I've written about a few different approaches to this, but these methods were never so easy to implement.
Luckily I came across this tutorial from Quite Random which offers the simplest - and most useful - method of displaying post summaries automatically for our Blogger posts, complete with a thumbnail from images used in our posts.
This customization is very easy to implement (there are literally only two steps) with very little editing of the template required. I installed with immediate success on several templates to test it out, and with only a little tweaking on one of my most customized designs.
In short, this is a fabulous implementation of post summaries for Blogger. Be sure to pop over to Quite Random to check out this post and learn how to install this hack for your own Blogger blogs.
However... This is not my only source of good news regarding post summaries for Blogger!
The Blogger team are in the process of implementing this function in Blogger! Or at least, I'm pretty certain they are.
Take a look at this screenshot which was taken from a clean installation of Minima (a default Blogger template) on a new blog (click the image for a larger version):
I can't say for sure when this implementation will become available, though I believe this will first be rolled out into Blogger in Draft so any issues can be resolved before the summaries become available to us all.
There's not yet been any mention about this on the Blogger in Draft blog, Blogger Buzz or even by the team on Twitter, but since this code is now appearing in new templates I'd guess this will become available in the very near future.
Stay tuned, I'll get more news about this as it happens and will (of course) explain how to use summaries in customized templates too.
This is a feature I'm very excited to know is in progress, so if anyone does have any news to share, please let me know!
54 comments:
Yeah!!.. Im looking for this hack and now i found it with a good news for blooger.. Thanks.
This hack has been around for a long time-- what is so much better about this?
the better is... we dont need to use js query anymore.. so our blog loading a little bit faster.. i guess!
Personally I like my blogs implementation of the continur reading link :)Check out my blogger blog!!
http://www.zixpk.com/
Wow, great to see a new code appeared in Blogger template! Finally we got something new to enjoy and play with! :D
P.S. Welcome back Amanda, we miss you so much! ;)
Fine, but we need some much more important stuffs, like a real sitemap, free access to robots.txt, duplicate content fix, and individual metatags for each post.
These (simple) improvements would boost our traffic and reduce the enourmous gap between Blogger and Wordpress SEO.
Maybe Blogger Team doesn't wish this (to avoid server overload?)...
(sorry for my bad English)
Seem that many tutorial about post summeries will be expired soon, .. LOL
Nice discovery back there.
I would rather see REATED ARTICLES implimented. The current hack for that is pretty clunky..
Carlo
www.vmwareinfo.com
Well, not really looking forward to this since I feel that expandable posts suit my blog just fine. But just in case I'm making new blogs for me or other people, might come in handy.
Hi,
I came across this blog while searching in google, regarding a new problem in my blog . It is a new blog named www.worldhealthcare.info It was fine all these days. Suddenly, my blog post area started to be displayed as black. Since my text color is also black, it gets hidden. I do not know how to set it to its original color. I changed all the colors using "Fonts and Colors".. Still it doesn't get reflected in the post area. please take a look at my blog and help me out. world health care.
Thanks,
Padma
Cool, been searching for this.Thanks.
Amanda, any news if this will just hide the text or will it actually only load the summary. Ie will main page of a blog actually load any quicker?
@CJ - The new hack is much easier to use because the posts are appended automatically (adding the span tags around text to be hidden using other hacks is a real pain!). It's also very easy to install and doesn't impact on loading time.
@Zixpk - Your design is wonderful :) I think it's changed since the last time I checked? Love the recent posts thumbs near the top!
@Alvaris Falcon - I've been playing with the code and noseying around but haven't yet stumbled upon the proper implementation. Probably this will roll out for groups at a time, rather than across the board. It's good to be back :) Been very busy with work and family, but will try to get into a better routine and post more regularly.
@Anonymous - we do have access to a sitemap for Google Webmaster tools and such (yourblog.blogspot.com/atom.xml). It's also possible to build a custom sitemap (tutorial in progress). Access to robots.txt is problematic as this would mean we'd have access to Blogger's servers. It is possible when blogging via FTP though and is not an issue for most Blogger users.
Does Wordpress have individual metatags for each post? With a lot of hacking it would be possible for Blogger (or a more simplistic version could offer metatags based on labels for each post). This is something I haven't looked into myself.
Duplicate content may be an issue for any blog (WP, Typepad, Blogger, MT), even those which feature true summaries on the home page. I've never really thought of this as a problem though.
@BudiTyas - That depends on how functional Blogger's implementation will be. Judging by the code so far, we may or may not be able to implement conditional extras depending on whether this is a summary or post page. Quite Random's hack enables conditional thumbnails, which is a feature many of us really enjoy for our designs.
@Carlo - There's a few different solutions for related posts so clunkiness depends on which you're using (and how you want it to act). Personally I'd prefer elated posts based on keywords rather than tags ;)
@Padma - It looks fine to me just now. I suspect the issue may have been because background images weren't loading. Do you host your own images for the template?
@Dark UFO - Looking at the code so far I imagine a section will be hidden rather than omitted altogether. But I've not yet been able to implement this or see the JS used for the hack. It may be a true summary for posts. Perhaps the team are working on this now. As soon as I know I'll be sure to post about it :)
thanks for sharing this update.
Proud to be your subcriber.
Regards,
ramaraobobby
http://twitter.com/ramaraobobby
I have been using a great template designed by ChiQ Montes for Wordpress and converted to Blogger by BloggerTricks. Check the credits at the bottom of my blog if anyone wants the links to them. My summaries are arranged into individual boxes with thumbnail photos. I love it. Click my name to link over to my blog.
FYI Amanda, I have been having problems opening your blog in Explorer, it aborts and will not open it. Works fine in Firefox though.
Sorry, I had posted my site link wrongly.. it is
www.worldhealthcare.info
oke amanda your posting is very good, and i'll be waiting your next article
thanks for sharing,I'm grateful to you.
Now here is the real ques, I saw this hack on other sites and implemented this long ago, but the real problem ( for which I was unable to find a solution ) was with my feeds. Can I implement the same outlook of expandable post summaries with image thumbnail on my feeds? I use feedburner and although it has option of summary burner, it truncates all images, and does not allow HTML.
Any work around for this would be just out of this world. Thanx Amanda. Love your blog.
Shubham Gupta
www.techquark.com
hi Amandafirst of all we missed you soo much really
about the trick i know it is cool i was already created one similiar to it but i did a little trick n it, i modified ReadMore button with cool mouse hover effect if any one want to check it here
Stunning Automatic Tumb With Cool ReadMore Button Effect
about this post doesn't count at all this is an ol trick and we were waiting so long we want some this new Amanda
i was in love to see in blogger a cool bookmarking box like in cool wordpress sites something like that
Here
or Here
plz Amanda if you have some free time coul you twist ustrick like this it looks so pretty and unique
@Carl Jordan - Thanks for letting me know about the IE issue. I knew there was a problem opening pages which had the comment box installed, but had hoped this was fixed. Anyway I'll look into it and see what I can do.
@Shubham NeO - There isn't much we can do to offer summay feeds with thumbnails to subscribers. But if you'e hoping to use a summary displayed in you blog it may be possible. I think Google Code has a script you could use for this purpose?
@Tips-Box - I love the bookmarking boxes you linked to in the comment. I was working on a similar concept not long ago for my other blog which displays bookmarks above the posts, but think it may well be a good idea to create something stylish beneath posts for Blogger. Does anyone else want me to create a tutorial for this? If so I'll et started this weekend and post for next week :)
The link you posted does not allow customization of the number of characters to show on the main page for each individual post, but for all. Also, you cannot make a post fully available on the main page.
Here is a better "post summaries" hack: http://webupd8.blogspot.com/2009/04/blogger-read-more-post-summaries-fix.html
Thanks for the tips.. Its very usefull..
Im tring.. Thankx admin..
@Amanda Wow your new blog looks great, that why we were missing you
and thank u so much for supporting the idea, hope guys read comments to know about it
Nice to see you back online... hope you managed all right with your trials n tribulations...
Please help me. The picture is OK but the text is not on the same line. It drop down. Any body can help me?
My blog is: Vietnamidolfan.blogspot.com
Hello Amanda.
At first.Sorry but my english, I'm spanish speaker.
I was surfing the web and found the WP-Cumulus for Blogger that I've to say, I liked very much so I used it.
Now I have a question for you because I can't use the 'target' attribute with WP-Cumulus, so please tell me if you can help me with that.
Thank you very much
nice tutorial.
is cool articles my friend
Superb blog Amanda. Blogger Buster has been my bible while I set up my first blog.
I have followed this hack for post summaries at Quite Random, but I had the problem that the thumbnail does not float left like it should. I am using your halo_01 template. I think you have had a similar problem judging from your comment posted on Quite Random. One of your nice plain and clear explanations of how you solved this with “span” tags would be wonderful please. An example would be ideal. Assume I know nothing about HTML.
thank amanda... I have used it...and it work.
but i not use for my current blog. i used it in my template design blog.
best regard
One-4-All
@Nguyen and Matt - You're right, this is an issue with certain templates (particularly heavily customized ones).
I did find a workaround which involves editing the JavaScript file to add span tags around the image tags.
The script I'm using for my other blog now works just fine, but I'm having a few issues with my file hosting at the moment, and need to transfer some files over to a different server.
Once I've done this and ensured the files are readily available I'll post a quick tutorial for implementation using my modified script. Hopefully later today (or as soon as I've completed transfer of these files).
hi blogger buster,
i need your help friend...is there any way to create an a-z index list for a blogger...Like this site..http://oneclickmoviez.com/a-z-index-2/
i ve tried to use a recent post widget for creating an index ..But it can display only 25 recent posts...
Is there any way to display post header only when we search?
I need your help friend...How can i create an index list...?
Thank you Amanda. Glad to see you again.
Thanks for sharing this tweak. You are right. This javascript will be popular in near future.
thank's for sharing, great post!!
Hello!
Your blog is very useful for me.
Can u tell me how to add "Read more" on my post?
Thanks!
@Amanda
how did you do that home page adsense..
I also want to display adsense just below the first post only..
Hi! Your blog is simply super. you have create a differentiate. Thanks for the sharing this
website. it is very useful professional knowledge. Great idea you know about company
background. Customized application development
This is great news. i used one of the hacks provided on an earlier post .it worked like magic with firefox but when it came to IE it did not work at all. This may resolve my problem.;)
nice for share this article....
Hi,
You have a very nice site with great information.
for more check out................
A.S.
www.allyouneedzone.blogspot.com
This is a great feature, but I will like to know, is it possible to feature the video I posted in the post in the summary?
this great article. thank...
It's a good hack! :) But the problem with it is that it might expand the side images too much or contract it too much. ;/
www.i-am-aileen.blogspot.com
nice tutorial. good news to bloggers. thats what i'm looking for. Thank you Amanda.
nice I'll visit this blog
Money blogging Tips
http://www.teratips.com
very nice tip
thnks
pay a visit to my blog
http://ps-galaxy.blogspot.com/
Great Share...
Wish you luck amanda..!
Shubham NeO ©® said...
Now here is the real ques, I saw this hack on other sites and implemented this long ago, but the real problem ( for which I was unable to find a solution ) was with my feeds. Can I implement the same outlook of expandable post summaries with image thumbnail on my feeds? I use feedburner and although it has option of summary burner, it truncates all images, and does not allow HTML.
Any work around for this would be just out of this world.
Ohh there is a way to display feeds including thumbnails. Try to play with the "blog list" feature. Go to: >>> widged page >> add gadget >>> blog List >>>> checkbox "Thumbnail of most recent item"
And your done!
Its nice blog.I like marketing.
thanx for this and congratulations for ur 10,000 subscription... proud to be one amongst them :)
keep blogging :)
thank's for sharing, great post!!
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