Blogger Beta Offers HTML Editing
But will the Effort be Worth It?
Blogger Beta has been listening to the Bloke’s whining and they are now offering the ability to edit the template HTML. But there is a downside:
One quick warning before you all dive in, though: The new template language is completely different from the old one. So even if you’re used to working with classic templates, you’ll need to learn some new tricks to directly edit the new templates for Layouts-enabled blogs. We’ve got some starter documentation on it, with more to come later. Personally, I recommend making a test blog to experiment on while you learn how it all works.
Apparently they have rewritten the code and there will be a whole new learning curve. Wonderful (did you notice the tongue in my cheek)!
I’m torn between if it is worth spending the time to re-learn Blogger Beta or to just move over to Wordpress. It’s too bad that Wordpress.com doesn’t offer HTML editing with their free hosting option, otherwise I would recommend it in a heartbeat.
To their credit they are offering a custom CSS option but that doesn’t help someone who doesn’t want to use a canned template. Are you guys listening over there? Let’s get with the program eh!
You can read more about the Blogger Beta changes at Blogger Buzz.
Related links: instabloke, blog, weblog, blogging, blog tools, blogtech, web 2.0, blog resources, internet, computers and internet, technology, tech, software, blogger, wordpress
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The new template is not all that hard. Here’s my first blogger beta template hack - Drop-down labels!
Is the glass half-empty, or what?
Thanks ramani.
An interesting way of putting it anonymous. Perhaps if you were looking through the glass darkly (I suppose ;-).
Nice site… loads of helpful tips and signposts. Agree that CSS Editor would be a bonus, but it’s a paid upgrade… one of the joys of blogging is keeping it in the free zone. Also agree that Wordpress could leap into the lead with minimal effort, guess Google has raised the bar a bit with Blogger Beta. One final point of frustration… I could not set up a custom account for wbloggar on Blogger Beta, which is a shame as this is the editing tool of choice for many.
Hi Nabil. Thanks for the comments. I agree about w.bloggar. It is the best all-round blog editor, BUT it won’t work with Blogger Beta yet (and I’m not holding my breath).
The author is unreliable with respect to upgrades and seems to be in continual financial trouble. His website is down half the time and he disappears for long periods of time.
But to his credit it is a free product and I really hope he will get around to offering a beta compatible version soon. Then again, the new interface in Blogger Beta isn’t bad either.
But if they are going to force us to be xhtml compliant, they could at least offer some basic xhtml shortcuts in the template editor for beginners.