Customizing

Once you complete the basic requirements of the blog, you can individualize it however you would like.  Blogger allows you to change your original template, change the font style, color and size. You can change the background colors, or the entire image. There are also sites around the web (Lee Lou Blogs, Cutest Blog on the Block, etc) that will allow you to add your own style to your blog. You can figure out the extras on your own, but I will at least give you an overview of the blogger options.

1. Once again, from your dashboard, click your edit button (two pages with the drop down button). This time, click template.

• Underneath the "Live on Blog" image, click customize

2. Templates:

• You can play with the options that the different templates give you... it moves things around a bit, gives you general color options, fonts, centers things differently on the page, etc. Templates can be interchanged... it really only matters in the log run how you want the general layout of your blog to be... everything else can be changed.
• So, select a template, click apply to blog, and then move on.

3. Background

• With background you have two blogger optioned choices
• change color theme (basic color themes are given to you here--click one and move on)
• change the image (a plethora of choices await you, or you can upload your own image).
• If you choose to change your background image, click on the box that shows your current background. A box that shows a bunch of different images will come up. Each category on the left will have a different set of images.  Look through until you find an image you like, select the image, and then click 'done.'
• When you have selected your background, click apply to blog.

4. Adjust Widths

• This allows you to expand the entire size of your blog from left to right, or adjust the columns if you need to. Use the slides at the top of the screen to make adjustments below.

5. Layout

• This allows you to rearrange your gadgets, change the way your blog looks, etc.

6. Advanced

• This is where you can change your font style, size and color. Nearly every bit of text on your page is under a different heading, so be aware of what fonts you want to match and what should be different.  Also, keep in mind, that readers need to be able to see what is on the page, so make sure the fonts pop, instead of blend.  This is really trial and error.  You can always check things out by clicking 'View Blog' before saving. Make sure to save changes you like by clicking 'apply to blog.'

Once you have made all of your changes (or at least what you have time for) and are ready to return to your blog, click 'back to blogger.'

Hopefully this helps get you started. Play with the system... it's all really about trial and error. Have fun with the gadgets, add pictures. I know this is an assignment for school, but the more fun you allow yourself to have with it, the more you'll get out of it.