30+ Free and Inspiring Blogger Templates

Showcasing the designs of Blogger template designers has been a regular feature on Blogger Buster. Each time I compile a collection of Blogger templates, I am fascinated to see the variety of free designs available. But after seeing some of the free designs available in 2012, this time I'm truly awed.



Having discovered (and of course, bookmarked) some truly amazing Blogger template designers, I present more than 30 of my favourite templates for 2012 with full template screenshots and links to the designers' sites.



P.S. Don't forget to check out some of the older Blogger template collections!



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Farewell to the Blogger in Draft Blog (and hello +Blogger!)

The Blogger team recently posted that The Blogger In Draft Blog Is Being Retired. But don't worry if (like me) you favour using all the shiny new stuff in the Blogger in Draft dashboard, that side of Blogger is not going anywhere. Phew!



Rather than using a separate blog to post details of the new features we can try out, the Blogger Team will be posting it on the +Blogger page instead.



Be sure to add the +Blogger page to your stream if you haven't already done so. In recent weeks there's been a lot of useful posts on the page, including details of interesting hangouts and detailed information on using Blogger to its best effect.

How to control the Attribution gadget when using the Template Designer

If you are using one of Blogger's new templates, you'll notice an "Attribution" widget which appears at the very bottom of your site. This will contain details of the template designer, a "Powered by Blogger" statement, and possibly attribution for any background images you've added through the Template Designer.



We can add copyright information to this gadget by editing through the Layout page in our dashboard, but by default are unable to change it's position or remove it.



For various reasons, you may want to remove this gadget from your Blogger layout. For example, if you have highly customized your template so it looks nothing like the original design on which it is based, or you would prefer visitors not to know that your site is operated using Blogger's free service.



Since removing the Attribution gadget is not a straightforward customization, I have developed a simple method we can use to remove this gadget and (if you choose) replace it with a gadget of your choosing.



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Blogging for your Business Hangout

Updated!



If you missed the Blogging for your Business hangout on Google+ today, you can watch it here instead:

Learn the Basics of Blogger and Get Certified - For Free!

If you are just starting out with Blogger, Alison offers a useful free e-course which you may find useful.



The Google Blogger course by Russell Stannard offers video training, an end-of-course assessment and Alison certification:

Upon completion of this course you will be able to create your own blog.
You will know how to add dates, pictures, links, video and embedded
video to your blog. You will understand how to preview and publish your
blog. You will gain a good knowledge of the settings that allow you to
edit your blog.

Once you've passed the module, you can choose to purchase a PDF or parchment certificate, share your achievement with a badge or simply provide a link to verify your certification.



Admittedly this is a basic course in using Blogger, though it would be very useful for those just starting out or as a refresher course for those who have not used Blogger in some time (the video tutorials provide insight into the new interface and template designer).



Be sure to check it out and let us know your opinions of this free course in the comments below.

Create a contact form with Google Docs?

While creating a client's website (using Blogger, of course), I decided to try using Google Docs to create a comprehensive contact form.



The form was wonderful: with a bit of tweaking, I was able to embed a CSS styled form (rather than use an iframe); validate required fields with jQuery; redirect to a custom "thank you" page, and even have the form submissions emailed directly to the client!



Feeling rather happy with the results, I created a similar contact form for the Blogger Buster contact page and was in the process of writing up a tutorial when I realized my inbox was rapidly filling up with spam. Which was unfortunately delivered by my Google Docs-based contact form.



Sadly, I haven't (yet!) been able to find a Blogger-compatible solution to create a Google-based contact form with spam filtering and emailed submissions, so I've reverted back to my previous contact form.



I'm still hopeful that a method to prevent (most) spam submissions is still possible, so I've decided to publish a simple version of my Google Docs form tutorial for anyone who would like to use it.





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How to create a contact form for Blogger using Kontactr

Contact forms enable visitors to our sites to send us emails without having to expose our email address to potential spammers.



I've been using Kontactr to embed a contact form in this site for years now, and still believe it is the most ideal solution for those using the Blogger platform. However, it seems my previous tutorial is now out of date!



Recently, Kontactr added CAPTCHA functionality to their forms which makes even more difficult for spammers to abuse the facility. We can also now customize the appearance of the form to match the design of our sites.



Here is a comprehensive tutorial to help Blogger users embed a functional, customizable contact form for their blog using Kontactr.

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