Write it!

Lesson 12: Comments, Archiving, Site Feed

Hello everyone! If you’ve gotten this far in setting up your free Blogger blog, good on ya!

Grab a cup of coffee or tea, (a bag of chips wouldn’t hurt, either!), and get ready to take your blog just a little bit further.

By now, you should have mastered signing in to Blogger and going to your Settings tab so I won’t repeat those instructions.

Yesterday, we discussed Blogger Settings: Basic, Publishing and Format , so if you missed it, simply go to that particular blog post to get your Blogger settings up to snuff.

Okay, let’s make this as painless as possible. Click on the fourth item, Comments.

Comments

• For Comments, select “Show”
• For Who Can Comment, you can choose from four options, depending on the direction you want to take your blog. I always pick “Anyone” so that I’m assured of reader interaction.
• For Comment Form Placement, I would choose either “Full page” or “Embedded below post.” Blogger has recently enabled comments to show below posts, which is closer to the WordPress design and popular with both bloggers and readers.
• For Comments Default, choose “New Posts Have Comments”
• You definitely want to pick “Show” for backlinks
• Leave the timestamp as is
• Leave the Comment Form Message for later (or never)
• Choose “Always” for Comment Moderation
• Include your e-mail so that you receive notification when someone comments at your blog.
• for Word Verification, you can choose either yes or no. If you choose yes, your readers will have to type in letters prior to commenting on your blog. (I prefer “No” because it makes it easier for readers to comment.)
• Choose “Yes” to show your profile image on comments–this is a friendly touch.
• For the Last box, leave blank. If you have more than one e-mail address and always want to be notified when someone comments, you could include it in the box. Or, if your blog is getting lots of comments and you have a friend who is interested in the topic and the buzz, you could include his/her e-mail addy, with his/her consent.

Make sure to press “Save Settings.”

Archiving
Go to the next heading, Archiving, and click on it.

•  For Archive frequency, you can choose from 4 options. I would select “Monthly”
• For Enable Post Pages choose “Yes”

Save your settings.

Site Feed

Go the the next heading, Site Feed

You’ll be using feeds later, in conjunction with your blog. Basically a feed allows your readers to subscribe to your blog in a reader. You will have to choose what they see in their feed–either a full post or a shortened version.

• Some readers prefer the whole post, over having to click on the title to continue reading the rest of it.
• Some bloggers prefer the shortened version, thereby hoping to increase visits to their blog.
• For now, choose, “Full”

Ignore the next two headings, for now, unless you’ve whizzed ahead and feedburned your blog. If that’s the case, you are savvy enough fill in the boxes. Feedburning your blog is a way for your readers to receive your blog posts via e-mail, so it’s a good idea to offer this feature down the road.

Press “Save Settings” and you’ve done your good blogging deed for the day.

If you’ve faithfully completed each of these lessons, you are well on the way to mastering your blogger settings.

Questions?

Comments?

Praise

Criticism

Trackback URI | Comments RSS