Blogger Tips & Tricks

I hope that you might be familiar with the latest commenting system Google has introduced that integrates Google+ comments with Blogger blogs. This new commenting system is a major improvement over the default Blogger system, and it supports threaded comments. It also looks a lot better. We earlier shared a tutorial on how to enable this new Google Plus commenting system for Blogger blogs. But some people still have problems implementing it on custom templates. For them, we have compiled this short tutorial on how to effectively implement and use this new improved commenting system.

Switching To Google + Comments

Displaying Google comments on custom templates

Custom templates have customized widgets that usually override the default settings. And that is why this commenting system might not work with custom templates. However, if you were to somehow remove those overrides, the commenting system would display on your blog without a hitch.

To do that, you can revert your Blog Widget to defaults in your template HTML editor via the following steps.

• From inside your blog's dashboard, click on Template from the left sidebar.
• Click on Edit HTML

(Before moving on, we'd suggest you backup your template, just in case anything goes wrong)

• Click on the Revert Widget templates to defaults button
• Now, Be careful to select Blog1 Widget from the list. Do not select any other, as it will reset other widgets to default as well.

All you have to do is replace a couple lines of code with another. From inside your HTML editor, press Ctrl + F and search for "threaded_comments". You will see a chunk of code as shown below.

<b:if cond='data:blog.pageType == & quot;static_page&quot;'>

   <b:if cond='data:post.showThreadedComments'>

      <b:include data='post' name='threaded_comments'/>

      <b:else/>

      <b:include data='post' name='comments'/>

   </b:if>

</b:if>

<b:if cond='data:blog.pageType == & quot;item&quot;'>

   <b:if cond='data:post.showThreadedComments'>

      <b:include data='post' name='threaded_comments'/>

      <b:else/>

      <b:include data='post' name='comments'/>

   </b:if>

</b:if>

 Carefully look at the bolded code, and then replace them with the following line of code.

<b:include data='post' name='comment_picker'/>

 If you want to display comment count, you can simply modify the above line of code

<b:include data='post' name='comment_picker'/>

 Still not working? Please feel free to mention your queries in the comments below. And please try to be as relevant as possible. Thank you :)

Since we know that Blogger recently implemented Google Plus comments on their Blogger platform, and we know that many bloggers like you have gone ahead and implemented this new functionality to your blogger blogs. But a lot of our readers have been asking us how to add Google Plus comments, or Google Plus comments API  to Blogger custom templates? This feature turns on and off smoothly for default templates. But most bloggers don't use default templates. For them, we have compiled this short tutorial on how to implement Google Plus commenting system on custom Blogger Templates.

Enabling Google Plus comments

To Enable Google + Comments on blogger,first log into your Blogger account, and click on the blog you want to add Google Plus comments to. Now, click on the Google+ option on the left sidebar. You must be the admin of a blog to be able to view this option.

Now, you need to upgrade our account, and integrate it with Google Plus if you haven't already done so. You will get a "Get Started" button if you haven't. Follow the simple instructions, and then move on to the next step.

Check the option that says Use Google+ Comments on this Blog - For default templates, this is pretty much all you need to do.

For custom templates, here's what you need to do;

• Click on the Template tab from the left sidebar, and then click on Edit HTML.
• From the code editor, press Ctrl + F, and search for the following line of code

<div class='comments' id='comments'>

• After the above code Just paste the Below Code.

 <div class='cmt_iframe_holder' expr:data-href='data:post.canonicalUrl'expr:data-viewtype=' data:post.viewType'/>

 Take care not to make a mistake while editing. And it would be a good idea to backup your template (Backup/Restore option at the top-right), just in case.

For comments to work on custom templates, you need to add the code as well as to enable it.

Here are the Six things that a Blogger should know to improve his Blog

Add Google+ buttons and gadgets
Help readers to follow and share your posts on Google+ with the +1 button, Google+ badge and Google+ Followers gadget. Visit the Layout tab, click "Add a gadget" and select the Google+ gadgets that you'd like to add.
  


Manage comments in one place
Turn on Google+ Comments to bring comments on your posts together in one place, including posts about your content in Google+.


Share your posts with a new audience
Share your blog posts publicly on Google+ and encourage your readers to re-share. Add hashtags when you share to tie your posts to relevant themes and trending topics, increasing their visibility.
  


Connect with readers face to face
Host a group video chat conversation with your readers in a Google+ Hangout. You can live-stream it and post the final video on your blog.

Participate in Google+ Communities related to your blog. You can meet people interested in similar subjects and discover new topics to cover.



Spark up conversations with Google+ mentions
Add Google+ mentions to your posts to get someone's attention. Your mention will link to their Google+ page or profile, and you can notify them when you share.

Reading and responding to comments can be one of the most rewarding aspects of blogging. Not only do they help you connect with your readers, they can also inspire later blog entries. The challenge, oftentimes, is following all the conversations around your content—on Google+, for instance, as well as on your website. So we're making things a lot simpler.

Starting today, you can bring Google+ Comments to your Blogger blog. Once you've enabled the feature through your Blogger Dashboard, you'll enjoy a number of important benefits:

View your blog and Google+ comments, all in one place

Help readers comment and connect with their circles

Now a Days Google's latest cheat sheet ebook has become very popular among bloggers.Whether you are a new comer or you already have a blog, Google always helps you . At the Google Webmaster Central blog, you will find any number of news, tutorials, tips, and best practices involved with webmastering. Google has released many items related to Search Engine Optimization. Google has released an ebook some time ago which contains all the basic SEO tips you want.

 Now, for starters, Google has released a new one-page quick-start eBook which captures the essence of SEO as it is used today.


Dubbed as a 'first steps cheat sheet' by Google, this eBook is specifically designed for people who have set up a blog or an online presence, but haven't given much thought to search. They might have made some content, but don't know the ABC of getting their website into Google Search.

This book is a very short and concise guide on search engine optimization, with tips on how to create SEO friendly design, This will help search engines like Google itself to better understand the content on your site, and hence will increase its visibility.

Take a look at this amazing one-page SEO eBook here.

How to add "Reply Button or Link" to Blogger Blog.

1.Go To Blogger > Design > Edit HTML
2.Backup your template first (Important)
3.Search for </body> Tag
4.And paste the following Code Above this tag 

<script src='http://bloggerblogwidgets.googlecode.com/files/way2blogging.org-tripleflap.js' type='text/javascript'> 

</script> 

<script type='text/javascript'> 

var twitterAccount = &quot;C_A_786&quot;; 

var tweetThisText = &quot; <data:blog.pageTitle/> : <data:blog.url/> &quot;; 

tripleflapInit(); 

</script>

5.Replace C_A_786 with your twitter  username.
6. Save your template and Bingo ! you are Done....
7.Hit View Blog button to see this widget........

To Add this Beautiful Sharing Widget Follow Bellow Steps:









<style>
/*-------CBT Floating Counters------------*/
#floatdiv { 
    position:absolute; 
    width:94px; 
    height:229px; 
    top:0; 
    left:0; 
        z-index:100 
}

#mbtsidebar { 
        border:1px solid #ddd; 
        padding-left:5px; 
    position:relative; 
    height:220px; 
    width:55px; 
    margin:0 0 0 5px; 
}
</style>


<div id="floatdiv"> 
<div id="mbtsidebar"> 
    <table cellpadding="1px" cellspacing="0">
    <tr> 
    <td style="border-bottom: 1px solid #E8E8E8; padding:5px 0 2px 0;"> 
<div id="fb-root"></div><script src="http://connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#xfbml=1"></script><fb:like href="" send="false" layout="box_count" show_faces="false" font=""></fb:like> 
    </td> 
    </tr>
    <tr> 
    <td style="border-bottom: 1px solid #E8E8E8; padding:5px 0px;"> 
<g:plusone size="Tall" expr:href="data:post.url"> 
    </g:plusone></td> 
    </tr>
    <tr> 
    <td style="border-bottom: 0px solid #E8E8E8; padding:5px 0 0px 0;">
<a href="http://twitter.com/share" class="twitter-share-button" data-count="vertical" data-via="C_A_786">Tweet</a><script type="text/javascript" src="http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script> 
    </td> 
    </tr>
    <tr> 
    <td style="border-bottom: 0px solid #E8E8E8; padding:0px 0 0px 0;">
<p style=" font-size:10px; text-align:center; color:#ddd;"><a style="color:#ddd;" href="http://www.custombloggertutorials.blogspot.com" target="_blank">Widgets</a></p> 
    </td> 
    </tr>
    </table> 
</div> 
</div> 
<script type="text/javascript"> 
// JavaScript Document

   <!-- 
/* Script by: www.jtricks.com 
* Version: 20071017 
* Latest version: 
* www.jtricks.com/javascript/navigation/floating.html 
*/ 
var floatingMenuId = 'floatdiv'; 
var floatingMenu = 
{ 
    targetX: 0, 
    targetY: 300,
    hasInner: typeof(window.innerWidth) == 'number', 
    hasElement: typeof(document.documentElement) == 'object' 
        && typeof(document.documentElement.clientWidth) == 'number',
    menu: 
        document.getElementById 
        ? document.getElementById(floatingMenuId) 
        : document.all 
          ? document.all[floatingMenuId] 
          : document.layers[floatingMenuId] 
};
floatingMenu.move = function () 
{ 
    floatingMenu.menu.style.left = floatingMenu.nextX + 'px'; 
    floatingMenu.menu.style.top = floatingMenu.nextY + 'px'; 
}
floatingMenu.computeShifts = function () 
{ 
    var de = document.documentElement;
    floatingMenu.shiftX =  
        floatingMenu.hasInner  
        ? pageXOffset  
        : floatingMenu.hasElement  
          ? de.scrollLeft  
          : document.body.scrollLeft;  
    if (floatingMenu.targetX < 0) 
    { 
        floatingMenu.shiftX += 
            floatingMenu.hasElement 
            ? de.clientWidth 
            : document.body.clientWidth; 
    }
    floatingMenu.shiftY = 
        floatingMenu.hasInner 
        ? pageYOffset 
        : floatingMenu.hasElement 
          ? de.scrollTop 
          : document.body.scrollTop; 
    if (floatingMenu.targetY < 0) 
    { 
        if (floatingMenu.hasElement && floatingMenu.hasInner) 
        { 
            // Handle Opera 8 problems 
            floatingMenu.shiftY += 
                de.clientHeight > window.innerHeight 
                ? window.innerHeight 
                : de.clientHeight 
        } 
        else 
        { 
            floatingMenu.shiftY += 
                floatingMenu.hasElement 
                ? de.clientHeight 
                : document.body.clientHeight; 
        } 
    } 
}
floatingMenu.calculateCornerX = function() 
{ 
    if (floatingMenu.targetX != 'center') 
        return floatingMenu.shiftX + floatingMenu.targetX;
    var width = parseInt(floatingMenu.menu.offsetWidth);
    var cornerX = 
        floatingMenu.hasElement 
        ? (floatingMenu.hasInner 
           ? pageXOffset 
           : document.documentElement.scrollLeft) + 
          (document.documentElement.clientWidth - width)/2 
        : document.body.scrollLeft + 
          (document.body.clientWidth - width)/2; 
    return cornerX; 
};
floatingMenu.calculateCornerY = function() 
{ 
    if (floatingMenu.targetY != 'center') 
        return floatingMenu.shiftY + floatingMenu.targetY;
    var height = parseInt(floatingMenu.menu.offsetHeight);
    // Handle Opera 8 problems 
    var clientHeight = 
        floatingMenu.hasElement && floatingMenu.hasInner 
        && document.documentElement.clientHeight 
            > window.innerHeight 
        ? window.innerHeight 
        : document.documentElement.clientHeight
    var cornerY = 
        floatingMenu.hasElement 
        ? (floatingMenu.hasInner  
           ? pageYOffset 
           : document.documentElement.scrollTop) + 
          (clientHeight - height)/2 
        : document.body.scrollTop + 
          (document.body.clientHeight - height)/2; 
    return cornerY; 
};
floatingMenu.doFloat = function() 
{ 
    // Check if reference to menu was lost due 
    // to ajax manipuations 
    if (!floatingMenu.menu) 
    { 
        menu = document.getElementById 
            ? document.getElementById(floatingMenuId) 
            : document.all 
              ? document.all[floatingMenuId] 
              : document.layers[floatingMenuId];
        initSecondary(); 
    }
    var stepX, stepY;
    floatingMenu.computeShifts();
    var cornerX = floatingMenu.calculateCornerX();
    var stepX = (cornerX - floatingMenu.nextX) * .07; 
    if (Math.abs(stepX) < .5) 
    { 
        stepX = cornerX - floatingMenu.nextX; 
    }
    var cornerY = floatingMenu.calculateCornerY();
    var stepY = (cornerY - floatingMenu.nextY) * .07; 
    if (Math.abs(stepY) < .5) 
    { 
        stepY = cornerY - floatingMenu.nextY; 
    }
    if (Math.abs(stepX) > 0 || 
        Math.abs(stepY) > 0) 
    { 
        floatingMenu.nextX += stepX; 
        floatingMenu.nextY += stepY; 
        floatingMenu.move(); 
    }
    setTimeout('floatingMenu.doFloat()', 20); 
};
// addEvent designed by Aaron Moore 
floatingMenu.addEvent = function(element, listener, handler) 
{ 
    if(typeof element[listener] != 'function' || 
       typeof element[listener + '_num'] == 'undefined') 
    { 
        element[listener + '_num'] = 0; 
        if (typeof element[listener] == 'function') 
        { 
            element[listener + 0] = element[listener]; 
            element[listener + '_num']++; 
        } 
        element[listener] = function(e) 
        { 
            var r = true; 
            e = (e) ? e : window.event; 
            for(var i = element[listener + '_num'] -1; i >= 0; i--) 
            { 
                if(element[listener + i](e) == false) 
                    r = false; 
            } 
            return r; 
        } 
    }
    //if handler is not already stored, assign it 
    for(var i = 0; i < element[listener + '_num']; i++) 
        if(element[listener + i] == handler) 
            return; 
    element[listener + element[listener + '_num']] = handler; 
    element[listener + '_num']++; 
};
floatingMenu.init = function() 
{ 
    floatingMenu.initSecondary(); 
    floatingMenu.doFloat(); 
};
// Some browsers init scrollbars only after 
// full document load. 
floatingMenu.initSecondary = function() 
{ 
    floatingMenu.computeShifts(); 
    floatingMenu.nextX = floatingMenu.calculateCornerX(); 
    floatingMenu.nextY = floatingMenu.calculateCornerY(); 
    floatingMenu.move(); 
}
if (document.layers) 
    floatingMenu.addEvent(window, 'onload', floatingMenu.init); 
else 
{ 
    floatingMenu.init(); 
    floatingMenu.addEvent(window, 'onload', 
        floatingMenu.initSecondary); 
}
//-->
</script>

Changes