Google Blogger for Beginners Expressing Ideas

 Introduction

Google acquired Blogspot in 2003.  I was excited by this news. It provided a free publishing platform under Blogger.com while BlogSpot is a free domain service provider. They are owned by Google and are used together on the Blogger platform servicing in 60 languages in different countries.  I have been a big fan of Google Blogger using it for my blogging since 2004.  Google Blogger is 100% free, and it works amazingly well. All you need is a Google account to get started.

Sign up and Sign in

Go to the Blogger website and then sign up with your Google account. After that, click the 'Create New Blog' button. You will be guided step by step to choose your display name, check the availability, then create your unique URL. Your blog URL will be 'https://yourdisplayname.blogspot.com' If you choose your own domain, it is upon availability and at a fee. Then your URL will be 'https://www.yourdomain.com.'  Both of them are under 'setting,' 'publishing,' 'blog address,' 'domain.'  Just follow the instruction,  you then create a blog title, blog post title, Check out the left sidebar and scroll down slowly to set up the basics.  

Once you've done that, your blog will be set up and automatically hosted by Google.  Hosting is free too.  Next, you can fine-tune your blog settings, choose and edit your blog theme and layout, add posts creating content with text and videos right away.  It is user-friendly and straightforward.

Template Options:

There are plenty of design templates called free Themes. They are simple to download and easy to install with just the click of the mouse.  

• Free Temples Contempo, Soho, Emporio, Notable, Essential, Simple, Dynamic Views, Pictures, Awesome Inc, Watermark, Ethereal, Travel with layouts to suit different purposes.

We could customize the layout to adapt it to your purposes if we are familiar with web design.  It is user-friendly too. 

• Flexibility to Customize the template 

•  Plenty of gadgets(plugins) such as Google Adsense, header, footer, popular posts, featured post, about, label, HTML, CSS, edit, videos and image add-on, etc.
• Images and videos can be imported directly from Youtube and your computer at the click of the mouse. 
• Posting to Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, emails is easy and fun at the click of the mouse too.

Tips for Design

1. Match Design Elements to our Subject Matter

The layout of our blog's theme should also fit our subject to our choice of colors, fonts, and other individual elements. Don't be misled by graphical gimmicks. Think carefully about how our layout will suit the content.

2. Keep It Simple

Our selected layout template should have no technical defects code. Loading times are critical. This is increasingly important for search engines and users, who will leave a site quickly if these are too long. A simple layout is likely to load quicker.

3. The Usability

In addition to visual design elements, usability plays a vital role in blog design. In general, we should keep it simple and straightforward.  Another point to watch out for is the expandability of the blog for future growth.  If our blog's purpose is to earn money, then make sure that none of the layout's elements get in the way of this goal, ensuring our sidebar is wide enough to integrate banners; leave enough space for a flag in the header. 

In addition, the content area should be clearly and readily visible, not only better for the user but also allowing for a better presentation of Affiliate Links and other monetized content.

Ask ourself

Is the navigation on the blog user-friendly?

How easy is it to find important content?

Are there too many or too few choices?

Are there any confusing elements?

• The Bloggers Roadmap (view mobile) Ever Wanted 
• A  Step By Step Do It All Solution To Get  Any Blog Off The Ground 
• From Zero To Monetised? 

Conclusion

In a nutshell, the Blogger platform is better than WordPress when you create a blog for no other reason than expressing your ideas. If you are happy with the features offered by the Blogger platform, then this is a great choice.