[intro]In this Guide, you will learn how to create and customise a Blogger Blog for your EKM online shop. Please ensure that you have a Google/Gmail account set up for your EKM online shop before you begin, as this is required to create the blog. If you have not yet created one, click here.[/intro]

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Blogger is Google’s easy-to-use blogging platform. It’s very easy to set up, customise and design and can be updated on the go via the Blogger Android App as well as directly from your computer. The Blogger platform has a simple drag and drop functionality which makes it very easy to add images, hyperlinks and third-party code. To open a Blogger account, you need to have a Google account first.

Creating your Blogger Blog

1. To create a Blogger account, click this link and click the orange Create Your Blog button in the middle of the screen:

2. Log into your Google Account with your usual details and on the window that opens on the Blogger Dashboard, enter a title and an address for your new blog. Select any Theme for your blog, then click the orange Create Blog button at the bottom right of the window:

Customising your Blogger Blog

3. This will take you to the Posts tab by default. To begin customising your new blog, click Theme on the left-hand side of the screen:

4. On this page, you can scroll down and select the kind of Theme you would like to add to your blog to begin with. You get a wider choice here compared to the initial window where you added a name for your blog, and remember that all of the images and colour scheme can be amended to suit your branding:

5. Click a Theme to select it, and if you want to apply it, click the orange Apply to Blog button in the bottom right-hand corner:

6. When you have applied your Theme, click Layout on the left-hand side:

7. On this page, you can see all of the elements which make up the blog:

8. You can drag and drop gadgets - these are the white boxes with the grey tabs on them - into different areas of your blog. You can add gadgets by clicking the Add A Gadget text and then selecting the kind of gadget you want from the list of different functionalities within the window:

9. Click Edit on the Header element to upload your logo to your new blog, before pressing the orange Save button in the bottom left of the window:

10. When you have placed the elements in the places you’d like them to be in, click the orange Save Arrangement button on the top right, and then the Theme Designer link towards the top of the page:

11. This opens up the Blogger Theme Designer. Click Background on the top left to change the background image of your blog:

12. Click Remove Image beneath the thumbnail image:

13. Click within the blank thumbnail frame to bring up the background image window. You can select one of the images listed - there’s a lot to choose from - or upload your own by selecting Upload Image. When you have selected a background image, or uploaded your own version, click the orange Done button in the bottom right of the window:

14. Click Adjust Widths. You can adjust the width of your blog and any sidebars using the sliders. When you are happy with the width, click the orange Apply To Blog button on the top right hand corner of the screen::

15. Click Layout. On this page, you can amend where the elements and gadgets within your Theme are positioned. If you wish to amend these, you may need to return to the Layout tab on your Blog Dashboard to reposition your elements and gadgets in exactly the right order, and you may also need to amend the width of your blog and sidebar again by going back a step. When you have completed this step, click the orange Apply To Blog button in the top right-hand corner:

16. Click Advanced to edit the different colours and fonts used on your blog Theme. Click through each of the submenu options - Page Text, Backgrounds, Links and so on - until you are happy with the fonts and colours of your blog. You can see how these changes will look in the preview towards the bottom of the screen. When you have completed this step, click the orange Apply To Blog button in the top right-hand corner:

17. Click Back to Blogger in the top right-hand corner of the screen to return to the dashboard:

18. Click Settings on the left-hand side:

19. On this page, ensure that you complete the Description with some text that accurately describes your brand, your content and your products. Under the Publishing header, you do have the option to point a domain at your blog, however, it will disable https if you do so.

Linking your Blog to your EKM online shop as a Webpage link

20. You can still use your blog without a domain name pointed at it by linking it to the Social Plugins feature of your EKM online shop, and also by providing a link to it via an external Webpage link. You can do this by following the steps in this Guide.

Making a link from your Blog to your EKM online shop

21. Returning to Blogger, to provide a link on your blog for visitors to go to your EKM online shop, click Layout:

22. Then click Edit on your Pages Gadget: This opens the Configure Page List window. Click Add External Link:

23. Complete the Page Title field, and then in the Web Address field, type in the domain name of your EKM online shop, before clicking the orange Save Link button on the bottom right:

24. Then all you need to do is click the orange Save button on the bottom left of the window:

Writing your first Blog Post

25. You have now successfully created a Blogger blog and connected it to your EKM online shop. All you need to do is write your first post. To do that, click Posts:

26. Click Create a new Post:

27. On this page, you need to give your post a title and then write the post content itself within the field provided:

28. Using the menu on the top right of the screen, you can add labels to your posts and schedule them to be published at a later date (useful if you plan to write a week’s worth of posts in one sitting). When you have written your post, simply click the orange Publish button on the top right of the screen:

29. You have now created your first post on your Blogger blog! You can see how your post looks on your blog by clicking View Blog on the top left:

Make sure you plan your posts and include this platform in your social media strategy to promote your EKM online shop. Click here to learn how to link your Blogger blog to your EKM online shop via the Social Plugins feature. 

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[contact] If you need our help with your EKM online shop, contact your Ecommerce Expert or the Customer Support Team, who will be able to point you in the right direction. We're open from 8am-6pm weekdays and 9am-5.30pm weekends. If you'd like to suggest a feature or an upgrade on any of the EKM platforms, please let us know on the EKM Suggestions Board. If you have a non-account-specific question to ask the EKM Team, join us in the EKM Community. [/contact]