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Make A Custom Pages Index For Your Blog

Even before Blogger added static pages as a blog feature, blog owners have been asking how to make hidden or separate pages for their blogs.

When static pages, and the Pages index gadget, were added, people started asking about indexing label searches and external links in the Pages gadget.

There are several solutions to the need to have a Pages gadget that indexes archive / label searches, and external URLs. Each solution has its advantages, and disadvantages.

If you want a Pages gadget for your blog, that indexes more than just static pages, you have two basic choices. Each choice gives you different possibilities.

  1. Replace the Pages gadget with a linklist. You can index any URLs that interest you, in a linklist.
  2. Use the Pages editor, in the dashboard Layout page, which lets you add URLs of your choice, directly to the Pages gadget.

I've been advising people for several years, how to make a horizontal index bar for the blog.

With most Blogger templates, the Tabs section contains CSS that displays any linklist positioned there, horizontally. This gives you the choice of using "Add a gadget", and creating a linklist as an XML based "Linklist" - or one created as an HTML based "HTML / JavaScript" gadget - and both choices have advantages.

Use an XML based linklist.

If you look at the menu bar on this blog, you'll see how the active menu button "lights up" when selected. The "Selected" feature is a CSS tweak - and requires that you use a linklist that's XML based.

I created the menu bar here, using "Add a gadget", and tweaked the template code. The default Pages gadget is XML based - and does not require the latter tweak.

Use the Blogger supplied Pages gadget.

As an alternate to using a linklist gadget, you could use the Pages gadget.

If you use the Pages Editor, and you position the Pages gadget in the proper position, your blog, when displayed using a dynamic template, will populate the black menu bar with your Pages list. When that happens, the dynamic view menu will be displayed as a drop-down list, at the far left of the menu bar.

Comments

Perfect Address said…
Great information friends

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