How to Use a Custom Template in Blogger

You can type anything you want in the Blogger template form.

Have a great custom layout and design for your blog? Here's how to use your own template on a Blogger blog.

Things You'll Need

• Blogger account
• Web browser
• Text editor
• HTML editor (optional)
• A blog design you planned in advance with the CSS styles in the head of the document like a Blogger template

Instructions

Decide Which Blogger Tags to Use

1. Log in to Blogger.com. Select the link for the template of your blog.

2. Start with one of Blogger's free templates. You'll see special Blogger tags scattered throughout. They look like this:

   <$BlogDateHeaderDate$>

   These are the parts of Blogger that make your blog work. They create things like the date, the post and the comment forms.

3. Copy and paste the Blogger tags you identified in Step 2 into a separate text file. This gives you a copy of all the material you need to use in your new page design.

Work the Blogger Tags Into Your Design

1. Work the Blogger tags into your custom web page in the appropriate places. You have to replace parts of your page with the Blogger tags. For example, replace the HTML for your post titles with the Blogger blog title tags.

2. Make sure the CSS selector names you used for your custom design match the names of the parts of the page that will be replaced by the special Blogger tags.

3. Use the "Preview" button at the bottom of the template editing field to see how your page looks as you work. Do this often to check your work step by step.

4. When the preview of your blog is exactly what you want, click the "Save Template Changes" button.

5. Republish your blog and look at in a browser.

Tips & Warnings

• It's safer to work on the template edits in a separate HTML editor or text editor. When you're satisfied that you've worked the Blogger required tags into your design, paste it all back into the Blogger template form box to test your results.

• The Blogger Help files explain the various Blogger tags. If you aren't sure what some of the Blogger tags you saved in Section 1, Step 3 are, search for them in Blogger Help to find out.

• Save a backup copy of your original design.

Resources

• Blogger
• Blogger Forum