When I began my blog, I was a blogging beginner. (Oh wait, that is a tautology.) Regardless, because I had many questions about the nuances of blogging, I wrote to the Blogger Help Group, and because I wanted my readers to know about my attempts, my progress(?), and my thought processes I decided to write them as blog posts (1, 2). Since then, some of the questions have been resolved but others turned out to be unimportant.
Since then, other concerns have arisen so I am once again compiling a blog post devoted to those questions, and then forwarding it to the Product Forum at Google.
1) Most of my questions relate to wysiwyg (what you see is what you get) and why Blogger does not offer that. Of course, if my blog is only text then there is usually not a significant difference. Still, it would be nice to see how my post will appear as I am typing it. Microsoft Word offers this, so I do not see any difficulty in Blogger offering it as well.
Moreover, problems do arise. Especially if I am italicizing a word or making it bold, it will sometimes appear to be significantly larger than the words next to it, even though I have done nothing to the font size. Similarly, spaces between the lines will appear to be very wide, even though they appear to be appropriate as I am composing the post. I have had a few sentences appear to be in very small font, even though the rest of the post is in an appropriate size and even though I have done nothing to the font size. I always want my blog posts to be fully justified (so that they would appear as a book appears). Sometimes though, and especially regarding the first paragraph, the post will be aligned only on the left-hand side. No matter how much I try to correct these errors, I cannot.
I suspect that a possible solution would be in HTML. However, since I know nothing of it and because I do not want to make matters worse by trying to do something I do not know how to do, I do not try HTML. Regardless, there ought to be wysiwyg. Why is there not?
2) Related to wysiwyg, but in a visual not a textual format, is a question about photos. In my Genealogy posts, I make my photos small. However, when the posts are published, some of the photos are very small. What caused the change?
In my Genealogy posts, I would like to have four photos in each row. However, I can not seem to move them to where I want them to be. Blogger does offer me the option of placing them left, center and right but again, when they are published, they move where they want to move; they seem to have a mind of their own.
In a recent post, I wanted to have two photos (which I found through Google Images) side-by-side. I could not move them so that they would be side-by-side, and when I published the post, they were equally peculiarly arranged. There ought to be a very simple solution to arranging photos. Why is there not and why is there no wysiwyg?
3) I asked the following in my previous post, but I never received an answer, but--at the same time--it diminished in importance. However, this concern is again becoming important to me and I am hoping for a solution.
A book is a white page with words in black font. Perhaps that is how blogs should be. But since I want to individualize my blog, and because I have read that this is a desirable thing to do, and because the Dynamic template does not seem to allow for much individuality, the font colour seems to be the only way of doing that.
What I would like is the option of a black page with white font (or other colours) instead of a white page with a black font. As you can see, I do know how to change the font colours, but there seems to be no way of changing the page colour.
I have gone through customizing the Template, and have given it a black background, but that seems to be everything except where the text is. I also know about the icon offering the "Text background colour" but that is all it is: the background of the text; if there is no text then there is no background colour.
Is there a way of having the page be in a colour other than white? If so then how?
4) I do not like empty spaces, so I would prefer that my blog be filled with my blog. To the right of the AdSense ads is what I consider to be a lot of empty space. I have gone to the Blogger Template Designer and widened the entire blog to the maximum, and greatly minimized the right sidebar, with no discernible difference.
Is there a way of having my posts take up more space on the page?
5) There have been two recent errors(?) that have occurred that have caused me frustration or concern. The first error is that when I go to a blog post, the colour scheme is different (especially regarding the background), but more importantly, the auto-hide tab (on the right-hand side of the screen is missing, except for the "Subscribe" button. When I refresh the screen one or two times, then everything goes back to normal. However, my readers may not know this and they may not know that they are missing out on the "Labels" and "Blog Archive" buttons which I consider to be very useful and helpful.
I use Internet Cafe computers and this happens on many computers, but I use only Google Chrome, so I do not know if this is encountered on IE, Mozilla or other browsers.
6) I try to make my posts as informative and entertaining as possible. For the latter, I often provide photos and Youtube videos that are appropriate, and elaborate upon, what I am saying. When I provide photos and/or videos, these will appear on the left of the Sidebar. The second error is that, lately, videos will not appear on the left of the Sidebar. I have written Film Review of Jurassic Park (3D)andFilm Review of Django Unchained but the videos do not appear on the sidebar. In the latter post, I even provided a photo which also does not show up on the sidebar.
Why is that?
7) This question refers to SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and things other than Blogger or Google, so this concern may not be applicable to this forum. If so and/or I do not get any responses then I shall ask this in the forum at IndiBlogger.in.
In the meantime, I should state that I want my blog to be known as a homepage for "expat in India". If you search for blogs with the phrase "expat in India" at google.com then at the top of the first page of results you will see "blog homepages for expat in India". You will see that whiteindianhousewife.com is such a blog. (Or, at least, that used to be the case. I have just now done a similar search but there were no results for "blog homepages".)
Regardless, I wrote to the author, asking her how she became such a blog homepage and she said that it requires SEO. I had heard of the term, but did not know exactly what it involved. My impression is that Blogger offers some SEO services, but not what I was looking for. A few months ago, I had the impression that Google Sitemaps might offer those services, but looking into it more deeply, it seems to be just a way of offering sitemaps on your website or blog, which I did not need nor want. (If Blogger/Google does offer SEO services--especially such that my blog can be known as a "blog homepage"--then please tell me how.)
More recently, I rediscovered Alexa and saw that it seems to offer what I need, and for free (since I do not have one crore--or ten million--pageviews each month; of course, I certainly would not object to having that many pageviews each month, and thus needing to pay).
Alexa says that I need to download a file to the computer, upload the file to the root directory of my site, and then verify the file on my site/blog. My first question is that, again, I use Internet Cafe computers so is it safe and advisable to download the file to the computer? I know that Alexa is reputable, but I am concerned about having the file on the computer for others to see. I suppose that I could delete the file after the process is over, but I do not always remember to delete files.
My second question is that it seems to involve HTML. Again, I know nothing about that. Alexa, in its FAQ, does state that "If you do not know HTML, the easiest thing to do is to just add your verification ID as one of your keywords for your site. Save your changes. Then press the 'Verify my ID' button". However, "keywords" seems to be equally mysterious. I have gone to the "Settings" feature for my blog, but could not find anything regarding that.
Can anyone give me simple step-by-step procedures for enrolling in Alexa, or can anyone give me recommendations to better, more suitable and more appropriate SEO sites?
Since then, other concerns have arisen so I am once again compiling a blog post devoted to those questions, and then forwarding it to the Product Forum at Google.
1) Most of my questions relate to wysiwyg (what you see is what you get) and why Blogger does not offer that. Of course, if my blog is only text then there is usually not a significant difference. Still, it would be nice to see how my post will appear as I am typing it. Microsoft Word offers this, so I do not see any difficulty in Blogger offering it as well.
Moreover, problems do arise. Especially if I am italicizing a word or making it bold, it will sometimes appear to be significantly larger than the words next to it, even though I have done nothing to the font size. Similarly, spaces between the lines will appear to be very wide, even though they appear to be appropriate as I am composing the post. I have had a few sentences appear to be in very small font, even though the rest of the post is in an appropriate size and even though I have done nothing to the font size. I always want my blog posts to be fully justified (so that they would appear as a book appears). Sometimes though, and especially regarding the first paragraph, the post will be aligned only on the left-hand side. No matter how much I try to correct these errors, I cannot.
I suspect that a possible solution would be in HTML. However, since I know nothing of it and because I do not want to make matters worse by trying to do something I do not know how to do, I do not try HTML. Regardless, there ought to be wysiwyg. Why is there not?
2) Related to wysiwyg, but in a visual not a textual format, is a question about photos. In my Genealogy posts, I make my photos small. However, when the posts are published, some of the photos are very small. What caused the change?
In my Genealogy posts, I would like to have four photos in each row. However, I can not seem to move them to where I want them to be. Blogger does offer me the option of placing them left, center and right but again, when they are published, they move where they want to move; they seem to have a mind of their own.
In a recent post, I wanted to have two photos (which I found through Google Images) side-by-side. I could not move them so that they would be side-by-side, and when I published the post, they were equally peculiarly arranged. There ought to be a very simple solution to arranging photos. Why is there not and why is there no wysiwyg?
3) I asked the following in my previous post, but I never received an answer, but--at the same time--it diminished in importance. However, this concern is again becoming important to me and I am hoping for a solution.
A book is a white page with words in black font. Perhaps that is how blogs should be. But since I want to individualize my blog, and because I have read that this is a desirable thing to do, and because the Dynamic template does not seem to allow for much individuality, the font colour seems to be the only way of doing that.
What I would like is the option of a black page with white font (or other colours) instead of a white page with a black font. As you can see, I do know how to change the font colours, but there seems to be no way of changing the page colour.
I have gone through customizing the Template, and have given it a black background, but that seems to be everything except where the text is. I also know about the icon offering the "Text background colour" but that is all it is: the background of the text; if there is no text then there is no background colour.
Is there a way of having the page be in a colour other than white? If so then how?
4) I do not like empty spaces, so I would prefer that my blog be filled with my blog. To the right of the AdSense ads is what I consider to be a lot of empty space. I have gone to the Blogger Template Designer and widened the entire blog to the maximum, and greatly minimized the right sidebar, with no discernible difference.
Is there a way of having my posts take up more space on the page?
5) There have been two recent errors(?) that have occurred that have caused me frustration or concern. The first error is that when I go to a blog post, the colour scheme is different (especially regarding the background), but more importantly, the auto-hide tab (on the right-hand side of the screen is missing, except for the "Subscribe" button. When I refresh the screen one or two times, then everything goes back to normal. However, my readers may not know this and they may not know that they are missing out on the "Labels" and "Blog Archive" buttons which I consider to be very useful and helpful.
I use Internet Cafe computers and this happens on many computers, but I use only Google Chrome, so I do not know if this is encountered on IE, Mozilla or other browsers.
6) I try to make my posts as informative and entertaining as possible. For the latter, I often provide photos and Youtube videos that are appropriate, and elaborate upon, what I am saying. When I provide photos and/or videos, these will appear on the left of the Sidebar. The second error is that, lately, videos will not appear on the left of the Sidebar. I have written Film Review of Jurassic Park (3D)andFilm Review of Django Unchained but the videos do not appear on the sidebar. In the latter post, I even provided a photo which also does not show up on the sidebar.
Why is that?
7) This question refers to SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and things other than Blogger or Google, so this concern may not be applicable to this forum. If so and/or I do not get any responses then I shall ask this in the forum at IndiBlogger.in.
In the meantime, I should state that I want my blog to be known as a homepage for "expat in India". If you search for blogs with the phrase "expat in India" at google.com then at the top of the first page of results you will see "blog homepages for expat in India". You will see that whiteindianhousewife.com is such a blog. (Or, at least, that used to be the case. I have just now done a similar search but there were no results for "blog homepages".)
Regardless, I wrote to the author, asking her how she became such a blog homepage and she said that it requires SEO. I had heard of the term, but did not know exactly what it involved. My impression is that Blogger offers some SEO services, but not what I was looking for. A few months ago, I had the impression that Google Sitemaps might offer those services, but looking into it more deeply, it seems to be just a way of offering sitemaps on your website or blog, which I did not need nor want. (If Blogger/Google does offer SEO services--especially such that my blog can be known as a "blog homepage"--then please tell me how.)
More recently, I rediscovered Alexa and saw that it seems to offer what I need, and for free (since I do not have one crore--or ten million--pageviews each month; of course, I certainly would not object to having that many pageviews each month, and thus needing to pay).
Alexa says that I need to download a file to the computer, upload the file to the root directory of my site, and then verify the file on my site/blog. My first question is that, again, I use Internet Cafe computers so is it safe and advisable to download the file to the computer? I know that Alexa is reputable, but I am concerned about having the file on the computer for others to see. I suppose that I could delete the file after the process is over, but I do not always remember to delete files.
My second question is that it seems to involve HTML. Again, I know nothing about that. Alexa, in its FAQ, does state that "If you do not know HTML, the easiest thing to do is to just add your verification ID as one of your keywords for your site. Save your changes. Then press the 'Verify my ID' button". However, "keywords" seems to be equally mysterious. I have gone to the "Settings" feature for my blog, but could not find anything regarding that.
Can anyone give me simple step-by-step procedures for enrolling in Alexa, or can anyone give me recommendations to better, more suitable and more appropriate SEO sites?