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What Pages Are - And What Pages Are Not

For years - almost as long as Layout Blogger has been out - bloggers have wanted the option to create static pages - pages that do not change - as part of their blogs.

We've suggested a workaround, created from backdated posts, with some success. In January 2010, Blogger gave us true static pages for our blogs.

Even as people started adding static pages to their blogs, the confusion about what those pages are, and what we can do with them, surfaced.
How do I add a date to a page?
How do I link to a page using a label?
How do I publish multiple posts on a page?

A static page consists of a title, and a single article. The article is created using a wizard extremely similar to the posts editor - but a wizard without an option to set a date, labels, or jump break.

By default, a static page is indexed through a pages index.

If you wish, you may add a page to any linklist which you setup. A page is not associated with a date, or a label, and it does not appear in an archive index, an archive retrieval, a label index, or a label retrieval. A page does not contain any posts, just static text.

If you want multiple articles of content on a page, simply edit the page and add multiple articles, separated by section headers - larger type. If you wish, you can add links to the section headers, and / or link to the section headers using anchor links.

If you want to index an article using only a static link in a post, a linklist, or a tab bar, you can publish a page. If you want to index or reference an article in your blog using a date or label, or from the main page, you can publish a post.

A Pages index, setup using the Pages gadget, will index both dynamic and static Pages>, and help you publish your posts to your pages. If you wish, you can make a custom tabs index and substitute that for the Pages index. You can examine a custom Designer tabs index above (just below the blog title), and a custom Layout tabs index in my home blog, "Nitecruzr Dot Net".

And there's a final limitation to static pages. Static pages are accessed only from links. The home page of the blog is still the main page of posts - there is no option to designate a static page as the home page - though you can substitute a static HTML / Text gadget, in place of the home page posts. And you can, similarly, make other gadgets appear only with specific static pages.

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Comments

Gerry Adams said…
Hi Nitecruzr,
The comment feature on "Pages" does not work. This has been reported by myself and several other people on Blogger Help, but it still hasn't been fixed. Could you please elevate this problem to someone at Blogger.
Thanks!
Dudel said…
Question for you personally, Chuck.

If I've set up static pages (give or take) with the odd Gerry-rig from earlier is it worth my time to bother making them again?

My brain tells me "No" for a few reasons, however I want your opinion on the matter.
Sue said…
How do I link to a page using a label?

Nitecruzr, you show us how to create a horizontal menu, but I'm using a new Draft Blogger template and love the look of the page tabs...

I want one of them to be an immediate archive of a particular label. Can't find in the Help Forum how to do this.
Nitecruzr said…
Sue,

What is an "immediate archive"? Page tabs are nothing but an index constructed from a horizontally oriented table, with or without borders.

Dudel,

If you were always bothered, as I was, by a "static page" post appearing with a date, in the archive index, then using a static post will be something that you'll like. If that isn't one of your concerns, or if you wish to allow comments for your "static page" posts, then maybe pages won't be for you.

You decide.
Nitecruzr said…
Gerry,

Your problem has been noted and reported. Your details would be a good start.
Dudel said…
Thank you, Chuck, it is as I had thought. I am, indeed, better off leaving as is.
Unknown said…
Will there every be a point when blogger allows pages to be dynamic and static?
Nitecruzr said…
Will there every be a point when blogger allows pages to be dynamic and static?

You can have dynamic pages now, using label searches indexed by linklist entries.

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