Blogger Template Confusion

I think users are confused by Blogger's use of the term templates (and vice versa)..

When users say they want new templates, they want this Blogger functionality..



Pick a New Template and Your Page Elements will be retained!!

But the version above is just the old SKIN parameters or CSS portion of the template file, not the entire blog layout.

If you want to update your blog or sidebar width (to fit modern screen sizes larger than 660px) or add an additional sidebar, you'll need to edit the template file or choose from one of the many free template sources. You'll even need to modify the template to make adjustments to the sidebar width, because the default gadget width isn't matched correctly to the default template sizes (as is extremely obvious by looking at the sad state of this blog's sidebar).

Making these changes requires knowledge of the Blogger specific template file (and HTML/xml) OR an externally provided template file.

With this file, you can use of the Template Backup/Restore version..



(or Blog import/export) to update your blog, which will delete the Page Elements (Gadgets). FYI there really is no mention that Gadgets will be deleted in the documentation for either of these functions. If you REALLY know what you are doing, you can edit and manipulate the template file as a last ditch effort to save your previous work.

Users will also assume they can just manually re-add each gadget they had, a pain but manageable. However the cleanup of the Gadget Gallery has removed hundreds of gadget references so they can't get back to the Blog they had, prior to deleting the Page Elements that no longer exist!!

It would be helpful to provide more information than the internal Widget/Gadget/Page Element reference that Blogger assigns (and the typical user has never seen). The gadget xml file and parameters would be helpful and would prevent loss of gadgets that no longer exist in the Gadget Galley.




Gadget preservation is critical

If a new template format is released, without handling Gadget preservation, it would cause even more attempts at editing/modifying template files as users try to modernize their blog. This feature would push the burden to the user and the user supported help forums!!

Today there is no lack of developers cranking out awesome free templates.. why aren't more people using them?

FYI, I think most bloggers would consider their gadgets as much a part of their blog as their posts, and they should be preserved through all blog functions!!

New opportunities

Gadget preservation opens up entirely new business opportunities and support options for the Blogger platform. Think of all the targeted Blog environments that are really just a custom template with a set of pre-installed gadgets (sailblogs.com). Today the creation and setup of each individual blog (within Blogger) makes this unmanageable. Advanced support/consulting would be much easier for both customers and vendors. A user could send their blog off to "get fixed"!

Today it is too difficult for a beginner to get a complete, good looking, clean modern blog without diving into advanced template issues. Imagine if a new blog could be delivered, complete with a basic set of gadgets already installed and targeted specifically at the user. Users and advertisers might even pay for that!!

As new easier to use, update, and maintain Blogging platforms surface, Blogger will start to lose it's users. This loss could impact Ad revenue if users move to a non-Google ads Social network, I have many sailing friends who now only use Facebook as their only "blog".

Blogger's tag line "Push Button Publishing" might be a little outdated, especially when you consider the powerful Google product environment that could be integrated (Picasa, Youtube, Google maps, Google Friend Connect). The sad thing is your competitors are using Google APIs to do just that.