Dynamic Views: Update #2

Hi Bloggers!



Thanks again for all the terrific feedback on Dynamic Views. Over half a million blogs have selected Dynamic Views as their default template since they were introduced less than a month ago, which is solid evidence that you’re as excited about this new technology as we are!



As I mentioned in my last update, we’ve been working hard to respond to your feedback and quickly introduce enhancements. The ability to customize Dynamic Views has been a top request, so I’m pleased to announce that as of today, this is now possible.



Using the Template Designer, you can now modify your background, fonts, or colors, and add a custom header image like we did on Blogger Buzz (just make sure it’s 65 pixels high). If you don’t fancy yourself a web designer, simply choose from one of the “suggested themes” that we provide.

To begin personalizing your blog, log in to the Blogger dashboard, select “Template”, choose from one of the seven Dynamic Views, and then click “Customize” to access the Template Designer.

Finally, if you’re waiting for gadget support in Dynamic Views, stay tuned...



Happy blogging!



Posted by: Bruce Polderman, Product Manager

Use your Google+ profile with your Blogger blogs

In fewer than 4 months since its launch, more than 40 million people have joined Google+, making it a living, breathing space for social connections and sharing to thrive.



Today we’re excited to announce the first way you will be able to leverage Google+ -- by making it possible to replace your Blogger profile with your Google+ profile.



In addition to giving your readers a more robust and familiar sense of who you are, your social connections will see your posts in their Google search results with an annotation that you've shared the post.

Plus, bloggers who switch will automatically get access to the Google+ integrations we’ll be rolling out in the future.



If you blog under a pseudonym and you don’t want to connect your common name with your blog, this integration may not work for you. That’s why we’ve made it completely optional to switch.



This option is available for all users today in our testing ground, Blogger in Draft, and will be accessible from www.blogger.com in the coming weeks.



If you have a Google+ account and would like to replace your Blogger profile with your Google+ profile, log in to draft.blogger.com and click “Get started” on the promotion message, pictured below, or click here to get started right away.

If you don’t have a Google+ account, you can create one here first, and then head back to draft.blogger.com and look for the promotion message.



To learn more, check out our FAQs or visit our Help Forum. Happy blogging!



Posted by Vardhman Jain, Software Engineer

Update: Blogger’s new look

Back in August, we announced a completely new, streamlined blogging experience that makes it easier for you to find what you need and focus on writing great blog posts.

Since then, millions of you have opted to try it out, and we’ve received tens of thousands of feedback submissions. Based on that feedback we’ve fixed a number of bugs, including design updates, Safari compatibility for the iPad, and tweaks to scheduling posts.



In about two weeks from today, all Blogger accounts that haven’t yet made the switch will be upgraded to the new user interface. You will be able to opt-out at any time by clicking the “Switch back” link; however, all accounts will eventually be permanently upgraded.



To help you get a better sense of what’s changed and how to navigate the new interface, check out the short video below.

If you’d like to switch to the new look at any time, you can easily do so by clicking the “Try the updated Blogger interface” link at the top of your dashboard.



We hope you enjoy the updates we continue to make to Blogger and welcome your thoughts about the new look. If you have suggestions or feedback, click the gear icon in the top right of the navigation bar and select “Send Feedback.”



Posted by Chang Kim, Product Manager

Google Analytics support in Blogger

Having a solid understanding of the traffic and visitor engagement statistics of your blog is one of the best ways to help it grow, and that’s why today we’re excited to announce that you can now easily connect your Google Analytics account with your blog.



Adding Google Analytics to your blog will give you more insight into where your visitors are coming from and help you determine which content they engage with the most. It's an easy to use, powerful, free product that is used internationally by businesses large & small.



If you already have a Google Analytics account, simply navigate to your blog’s Settings > Other tab and enter your blog's Google Analytics Web Property ID. Blogger will then insert Google Analytics code into your blog automatically, regardless of which template you're using, including mobile.



For more details and troubleshooting tips, check out this post on the Blogger Developers Network blog.



A few notes:

• Google Analytics is supported on blogs using Dynamic Views, Layouts templates, and mobile templates, but not Classic templates.


• Because of the technical differences in how Blogger’s stats and Google Analytics collect data, you are likely to see some minor discrepancies between the two.

Posted by Muthu Kannan, Software Engineer

Lightbox update

When we enabled a brand new photo viewing experience, called Lightbox, by default a few weeks ago, we heard from a number of Bloggers who preferred to use their own, previously installed Lightbox solution, or who simply wanted to continue blogging without the new feature.



Thanks to your feedback, we turned Lightbox off temporarily, and we’re re-launching it today with the option to disable it, along with a handful of fixes to bugs that you reported.



To learn more about Lightbox and how it works, check out the original blog post.



If you’d like to disable Lightbox on your blog, log in to Blogger and select “No” next to Lightbox in the Settings | Posts and Comments section (new interface) or the Settings | Formatting section (old interface).



Thanks again for your detailed suggestions, and please continue to share your feedback in our help forum.



Posted by Marcos Almeida, Software Engineer