Blogger

Blogger

I'm now officially back blogging on Blogger though Sixteen Eleven and All Things Black & White will always be on WordPress.  I love WordPress.com, it's the most powerful blogging platform up to date but I miss all the tweaking with a little bit of code here and there.  Blogger is also a good platform, not as powerful  as WordPress but definitely worth the competition since Google owns it.  I think anytime they can just revamp the whole platform and add great functionalities that would definitely rival WordPress.  But that time hasn't come yet,  one of these days, I think.  So here are the tweaks that I've made since getting back.

Theme

Blogger allows you to manipulate your template or you can build one from scratch.  Currently I'm using the Blogger version of Rodrigo Galindez's Modernist Wordpress theme converted by Splashy Templates.  I love typographic themes.  They are fast, simple, elegant and focuses on good typography.

Almost any WordPress theme can be ported to Blogger, it's just a matter of precision and patience.  Though there are now hundreds of themes converted from WordPress, most of them lacks a thing or two compared to the original.  It's either a either can't be really done on Blogger or it depends on the one who converted the theme.  I've seen great WordPress themes only to be watered down to a generic Blogger template.

Lightbox

WordPress does not allow javascript codes of some sort because it compromises security.  You can do so here in Blogger like the Light Box effect on images.  Lightbox is a simple, unobtrusive script used to overlay images on the current page.  It's a snap to setup and works on all modern browsers.

Flickr Bar

Blogger's Flickr bar widget is generic and simple but this one I managed to do so with an ease in and ease out effects.  It is a simple yet also stylish way to showcase your latest Flickr photostream.

DISQUS

Almost every Wordpress theme convert has a lacking feature or two this theme is no exemption.  Actually, LiteThemes also converted Modernist to Blogger but with one problem:  texts after a blockquote appear smaller than usual.  This version from Splashy Templates does not have that, however, if you compare closely the original theme, LiteThemes' version and this version there is a small detail that's been left out:  the comments section.

I know this is but a minor detail and I can just leave it the way it is but Blogger's comment system is not that great.  Patching the DISQUS comment system gives a Blogger template to have a functional and powerful comment system that allows threading.  This notifies you through email if anyone has a direct reply on your comment.  Blogger gives you the option to subscribe to comments but it gets a bit annoying over time.

Share Buttons

Share buttons are getting popular these days.  It's a way to get traffic and more readers and followers.  This is the section that I am still working on.  I'm still looking for a fix on the Twitter share text to automatically shorten the URL of a post using Twitter's default URL shortener.  Another problem is the Facebook share text.  Upon sharing a post to Facebook, the shared post does not have a snippet of the post instead it gives you a horrible looking link.  All of these will be worked out in due time.

[UPDATE]

The Twitter share text has been solved, thanks to @blogger_Raju at Simple Blogger Tutorials.

Conclusion

Blogging here on Blogger sometimes gives me the idea that I should have pursued web and graphic design.  I read design articles from time to time especially on night shifts when everyone is either half-awake or in deep sleep.

[UPDATE]

Blogger gives us a sneak peek on what's to come on the new Blogger this year!  Personally I'm quite excited for this change.  Watch the video.