How to Create a Blog

I’ve been asked several times how to create a blog. In this post I will take you step by step through the process. For those of you who already have a blog, I would just ignore this post, because it may be rather boring.

1. Create a gmail account. If you don't already have one, I think it's easiest to first create a Google email address by going to www.gmail.com and clicking the white button on the right side of the screen that reads, "create an account". Follow the steps to create your account. If you already have a Gmail address, skip to step 2.

2. Create a blog. Go to www.blogger.com and click the big orange "create a blog" button on the right side of the page. This will take you to a new page where you must Create a Google Account. If you already have a gmail address, or you have just created a new one, click on the blue underlined "sign in first" at the top of the page. If you see "Sign up for Blogger" at the top of the page, then you are in the right spot.

3. Sign up for Blogger. Fill out the "Sign up for Blogger" form and click the orange continue arrow at the lower right hand corner of the page. Be sure and check that you agree to the terms of service.

4. Name your blog. Select your blog name and address. These are usually identical or similar on most blogs. Click the orange continue button.

5. Choose a template. Choose the template that you feel best suits your site or that you think is perrrty. Don't worry, you can change it later. Before selecting the template, you can preview it by clicking, "preview template". This will show you an enlarged example. I chose the "minima" template. After you have made your selection, click the orange "continue" arrow.

6. Your Blog has been created. Hooray! You've created your blog, now click the "start blogging" arrow to start blogging.

7. Layout. You will then be directed to a page where you can publish your first post if you would like. I would suggest that you hold off on this for now and click the "layout" tab as seen below.

Once you have clicked "layouts", as seen below, you can choose to change your "page elements", "fonts and colors", "edit html", or "pick new template".

"Fonts and colors" lets you change exactly what it says, fonts and colors, but I'll let you do that at a different time, because it is very self explanitory. I wouldn't even bother with the "edit html" option, because that will be way too confusing. The "pick new template" option takes you to the same page we were at earlier when you chose your original template. There are a few more options available if you would like to browse those at a later time. Right now, we will focus on the "page elements".

8. Page Elements. Everything in this section is broken up into neat, easy to navigate boxes. We'll start at the top and work our way down. In the center of the page, you should see a large gray box with a blue strip across the top titled, "Navbar". Click the word "edit" on the right side of the blue strip. Here you have the option to change the "Navbar" configuration. I chose "tan". Make your selection, then click, "save". Under the Navbar you should see your title, and this can also be edited by clicking the word "edit" In that box.

9. Add Gadget. Below the title, the same length as the title box, is an "add a gadget" box. We're going to ignore that box for now. Below and to the right of the add a gadget box there is a column of smaller boxes, please see below.

The top box is also labeled "add a gadget". Select this box. A new box will pop up, where you will be able to scroll through, and read about different gadgets. If you see one you want, feel free to push the "+" button to add it to your blog. I'm going to add the "search box". As I said, to do this I press the blue "+" button, as seen below.
This will take you to a new page where you can make any selections or de-selections that you would like. I de-selected web, because I only wanted the search box to search the blog that I'm creating. After you make your selections, click the orange, "save" button. There is now a "search this blog" box listed under my "add a gadget box". I'm also going to to add the "labels" gadget following the same method as above. When a gadget is added, it is automatically placed at the top of the list, but can be moved by clicking and dragging the gadget to the desired location. I reorganized my column to the following order: Search this blog, About me, Labels, Followers, and blog archive. Feel free to edit the other gadgets as you see fit, by clicking the blue "edit" to the right of each gadget. Don't forget to edit the "About Me" gadget and add in a little information about yourself to allow your readers to get to know you. Before moving on from this step, you must click the orange "save" button on the upper right. If this is not done, you will lose all of your work.

10. Postings. We are now ready to create your first post. Click the "postings" tab, which can be found in the same line as the "layout" tab, please see below.

This is where you will go anytime you would like to write a new post. There is a box at the top where you can type in your title, I would always recommend using a title, it makes searching a little easier. Below the title is where you will type the content of your post. Below the content is a place for lables. I would also recommend using labels with as few words as possible, and always using labels for searching purposes. Each post can have multiple labels. After you have typed your post and are happy with it, click the orange "publish post" button at the bottom left of the page. You can always edit your posts later. After publishing, you can click "view post" or you can wait until the next step where I will tell you how to view your blog. If you decide to view the post, use the browser's back button to return to this page.

11. View Blog. At the end of the row of tabs with "posting" and "layout", you will see the words, "View Blog". Click these words to view your blog. Here you will see the address of your website, please see below and are able to navigate your blog. To return to the your blog layout (see #7 above), click "customize" in the upper right corner, to the left of "sign out", please see below.

If you would rather "sign out" or create a "new post" this can be done by clicking those words in the same row as "customize".

Edit Posts. After clicking "customize" and returning to the layout page, click the "posting" tab (see #10). In the row below the "posting" row, click "Edit Posts". You will be redirected to a page where you can edit any previous posts or drafts that you have written. From here you can also delete and add labels.

Sign Out. To sign out from your blog, click the words, "sign out" in the upper right hand corner of the page, please see below.

Sign in. After signing out and when signing in, you will be at the blogger start page, found at www.blogger.com. Go to this address whenever you would like to access your blog. To sign in, type your gmail address and your gmail password. After signing in, you will automatically be directed to a the "dashboard" page. From here, you can get to "new post", "edit posts", and "layout" by clicking on any of them in the box titled, "manage blog", please see below.

Hopefully this should be enough information to get you a great start. If you have any questions or would like to leave me a link to your blog, please leave it in the comments. If you are unsure of how to leave a comment please go here.