form offers an effective way in which people can easily reach you.

Why you should use a Blogger Contact Form?

If you are still stuck on third party providers, you should definitely consider switching to the official custom contact form for Blogger since it has various unique benefits, like:

• Messages are delivered immediately - As the blog administrator, you will receive a message immediately the visitor clicks send.
• Reliable - It is the official form developed by Blogger, which makes it more trustworthy and reliable way to initiate contact as compared to using third-party services.
• Questions - The contact form offers a platform for your visitors to ask specific questions that they might have regarding the blog you wrote or your business in general. It can be an excellent way of capturing leads and even lead to conversions if you are selling a certain product or service.
• Feedback - Visitors can easily comment on your blog by leaving their feedback through your contact form. This feedback can help you determine which post to do next or what areas to address based on the visitors' comments.
• Information or service request - For those who are using the blog as a way of marketing a product or service, potential clients can use the custom contact form for Blogger to reach out and request additional information.

How to Add Blogger Contact Form Gadget

Before adding a custom Blogger contact form to a static page, we need to add the default contact form in the blog's sidebar to make it functional:

1. Log into your Blogger dashboard and go to "Layout" > click on the "Add a gadget" link on the page elements area.

2. Select "More Gadgets" below the "Basics" tab and click the "+" button to add the Contact Form Gadget.

Hiding Blogger Contact Form from the Sidebar

Once the contact form has been added, next step is to hide it so that it will appear only in the static page.

1. Go to "Template" and press the "Edit HTML" button. Once the code editor opens, click anywhere inside the code area and press CTRL + F keys (or Command + F for mac) to open the search box.

2. Type or paste the following tag inside the search box and hit Enter to find it:

]]></b:skin>

3. Just above the ]]></b:skin> tag, add this CSS code:

#ContactForm1{display: none !important;}

4. Click the "Save template" button on the upper left side and view your blog. The contact form widget should be gone.

Adding Custom Blogger Contact Form in a Static Page

Finally, now that we enabled the functionality of the contact form, let's add a custom contact form in our Blogger blog...

1. Go to "Pages" and click the "New page" button. If you already have a Contact us page, just click the "Edit" link below the page title.

2. Once the Page editor opens, fill up the page title with Contact/Contact Us or any title you want to show. It is recommended doing this before anything in order to make the permalink SEO friendly.

3. Click on the HTML tab as there we will add the code to make the custom Blogger contact form work. On the right site, change the Page settings to hide ("Don't allow" or "Don't allow, hide existing") the reader comments, then click the "Done" button:

4. Below are 5 custom Blogger contact form styles. Pick your favorite and copy the code provided, then paste the code inside the HTML box of your page editor:

Simple Contact Form

<style type="text/css">
.contact-form-widget{margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto;width:600px;max-width:100%;padding:40px 0}.contactf-name,.contactf-email{float:left;width:48.25%}.contactf-name{margin-right:3.5%}.contact-form-name,.contact-form-email,.contact-form-email-message,.contact-form-name:hover,.contact-form-name:focus,.contact-form-email:hover,.contact-form-email:focus,.contact-form-email-message:hover,.contact-form-email-message:focus{width:100%;max-width:100%;margin:0 0 20px;padding:10px 15px;font-size:12px;letter-spacing:1px;color:#444;background:#F3F3F3;border:medium none;-webkit-box-shadow:none;-moz-box-shadow:none;box-shadow:none}.contact-form-name,.contact-form-email{height:37px}.contact-form-email-message{height:170px}.contact-form-button-submit,.contact-form-button-submit:hover{width:13%;height:30px;font:normal 12px Arial;letter-spacing:1px;color:#444;display:block;outline:none;margin-bottom:20px;text-align:center;background:#E6E6E6;border:0;cursor:pointer}.contact-form-button-submit:active{outline:none;-webkit-box-shadow:none;box-shadow:none}.contact-form-cross{border:medium none!important;box-shadow:none!important;padding:0!important}
</style>

<div class="widget ContactForm" id="ContactForm1"><div class="contact-form-widget"><div class="form"><form name="contact-form"><div class="contactf-name"><input class="contact-form-name" id="ContactForm1_contact-form-name" name="name" size="30" type="text" value="NAME" onblur='if (this.value == "") {this.value = "NAME";}' onfocus='if (this.value == "NAME") {this.value = "";}'  /></div><div class="contactf-email"><input class="contact-form-email" id="ContactForm1_contact-form-email" name="email" size="30" type="text" value="EMAIL" onblur='if (this.value == "") {this.value = "EMAIL";}' onfocus='if (this.value == "EMAIL") {this.value = "";}'/></div><div style="clear:both"></div><div class="contactf-message"><textarea class="contact-form-email-message" cols="25" id="ContactForm1_contact-form-email-message" name="email-message" rows="5" value="MESSAGE" onblur='if (this.value == "") {this.value = "MESSAGE";}' onfocus='if (this.value == "MESSAGE") {this.value = "";}'></textarea></div><input class="contact-form-button contact-form-button-submit" id="ContactForm1_contact-form-submit" type="button" value="SEND" /><div class="contact-form-error-message" id="ContactForm1_contact-form-error-message"></div><div class="contact-form-success-message" id="ContactForm1_contact-form-success-message"></div></form></div></div></div>

Contact form with CSS rainbow divider

<style type="text/css">
.contact-form-widget{margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto;width:600px;max-width:100%;padding:0}hr{position:relative;height:.75em;border:0;overflow:hidden;margin:0}hr:before{content:"";display:block;position:absolute;top:0;left:0;height:.75em;width:5.1em;background:#C4DD83;box-shadow:5em 0 0 0 #F4FCC9,10em 0 0 0 #FDCD78,15em 0 0 0 #ED786F,20em 0 0 0 #D99DBF,25em 0 0 0 #C39EDC,30em 0 0 0 #679DE2,35em 0 0 0 #62C2E3,40em 0 0 0 #F4FCC9,45em 0 0 0 #FDCD78,50em 0 0 0 #ED786F,55em 0 0 0 #D99DBF,60em 0 0 0 #C39EDC}.contactf-name,.contactf-email{float:left;width:49.25%}.contactf-name{margin-right:1.5%}.contact-form-name,.contact-form-email,.contact-form-email-message,.contact-form-name:hover,.contact-form-name:focus,.contact-form-email:hover,.contact-form-email:focus,.contact-form-email-message:hover,.contact-form-email-message:focus{width:100%;max-width:100%;margin:25px 0 0;padding:10px;font-size:15px;color:#ccc;border-color:#E8E8E8;border-width:2px 2px 4px;-webkit-box-shadow:none;-moz-box-shadow:none;box-shadow:none}.contact-form-name,.contact-form-email{height:40px}.contact-form-email-message{height:100px}.contact-form-button-submit,.contact-form-button-submit:hover{margin-top:25px;width:100%;height:40px;font-size:15px;color:#fff;text-align:center;text-shadow:0 1px 2px rgba(0,0,0,0.25);background:#EE786F;border:0;border-bottom:2px solid #D4685C;outline:none;cursor:pointer;-webkit-box-shadow:inset 0 -2px #D4685C;box-shadow:inset 0 -2px #D4685C}.contact-form-button-submit:active{top:1px;outline:none;-webkit-box-shadow:none;box-shadow:none}.contact-form-cross{border:medium none !important;box-shadow:none !important;padding:0 !important;}
</style>

<div class="widget ContactForm" id="ContactForm1"><div class="contact-form-widget"><hr><div class="form"><form name="contact-form"><div class="contactf-name"><input class="contact-form-name" id="ContactForm1_contact-form-name" name="name" size="30" type="text" value="Name" onblur='if (this.value == "") {this.value = "Name";}' onfocus='if (this.value == "Name") {this.value = "";}'  /></div><div class="contactf-email"><input class="contact-form-email" id="ContactForm1_contact-form-email" name="email" size="30" type="text" value="E-mail address" onblur='if (this.value == "") {this.value = "E-mail address";}' onfocus='if (this.value == "E-mail address") {this.value = "";}'/></div><div style="clear:both"></div><div class="contactf-message"><textarea class="contact-form-email-message" cols="25" id="ContactForm1_contact-form-email-message" name="email-message" rows="5" value="Type your message here..." onblur='if (this.value == "") {this.value = "Type your message here...";}' onfocus='if (this.value == "Type your message here...") {this.value = "";}'></textarea><input class="contact-form-button contact-form-button-submit" id="ContactForm1_contact-form-submit" type="button" value="Send Message" /><div class="contact-form-error-message" id="ContactForm1_contact-form-error-message"></div><div class="contact-form-success-message" id="ContactForm1_contact-form-success-message"></div></div></form></div></div></div>

Blogger Contact Form with CSS Ribbon

<style type="text/css">
.widget.ContactForm{z-index:1}.contact-form-widget{margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto;width:600px;max-width:100%;padding:25px 0;background:#EBEBE3;-webkit-border-radius:2%;-moz-border-radius:2%;border-radius:2%}.contact-form-widget .form{width:91%;margin:0 auto}.ribbon{font:16px Arial;text-transform:capitalize;text-shadow:0 1px 2px rgba(0,0,0,0.25);position:relative;background:#6B5F53;color:#fff;text-align:center;padding:1em 2em;margin:0 -16px}.ribbon:before,.ribbon:after{content:"";position:absolute;display:block;bottom:-1em;border:1.5em solid #584C40;z-index:-1}.ribbon:before{left:-1.7em;border-right-width:1.2em;border-left-color:transparent}.ribbon:after{right:-1.7em;border-left-width:1.2em;border-right-color:transparent}.ribbon .ribbon-content:before,.ribbon .ribbon-content:after{content:"";position:absolute;display:block;border-style:solid;border-color:#42362A transparent transparent;bottom:-1em}.ribbon .ribbon-content:before{left:0;border-width:1em 0 0 1em}.ribbon .ribbon-content:after{right:0;border-width:1em 1em 0 0}.contactf-name,.contactf-email,.contactf-message{text-align:left;margin-top:25px;color:#a1937b;font-size:13px}.contactf-name,.contactf-email{float:left;width:100%}.contact-form-name,.contact-form-email,.contact-form-email-message,.contact-form-name:hover,.contact-form-name:focus,.contact-form-email:hover,.contact-form-email:focus,.contact-form-email-message:hover,.contact-form-email-message:focus{width:100%;max-width:100%;margin:10px 0 0;padding:10px;font-size:12px;color:#aaa;border-color:#DBD6D1;border-width:1px;box-shadow:none;-webkit-border-radius:5px;-moz-border-radius:5px;border-radius:5px}.contact-form-name,.contact-form-email{height:35px}.contact-form-email-message{height:100px}.contact-form-button-submit,.contact-form-button-submit:hover{margin-top:25px;width:100%;height:37px;font:normal 12px Arial;outline:none;letter-spacing:1px;color:#fff;text-align:center;cursor:pointer;text-shadow:1px 1px 0 #ffe8b2;color:#7c5d1b;border:1px solid #d6a437;background:#febd4b;background:-webkit-gradient(linear,0 0,0 100%,from(#fed970) to(#febd4b));background:-webkit-linear-gradient(#fed970,#febd4b);background:-moz-linear-gradient(#fed970,#febd4b);background:-ms-linear-gradient(#fed970,#febd4b);background:-o-linear-gradient(#fed970,#febd4b);background:linear-gradient(#fed970,#febd4b);-pie-background:linear-gradient(#fed970,#febd4b)}.contact-form-button-submit:active{color:#7c5d1b;border:1px solid #d6a437;background:#febd4b;background:-webkit-gradient(linear,0 0,0 100%,from(#febd4b) to(#fed970));background:-webkit-linear-gradient(#febd4b,#fed970);background:-moz-linear-gradient(#febd4b,#fed970);background:-ms-linear-gradient(#febd4b,#fed970);background:-o-linear-gradient(#febd4b,#fed970);background:linear-gradient(#febd4b,#fed970);-pie-background:linear-gradient(#febd4b,#fed970)}.contact-form-cross{border:medium none!important;box-shadow:none!important;padding:0!important}
</style>

<div class="widget ContactForm" id="ContactForm1"><div class="contact-form-widget"><h2 class="ribbon"><strong class="ribbon-content">Shoot Me an Email</strong></h2><div class="form"><form name="contact-form"><div class="contactf-name">Your name:<input class="contact-form-name" id="ContactForm1_contact-form-name" name="name" size="30" type="text" value="Name" onblur='if (this.value == "") {this.value = "Name";}' onfocus='if (this.value == "Name") {this.value = "";}'  /></div><div class="contactf-email">E-mail address *:<input class="contact-form-email" id="ContactForm1_contact-form-email" name="email" size="30" type="text" value="E-mail address" onblur='if (this.value == "") {this.value = "E-mail address";}' onfocus='if (this.value == "E-mail address") {this.value = "";}'/></div><div style="clear:both"></div><div class="contactf-message">Message *:<textarea class="contact-form-email-message" cols="25" id="ContactForm1_contact-form-email-message" name="email-message" rows="5" value="" placeholder="Type your message here..."></textarea><input class="contact-form-button contact-form-button-submit" id="ContactForm1_contact-form-submit" type="button" value="SEND MESSAGE" /><div class="contact-form-error-message" id="ContactForm1_contact-form-error-message"></div><div class="contact-form-success-message" id="ContactForm1_contact-form-success-message"></div></div></form></div></div></div>

Minimal Contact Form

<style type="text/css">
.contact-form-widget{margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto;width:600px;max-width:100%;padding:25px;background:#fff}.contact-title{text-align:center;font:41px fantasy;color:#121212;margin-bottom:25px}.contactf-name,.contactf-email{float:left;width:47%}.contactf-name{margin-right:6%}.name-icon img,.email-icon img{background:transparent!important;border:medium none!important;box-shadow:none!important;padding:11px 0!important}.name-icon,.email-icon{position:absolute;z-index:1}.contact-form-name,.contact-form-email,.contact-form-email-message,.contact-form-name:hover,.contact-form-name:focus,.contact-form-email:hover,.contact-form-email:focus,.contact-form-email-message:hover,.contact-form-email-message:focus{width:100%;max-width:100%;margin:0 0 25px;padding:10px 10px 10px 25px;font:bold 16px cursive;text-shadow:0 1px 2px #ddd;color:#121212;background:transparent!important;border-color:#121212;border-width:0 0 2.5px;-webkit-box-shadow:none;-moz-box-shadow:none;box-shadow:none}.contact-form-name,.contact-form-email{height:40px}.contact-form-email-message,.contact-form-email-message:hover,.contact-form-email-message:focus{padding:10px!important}.contact-form-email-message{height:150px;border-width:2.5px!important}.contact-form-button-submit,.contact-form-button-submit:hover{background:#121212!important;width:30%;height:37px;font:bold 13px "Lucida Grande";letter-spacing:2px;color:#fff;text-align:center;border:medium none;cursor:pointer;display:block;margin:0 auto;outline:none}.contact-form-cross{border:medium none!important;box-shadow:none!important;padding:0!important}
</style>

<div class="widget ContactForm" id="ContactForm1"><div class="contact-form-widget"><h2 class="contact-title">Get in touch.</h2><div class="form"><form name="contact-form"><div class="contactf-name"><div class="name-icon"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw5X5-RAhOoH4mQl61Wtv4P3YigvW-tFnhSnGv7EDnX2tFxSj-hcQwwL31FiurSsaZmfKpNH2mx8LeAs7i1510xVVSw3Dg3cpl96hplqL__utFDKSp6uly1V6_T_BTzHZJtn9iYfjAnKjg/s1600/avatar%25281%2529.png" width="16" height="16" /></div><input class="contact-form-name" id="ContactForm1_contact-form-name" name="name" size="30" type="text" value="Name" onblur='if (this.value == "") {this.value = "Name";}' onfocus='if (this.value == "Name") {this.value = "";}'  /></div><div class="contactf-email"><div class="email-icon"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNrgleMMW6mhq-qf554sdYZ3Q0Amcc62zBx7m-QUY6kYXAXryUGoFbD3FsAj7h0MSX7zxAfQFeKQGPSP_AhcsJERlltQKLYkkM-bVtIKaMLV0AWWb1PRJ09Qs0qk8iL7u7HIWnzW9iF0aQ/s1600/envelope%25281%2529.png" width="16" height="16" /></div><input class="contact-form-email" id="ContactForm1_contact-form-email" name="email" size="30" type="text" value="E-mail address" onblur='if (this.value == "") {this.value = "E-mail address";}' onfocus='if (this.value == "E-mail address") {this.value = "";}'/></div><div style="clear:both"></div><div class="contactf-message"><textarea class="contact-form-email-message" cols="25" id="ContactForm1_contact-form-email-message" name="email-message" rows="5" value="Type your message here..." onblur='if (this.value == "") {this.value = "Type your message here...";}' onfocus='if (this.value == "Type your message here...") {this.value = "";}'></textarea><input class="contact-form-button contact-form-button-submit" id="ContactForm1_contact-form-submit" type="button" value="SEND" /><div class="contact-form-error-message" id="ContactForm1_contact-form-error-message"></div><div class="contact-form-success-message" id="ContactForm1_contact-form-success-message"></div></div></form></div></div></div>

Contact form with speech bubble

<style type="text/css">
.contact-form-widget{margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto;width:600px;max-width:100%}.contactf-name,.contactf-email{float:left;width:50%}.contact-form-name,.contact-form-email,.contact-form-email-message,.contact-form-name:hover,.contact-form-name:focus,.contact-form-email:hover,.contact-form-email:focus,.contact-form-email-message:hover,.contact-form-email-message:focus{width:100%;max-width:100%;margin:0 0 15px;padding:10px;font-size:14px;color:#777;background:#E2DEDB;border:1px solid #CBC7C4;-webkit-box-shadow:none;-moz-box-shadow:none;box-shadow:none;-webkit-border-radius:20px;-moz-border-radius:20px;border-radius:20px}.contact-form-name,.contact-form-email{height:33px}.contact-form-email-message{height:130px}.contactf-message{position:relative}.contactf-message:after,.contactf-message:before{border-bottom:50px solid transparent;border-left:80px solid #E2DEDB;bottom:-32px;content:'';position:absolute;right:50%;margin-right:-100px}.contactf-message:before{border-left:80px solid #CBC7C4;bottom:-34px;right:50.3%;margin-right:-101px}.cbluebutton{margin-top:25px;width:30%;height:35px;float:right;font-size:15px;color:#fff;display:inline-block;text-align:center;background:linear-gradient(to bottom,#339ad9 0%,#224bbc 100%);box-shadow:0 1px 1px rgba(34,75,188,0.5);border:0;-webkit-border-radius:20px;-moz-border-radius:20px;border-radius:20px}.cbluebutton span .contact-form-button-submit{background:linear-gradient(to bottom,#52b1e2 0%,#397fd0 100%);font:bold 16px "Helvetica Neue",sans-serif;height:35px;width:100%;color:#FFF;text-shadow:0 1px 1px #224BBC;display:inline-block;box-shadow:0 1px 1px rgba(255,255,255,0.3) inset;cursor:pointer;outline:none;-webkit-border-radius:20px;-moz-border-radius:20px;border-radius:20px}.contact-form-button-submit:active{top:1px;outline:none;-webkit-box-shadow:none;box-shadow:none}.contact-form-cross{border:medium none!important;box-shadow:none!important;padding:0!important}
</style>

<div class="widget ContactForm" id="ContactForm1"><div class="contact-form-widget"><div class="form"><form name="contact-form"><div class="contactf-message"><textarea class="contact-form-email-message" cols="25" id="ContactForm1_contact-form-email-message" name="email-message" rows="5" value="Message" onblur='if (this.value == "") {this.value = "Message";}' onfocus='if (this.value == "Message") {this.value = "";}'></textarea></div><div class="cbluebutton"><span><input class="contact-form-button contact-form-button-submit" id="ContactForm1_contact-form-submit" type="button" value="Send" /></span></div><div class="contactf-name"><input class="contact-form-name" id="ContactForm1_contact-form-name" name="name" size="30" type="text" value="Name" onblur='if (this.value == "") {this.value = "Name";}' onfocus='if (this.value == "Name") {this.value = "";}'  /></div><div class="contactf-email"><input class="contact-form-email" id="ContactForm1_contact-form-email" name="email" size="30" type="text" value="E-mail" onblur='if (this.value == "") {this.value = "E-mail";}' onfocus='if (this.value == "E-mail") {this.value = "";}'/></div><div style="clear:both"></div><div class="contact-form-error-message" id="ContactForm1_contact-form-error-message"></div><div class="contact-form-success-message" id="ContactForm1_contact-form-success-message"></div></div></form></div></div>

5. After you added the code, click the "Publish" button on the upper right side. Now you should be able to see the Blogger contact form live on your static page. To ensure that everything works fine, you can send a message as a test. The message should be delivered to your inbox in a matter of seconds, just make sure that you're checking the email that you're using with your Blogger account.

Frequently Asked Questions about the Custom Contact Form for Blogger

Where do the messages go?

Once a visitor asks a question or sends feedback through the Blogger contact form, it is instantly delivered to the email associated with your Blogger account. If a blog has several administrators, then all the individual administrators will receive the comments or questions asked by the visitor.

What is the benefit of using a separate "Contact Us" page?

Even though it all comes down to your personal preferences, your blog will look more professional if it has a separate page for the custom contact form for Blogger. It gives you credibility and also offers you the chance to add a specific call to action in the new "Contact Us" page.

Is it possible to add extra fields?

Unfortunately, no. You can't add custom fields such as website, phone number or mailing address since Blogger uses special tags in order to transfer data. In any case, the default fields are well laid-out and will help you to get the basic information you need about your visitors.

I have installed the Blogger contact form, but it is not working. What could be the problem?

There are several reasons why you may be having trouble setting up your contact form. The simplest way to troubleshoot is to countercheck the email you linked to the blog and also reinstall the form again.

Ultimately, by using the custom Blogger contact form you gain from consistency in the type of information you request and also reduce spam since you will not have to display your email directly on the blog.

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Top 10 Killer Tips to Improve Page Rank

Page rank is based on an algorithm that determines how close your link is to the query that was put into a search engine such as Google. The more important your link is shown to be, the higher it will be ranked on search results pages. The result is that web traffic increases to the links that are ranked at or near the top.

How the Page Rank is Calculated?

The calculations used by the algorithm that determines page rank includes the number of links that are connected to your site. That includes inbound, internal, external, do-follow, and no-follow links along with backlinks. To increase your web traffic, you need to improve page rank so that it pulls in more people who are likely to purchase the products or services that you offer.

Here are 10 killer ways to improve page ranking so that more people will start visiting your website.

How to Improve Page Rank?

Submit Site to Web Directories

A simple, but very effective way to increase web traffic is adding more high quality backlinks. This can be done simply by submitting the content to respected web or article directories. They provide a great way for more people to see your content. Some good directories include the following:

• DMOZ
• Best of the Web (BOTW)
• Jasmine Directory
• ArticlesBase
• Ezine Articles

By finding the right articles and web directories, you can quickly improve your page rank for your content.

Post Regularly

Google like sites that post on a regular basis, so set up a schedule where you have new, fresh content for your site on a daily or weekly basis. Be sure to post on the same day or days each week which will help improve your overall ranking.

Improve Content

If the content is well written, informative, and unique, this will help increase the chance that readers will share it with others. The better the content is presented, the more likely it is to be shared and that will improve its page ranking.

Link Exchange

This is a well-known technique, but it still works. To get a higher page rank, you will need to get other sites that are ranked higher to link to your site. Therefore, you will automatically have good links that will help boost the ranking of your content. This means that you will need to appeal to those with higher ranked sites to agree to share their link with you.

Post on Other Sites

This is also called guest posting, it is another tried-and-true technique that helps you improve page rank. Find blogs that allow for guests to post so that you can receive two or three backlinks in return for what you have submitted. The key is to post on blogs that are in your industry or niche so that you can attract readers to your site.

Add Comments to Other Sites

In addition to posting articles, you should also comment regularly on articles posted on other sites. You will need to set up a schedule so that you can comment on a consistent basis on posts that are in your niche or industry. The more you post, the more active you are in the community which means that more your site will grow in status. While most sites today have Disqus installed which means that a link to your site is automatically posted, others still use the Do-Follow which means you will need to include the link.

Increase Uptime

Be sure that you choose a web host that offers 99.9% uptime so that your website is available to anyone who wants to visit. Long downtimes can significantly cut into your web traffic, so be sure to choose a provider that is reliable and provides guarantees about uptime.

Social Bookmark

The social network is a great way to help increase the visibility of your content and improve page rank as well. By sharing your content on the best social sites, you will get more traffic thanks to the free backlink. Naturally, you�ll want to choose sites that are quite popular like the following;

• Facebook
• Google Plus
• Pinterest
• Reddit
• Stumble Upon
• Digg
• Delicious

By sharing with good social media sites, you can increase page rank considerably. Plus, it will work for you over time to help bolster your site. Plus, be sure to be active on your social media sites by responding to questions so that potential customers will stay close to your efforts.

Multiple Pages

This is another old, but useful technique that can improve your page rank thanks to internal linking. Basically, you will need multiple pages that you link together for articles or content that is similar in nature. It takes a little work, but it is well worth it to see the results over time.

Research Popular Keywords

Focus on keywords that are the most common which means using words that people are most likely to use as queries on search engine sites. By using the most commonly searched keywords, you can help boost your page ranking significantly over time. This means having more visitors and better results when it comes to your sales.

In addition to these ten proven ways to improve page rank, you should also consider the power of advertising. By creating a simple banner and advertising with it on other sites, you can generate a lot of good backlinks which in turn creates more traffic for your page. Keep in mind that you should be active daily when it comes to blogs and forums that are in your niche as well.

Another small trick is to add a link to your signature in forums and emails, although you�ll want to avoid any illegal tactics that will put your website into trouble. By using proper techniques, you can improve page rank naturally which builds for your long-term success. After all, your goal is to be successful by increasing the ranking of your content. So, you should put in the time and effort to do things right to succeed.

Which methods do you use to improve page rank? Share with us in a comment below.

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CSS Rollover Image Effect - Change Image on Hover

Rollover image is a design feature where an image changes when your mouse hovers over it. Think of a light bulb that turns on and off when you move your mouse cursor into that area of a page. When a page is loading, rollover images are preloaded into it to ensure that the rollover effect is displayed quickly.

This used to be implemented using JavaScript, which is fairly easy with just a small amount of script involved. To make rollover images functional, onmouseover and onmouseout attributes are used to a link tag. The code is then added to a blog gadget or into a new post. It proved to have a number of disadvantages, however, which is why many web developers are using a CSS-only method.

How to create a rollover image using CSS

Here is how to implement a rollover image using CSS. Before getting started, we need to have two images ready, one in its initial/static state as well as its rollover state.

The Image

Place both the static and rollover image in one file and make sure that the rollover image is placed on top of the static one. To achieve the rollover effect, we'll write a code to display the static image and crop the hover image, so that only one image state is displayed at a time.

For this tutorial, we'll use the following as a CSS rollover image.

Creating an HTML Anchor Element for our Image

Instead of adding the image file in a <img> tag, we'll display it as a background image of an </a> (anchor) tag. Here's the HTML that we need to add:

<a class="rolloverimage" href="#URL">Rollover Image</a>

Note: if you want to make the image clickable, replace #URL with the url of the webpage where you want the link to point to.

Using CSS to Set a Background Image

To create the mouseover image effect, we'll use the :hover CSS pseudo-class. Then, we'll use the background-position property and set the values to 0 0 to move the background image to the upper left corner which will create the rollover effect.

<style type="text/css">
.rolloverimage{
display: block;
width: 56px;
height: 90px;
background: url('https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO8tNaQaUwcloZjbjizk6eKpAl-xKmW_pbZ525_WBwuw0uJ6vJbBtXWG8RyccRsSmE6BItv6FFQWDLVGUkcNynN9lA6VITpjzCf0K5KxTxE4PncCRWtvCGXDHoJuPHmIniVEvVsGJQ-Gd3/s180/rollover-image-light-bulb-on-off.png') bottom;
text-indent: -99999px;
}
.rolloverimage:hover{
background-position: 0 0;
}
</style>

Note: Replace the text in blue with the url of your image file. Please pay attention on the width and height values marked in red, these should be different depending on your file, where the height value is for only one image and not the entire image file!

The result

Hover your mouse cursor over the light bulb to see the rollover image effect in action:

Rollover Image

Adding Rollover Image to Blogger

To add the rollover image as a gadget: copy both the HTML/CSS codes and go to 'Layout', click on the 'Add a Gadget' link > select HTML/JavaScript, then paste the codes in the 'Content' box.

Or, if you want to add it inside one of your posts, when you create a New Post, switch to the 'HTML' tab and paste the codes inside the empty box.

And this is how you make images swap on mouseover using CSS. Enjoy!

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How to Create a Static Home Page in Blogger

When it comes to home pages, most websites can be divided into two: static and non-static. As their name implies, static home pages stay permanent no matter how many times the website is updated, while non-static home pages reflect the changes that are made to the site and show the latest posts first.

The latter has become well-known nowadays due to the rising popularity of personal and even corporate blogs. However, there are still many people who prefer static home pages because it makes their websites look more organized and professional. It also gives them more control over the readers' experience on their site and helps them create stronger brand awareness through the uniform message that their home page presents.

Fortunately, if you own a Blogger site and want to make your home page static, you'll find that creating one isn't as difficult as it seems. You can create a static home page in Blogger by taking these steps:

1. Create your static home page

The first thing you should do is to create a new page for your blog. This will serve as your static home page but, for now, it will look and act like any other page in your site.

To make this page, you'll need to go to the main menu of the Blogger dashboard and click on the "Pages" option on the left side on the screen. Doing this will lead you to the "All Pages" menu window. Here, click on the "New Page" button and you'll enter an editor that looks similar to the Blogger Post editor that you use when publishing a new blog post.

At the top box, enter the title that you want for this page - in this case, let's call it the "Welcome" page. In the larger text box, type the content that you want to appear on your home page; this can be a paragraph, or two about yourself or your business and what your site is all about.

Once you're done, click "Publish". The window will return to the main "All Pages" menu, and you'll see the new "Welcome" page you've created. Copy the URL of the "Welcome" page since you'll need it later on. To do this, right click on the 'View' link and select 'Copy Link Location' from the menu.

2. Redirect the default home page to the static one

Once your "Welcome" page is up, the next thing you should do is to change Blogger's default homepage. This involves redirecting from your site's original home page to the static homepage that you've created so it would be the first thing that people see when they visit your website.

Related: How to Set Custom Redirects in Blogger

To do this, you'll need to go to main Blogger editor menu, click on "Settings" on the left side of the screen, and choose "Search Preferences". Under the "Errors and redirections" section, you'll see the "Custom Redirects" option with an "Edit" link beside it. Click on the "Edit" link to open another window, where you'll see two boxes named "From" (with your blog's URL beside it) and "To".

In the "From" box, enter only a forward slash symbol "/". In the "To" box, paste the URL that you copied earlier and add the latter part of the URL of the "Welcome" page. For instance, the page's URL of our demo blog is static-home-page.blogspot.com/welcome.html, so we'll remove the "http://static-home-page.blogspot.com" address and add only "/p/welcome.html" in the "To:" box. The "/p" signifies that it's a static page.

Next, check the little box beside "Permanent", click on the "Save" text link, and press the "Save changes" button. Doing these will redirect your site's main URL to its new static home page. Access your blog on a separate browser to see if it works.

3. Make tabs for your site

If you're not planning to make tabs visible in your blog, you can stop at Step #2. But, if you want your site to have tabs that indicate the home page, the main blog page, and other pages you may have (such as the FAQs and Contact Us pages), you'll need to take another step.

Why is this important? Basically, when visible tabs are enabled in your site, they will show that you have two existing pages: the default home page and the new "Welcome" page you've created - both of which redirect to the same static page. This can be confusing for your readers and may even affect your search engine rankings.

To fix this, you first need to enable tabs by going to the "Layout" menu item and click on the "Add a Gadget" link. You can choose to add it below your blog header or sidebar. In many cases, it's advisable to add it below blog's header since they're more visible and give your website a sleek, professional look.

Once the pop-up window opens, scroll down and click on the 'Pages' link:

This will open another window named "Configure Page List". Here, under the "Pages to show" section, you'll see the default home page and your new static homepage with small boxes beside them. Uncheck the box beside the default home page to hide it from view, check the pages that you want to display in the menu and then click on the "Save" button to save the changes.

You can stop at this point but, if you want, you can also create a specific tab that will lead to your main blog post page. To do this, edit the "Pages" gadget that you just saved and click "+ Add external link".

On the new window that would open, enter the title you'd like for the page (such as "Blog") along with /index.html web address, then hit "Save Link" and click the "Save" button on the "Configure Page List" window.

Now, view your site and you will see the pages menu containing the "Welcome" page and "Blog" tabs. To see how this works, you can also visit our demo blog. Enjoy!

Final Note

Having a static home page can be beneficial for your blog. Follow the steps above now to create a static home page in Blogger!

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Share Blogger Post Automatically to Facebook using IFTTT

Automatically posting a blog post to Facebook used to be a challenge. The idea was simple, which is to notify Facebook that you have a blog you want posted on your wall, and the social media will do as you command. The implementation, however, was more complicated than that.

Even with Facebook's post-by-email feature, only the blog name and title will appear on the wall, leaving behind the content or link. There are other plugins available, but they don't work as straightforward as they're supposed to be. There is always something missing.

How to Share Blogger post automatically to Facebook using IFTTT

Here is an online utility IFTTT (If This, Then That), which is capable of moving social postings between sites. Setting it up is fairly easy, and just as easy to use. So, let's see how we can share Blogger posts automatically to Facebook using IFTTT.

Step 1. Sign up for a free IFTTT account

Visit IFTTT.com and set up an account by creating a username and password.

Now, IFTTT will take you through a mini-tutorial - click on the word 'this', 'that' and 'Continue' button several times. Finally, select 3 channels that interest you and click 'Continue' to finish with the registration.

Step 2. Create a new recipe

Once registered, we need to 'Create a Recipe'. A recipe is basically the process of combining two platforms together - in our case, we will combine Blogger with Facebook. This shouldn't take more than five minutes.

To get started, click the 'My Recipes' link and then click the 'Create a Recipe' button, as shown below:

Start creating the recipe by clicking the blue 'this' word and select a "trigger channel". The trigger you need to choose is Blogger - search for it in the box, as illustrated below:

Step 3. Connect Blogger blog with IFTTT

Connect your Blogger account in order to tie it with your IFTTT account. A 'Request for Permission' pop-up will appear > click the 'Allow' button and choose which blog you want to use with IFTTT from the drop-down menu, then click the 'Update' button.

After our Blogger blog has been connected, 'Choose a Trigger' that allows you to specify what kind of posts will be published to Facebook. You can choose 'Any new post' or 'New posts labeled'.

Finally, press the blue 'Create Trigger' button to proceed to the next step.

Step 4. Creating the 'That' trigger

After registration, Create a Recipe that will specify the direction with which your blog posting will take. Since you want to link Blogger to Facebook, then the Recipe will be - if Blogger, then Facebook. What you're doing is replacing 'this' to Blogger, which is the source, and 'that' to Facebook, which is the target destination.

To set up 'that', click on the blue-colored 'that'. This will bring up a window that contains a list of social media sites. Search for 'Facebook' in the box and select the 'Facebook Pages' option (select the plain 'Facebook' option if you want to post to your personal profile).

Step 5. Connect Facebook page with IFTTT

Connect your Facebook account. Make sure you are logged into your Facebook account, before you connect. Pressing the 'Connect' button will open a pop-up window to allow IFTTT post on your Facebook page, then select your Facebook page.

Hit the 'Done' and 'Continue to the next step' buttons and we're almost done...

You will be prompted to 'Choose an Action', where you get to specify if you only want to 'Create a status message', 'Create a link post', or 'Update a photo from URL'. Choose 'Create a link post' as shown below:

Step 6. Choosing the ingredients

Once you choose an action, a 'Complete Action Fields' window will appear with 'Link URL' and 'Message' box. To add an ingredient, click on the 'Message' field and you'll see a test tube icon on the right hand side. If you click it, a drop-down menu will appear which will let you choose a field to include - select 'PostTitle' and click 'Add Ingredient' blue button on the right side.

If you are unsure of what each ingredient does, please visit this page.

Step 7. Finish creating the recipe

Finally, click the blue 'Create Action' button and your recipe should look something like this:

To complete your recipe, hit the 'Create Recipe' button.

And that's it! This is how IFTTT recipes are created. Next time you publish a Blogger post, it will be automatically shared to Facebook.

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