The Real Blogger Status

Last month, as part of the SSL rollout, Blogger added a page / post / template editor feature - that not everybody understands. A blog with "HTTPS Redirect" enabled will provide SSL access, for every reader - both those who intentionally use HTTPS, and those who normally use classic "HTTP". Those who normally use "HTTP" will find themselves redirected to "HTTPS" - no choice. When you use page editor, post editor, or template editor, on a blog which offers "HTTPS" to everybody, you may see an alarming alert.

Occasionally, we see a blog owner in Blogger Help Forum: Learn More About Blogger , asking about newsfeed formats. Which is better, for my readers - Atom or RSS? How do I choose, what to provide, in my blog? The competing newsfeed formats - Atom and RSS - have been a part of Internet life, for many years. Both formats have their devotees - and this is why there are two formats. Both formats have their own advantages - and disadvantages .

Of the many Blogger Mysteries that confound blog owners and readers, none are more obscure than the many bX codes. Some problems, reported in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue , start so innocently. As I edited the Template HTML, I saved my changes - and the bX error suddenly appeared. Each different bX code refers to a different problem, with Blogger in general. Of the bX codes that refer to template corruption , each different bX code may refer to a different template corruption problem.

I have, for a long time, recommended regular template backups , for those who like to tweak the template. Normal backup uses the "Backup" wizard, on the dashboard Template page. When backed up, an XML file, containing the template code, is extracted and saved locally. To restore, the "Restore" wizard is used and a previous Backup XML file selected. That's how Backup / Restore should work - but it isn't always that easy.

We've had the Google CookieChoices banner in our blogs - thanks to the European Union cookie privacy issue - since April 2015. Not all blog owners - even those in Europe, where its presence may be required by law - appreciate what Google provided for us. The banner clutters up many templates, making our blogs more busy looking. In some cases, it may hide - or be hidden by - important blog components. There are several ways of customising the banner, to make it more acceptable - that are not too difficult to use.

If you have a malicious or misbehaving gadget in your blog, one of the easiest blog cleanups is removal of a malicious HTML gadget . Unfortunately, this does not work, for every gadget on every blog. Depending upon how a gadget is installed, malicious code may, or may not, be visible - and if visible, may, or may not, be easily removable.

Blog owners are constantly asking how to add post specific accessories, from third party services. How do I add a Like button, for my posts? Adding many post accessories requires adding XML code, to the post template. Adding code to the post template is scary - and it can cause problems, when incorrectly done. The easiest way to add a per post accessory is to add an HTML gadget that references the post by the URL, as displayed for the page. The problem with an HTML gadget is that it simply references the page displayed. If your posts are read from the main page, or an archive page - and somebody uses a Like accessory, what happens?

In 2010, we learned about the mysterious Post Template - and the problems that can be caused, when it is corrupt or out of date. We developed magical ways of correcting the problems . Revert the widget templates. Reset the post template. Add or tweak specific template code. It's now 2015, and Blogger Engineering has rewritten the Template Editor , and given us new possibilities for correcting problems with the post template - and other gadgets.

If you've ever done programming - including updating existing code (generally made by another person, who you grow to hate) - you know of the value of backups. Any time you improve or repair existing code, there is always the possibility of making mistakes. Code is written by people - and people make mistakes. Sometimes, the mistake may be in the code, as originally created (and used for months, until you touched it). Other times you make one mistake on your own, and the whole thing crashes. Experienced programmers know that making mistakes is part of programming. When you make a mistake, be prepared to recover from - and learn from - the mistake. This is true, when making template changes, in your blog.

We've dealing with owner installed malware, for over 5 years , when reported in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue . In early 2010, we diagnosed the first mass malware installation. Owner installed malware can be quite deceptively marketed , by the hackers who produce it. With proper blog setup, and accessory installation policy, though, identifying and removing misbehaving accessories can be made easier.

Some blog owners don't care much for the mobile template. A few blog owners simply think that the mobile template is just too plain looking. Where are all of the gadgets? These blog owners express a concern which is not too hard to resolve. If you want gadgets to be visible on a mobile display, make the gadgets visible. Of course, it's up to you, to not add too many gadgets, and make your blog impossible to read.

The process of examining browser source listings for a blog, and of having a blog owner carefully examine blog template code, is an important part of diagnosing many Blogger problems. With blogs published to dynamic templates, neither source listings , nor template "Edit HTML" , contain as much useful information, as with blogs published to non dynamic templates. Dynamic templates reference scripts, that are hosted in external libraries - and that cannot be updated or viewed. The idea of having templates that were less customisable was originally supposed to encourage people to work on post content, and increase stability of their blogs - not create instability.

Long before Blogger developed static pages, blog owners had wanted to have some accessories or gadgets visible only on specific pages. Initially, we discovered that gadgets could be displayed conditionally , based upon the URL being displayed. This is a fairly simple task, when you get used to it - but it requires editing the template HTML - and can look a bit scary, to those inexperienced in template editing. Recently, we realised that some gadgets can be embedded in a page or post, by editing in HTML mode - and accomplish the same. I demonstrated my custom "Contact Me" gadget , using that ability.

Occasionally, we see the query, in Blogger Help Forum: How Do I? How do I change these captions? / Add this feature? / Remove specific components of this feature? Conversely, we see in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken Why does this new Blogger feature not work in my blog? These questions, in many cases, may be related. We can see the connection, when we look closer at how the changes are applied.

For some time, we've been seeing reports, in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken , about blogs using blogs using dynamic views, which display incompletely , and lack specific features. Various blog owners have developed, and reported, a workaround to the problem, which involves using an unpublicised Blogger setting found in the template HTML code. This workaround sets a loading delay, known as Timeout . There are several different causes of the dynamic view problem - some varying by the different blogs, others varying by the blog viewers - and some, varying by the Blogger / Google infrastructure. None of the causes will be universal in effect. This will result in varying success, when using a static Timeout setting as a workaround for the problems.

Recently, we've been seeing a few reports, in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken , about blogs using dynamic templates, which display incompletely , and lack specific features. Various blog owners have developed, and reported, a workaround to the problem, which involves using an unpublicised Blogger setting found in the template HTML code. This workaround sets a loading delay, known as Timeout . The currently recommended Timeout setting will force a fixed delay on blogs using the workaround, which may not be 100% effective in all cases. The effectiveness may vary, according to the specific problems reported by the various blog owners.

We're been getting problem reports in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken , from various dissatisfied blog owners , who chose a dynamic template for their blog. The problems reported involve various symptoms. Blogs displayed will lack various gadgets, in the slideout gadget bar. Some blogs, when customised, will display using default layout and template settings. Some customisations, applied recently, just won't show up . Various blog owners have discovered a solution, based on code present in newer dynamic templates. This solution has been publicised, in forum discussions - and in various blogs and web sites. <script language='javascript' type='text/javascript'> setTimeout(function() { blogger.ui().configure().view(); }, 1000 ); </script> The solution, as proposed, involves a very simple change - but the change won't be immediately, or permanently, 100% effective.

Since Blogger released their improved Template Editor , blog owners have been reporting a new, transient problem. I click on "Edit HTML", and the editing display opens - but the HTML window remains blank. Generally, you may wait a few seconds, and the HTML window will fill with the content. With enough patience, you'll see the content arrive - eventually. Unfortunately, waiting won't always provide a solution.

The new Template HTML Editor has been with us for just under 2 weeks . Not every blog owner sees the new editor as an improvement. Some folks don't understand how to find the code sections, where they need to apply changes - and would probably be happier if "Expand All Widgets" were an option.

Not all blog owners appreciate the differences between using the various template wizards, and what they will actually see, once the blog is published. The confusion about the various template wizards, and what is actually seen, expressed in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken , is numerous. Why aren't my changes to the template being saved? This question is expressed in a number of ways - and has a number of causes.