ADVANCED BLO DESIGN LECTURE 1: JIFUNZE MAANA YA TEMPLATE NA AINA ZAKE

A blog template is something which can be used to manipulate the physical presentation of a blog, with settings which apply to every page on the blog so that bloggers can establish a single template, and then focus on content, instead of having to customize each and every single entry. Because blogging also involves complex activities like maintaining archives, creating dynamic pages, and so forth, blog templates automate these functions, reducing the risk of errors across the blog and allowing content creators to focus on blogging instead of building a website.

Most blogging programs come with default templates, and blog users can also access templates on various support websites, both free and for a charge. Templates may also be known as themes, and they can usually be edited from within the blog's dashboard, and via FTP on the blog's server, depending on the blogging service someone is using.

Using a blog template, a blogger can create a wide theme for the website, so that every page will have a uniform appearance, and so that features like menus for navigation will appear on every page. Bloggers can also tweak the template for specific pages. Templates are used to lay out the site, dictate the colors of the site, force specific fonts to display, and establish parameters for what should happen in various situations, ranging from a user landing on a bad link to someone running a search using the embedded search function in the blog.

It is possible to build a blog template from scratch, using the markup language specific to the blogging platform. Some bloggers enjoy doing this because they can create a custom template from the ground up this way, and they can ensure that their template will not be duplicated on another site. It's also possible to use a blog template generator, in which the blogger inputs basic parameters and receives a chunk of code which can be used as the basis for a template in return. Other bloggers like to use freely available templates, which they may use as-is or manipulate to suit their needs. Templates are very easy to customize and adapt to suit the needs of the blogger.

Blog templates are entirely separate from the content of the blog. When changes are made to the template, they alter the way in which the content is displayed, but they do not alter the content itself. Likewise, bloggers can change, adapt, and add to the content as much as they want without altering the template. When someone lands on a blog, both blog template and content are run through what is known as a template engine to create a display of the blog's contents in an aesthetically pleasing way. 

TYPES OF BLOG TEMPLATES AND HOW TO WORK WITH THEM

What types of template / theme does Blogger have

Blogger uses templates to know how to structure your blog:  They are the "framework" that Blogger uses to let us customise the look and feel of our blogs, while still providing the features that a blogging platform provides.

Currently, each blog made with Blogger has:

• One post template:
  There is only one type of post template.   The only way to edit it is by using the tools in the Layout > Blog Posts screen:  it  cannot be customized apart from this

• One design template - which from 2017 is called a theme
  This may be one of four different types:  Dynamic, Designer, Layout and Custom.  
  (Yes, it is confusing that Designer is just one of the types of design-template ... )

• Also, each blog may have a mobile template, which is used when someone views it using a mobile device (eg smartphone).   A blog only has a mobile template if this has been enabled for it (on the Theme screen).

When you have looked at a few blogger options, you will begin to recognise the different types of themes from the way blogs made with them look on screen.    The following sections describe the types of themes, and show you how to tell if your blog is using them. 

There is also a very quick way to find out the name of your theme - often knowing the name will let a Blogger Helper understand what the problem is, and so make suggestions about how to fix it.

The Custom template / theme

The first design template that Blogger had was a custom template - and there are possibly still some blogs with these today, although it isn't possible to make a new blog with one.

With a custom template, the only way to change the layout of your blog is to edit the HTML;  there are no widgets, and no drag-and-drop editor for positioning things.

How to work out if you have a Custom theme

If you go into the Theme tab, and the first thing you see is "Give your blog a whole new look!", and at the bottom of the screen there is an area called "Edit Template HTML", then your blog is using a Custom template.

Layout theme (template)

The Layout template (thteme) was the next to be introduced.   It includes the Page Elements editor and the idea of Gadgets (previously called Widgets and Page Items).  This was a great improvement because it let blogger users move items around their design by drag-and-drop, instead of by editing HTML.

These templates (Minima, Rounders, ....) were a great step forward in the early 21st century, but web-technology has moved on.      There are very likely still some blogs with these today, although it isn't possible to make a new blog with one.

How to work out if you have a Layout theme / template

Go to the Themes tab, and choose Customize.   If there is no template name given underneath "Live on Blog", and no template selected in the area to the right, then you have a Layout template.

I don't have a blog with one of these to test with, but I suspect that you are likely told to choose a new theme rather than staying with the Layout one.

Designer Templates - Themes

Designer templates were introduced in early 2010, when the Template Designer was first available in Blogger in Draft.    They provided a far wider range of basic designs, and far more options for choosing the number of columns, column width, background images,footer structure, colour scheme, etc.

How to work out if you have a Designer theme

Go to the Templates tab, and choose Customize.   If:

• There is a template name under "Live on Blog", and 
• It is not from the names under Dynamic Views on the right hand side

then you have a designer template.

Dynamic Themes

Dynamic view templates were first introduced in April 2011.  They are quite different from the other theme  types, because they rely on your RSS feed as the content source, and have a number of different viewing options, and actions like adding a gadget are quite different from other themes.  Some dynamic themes use each post's thumbnail picture as the main navigation tool.

How to work out if you have a Dynamic Template:

Go to the Themes tab, and choose Customize.   If there is a template name under "Live on Blog", and it is from the names under Dynamic Views on the right, then you have a designer template.