Before/After Photo Effect with jQuery

 

If you have a design or makeup blog, or if you are using before and after image comparison, this script will surely be very useful for you.

In this tutorial we'll learn how to add the Before/After plugin, a script that works with jQuery and displays two pictures dynamically for comparing them at the same time. By dragging sideways a small bar we can see both images that are being compared.

See this Brittany Murphy pic before and after photoshop:

Show only beforeShow only after

Implementing this script is simple, we just need jQuery, the Before/After script, and the two images that we are going to compare.

How to add the Before/After plugin to Blogger

Step 1. Go to Template > Edit HTML and before </head> (CTRL + F to find it) paste the following:

<script src='http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.10.2/jquery.min.js' type='text/javascript'/>
<script src='http://http://code.jquery.com/ui/1.10.3/jquery-ui.js' type='text/javascript'/>
<script src='http://helplogger.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/jquery.beforeafter.min.js' type='text/javascript'/>
<script type='text/javascript'>
$(function(){
$(&#39;#beforeafter1&#39;).beforeAfter({showFullLinks : true});
});
</script>

Step 2. Click on the Save template button
Note: if the above script doesn't work for you, add it above the </body> tag. Also please verify if you have added jQuery in your template (if you did so, then remove the line in green)

Step 3. Go to Layout, add a HTML/Javascript gadget and paste this code inside the empty box:

<div id='beforeafter1'>
<div><img alt='before' src='URL of the first image' width='500' height='291'/></div>
<div><img alt='after' src='URL of the second image' width='500' height='291'/></div>
</div>

Add the URL of the first image that is the Before image, and the URL of the second image that is the After image.

It is important that you have specified the width and height of each picture so that they work on all browsers.
If you want to add more images just change the ID of the container, in this case the container is called beforeafter1 so you need to change it to beforeafter2 and so on, although you can choose any name as long as all are different.

And in the first code to paste, add another line like this one in blue:

<script src='http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.10.2/jquery.min.js' type='text/javascript'/>
<script src='http://http://code.jquery.com/ui/1.10.3/jquery-ui.js' type='text/javascript'/>
<script src='http://helplogger.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/jquery.beforeafter.min.js' type='text/javascript'/>
<script type='text/javascript'>
$(function(){
$(&#39;#beforeafter1&#39;).beforeAfter({showFullLinks : true});
$(&#39;#beforeafter2&#39;).beforeAfter({showFullLinks : true});
});
</script>

You can add as many before/after images as you like as long as all containers have a different ID and the corresponding lines are added in the script.
Below each photo container are the "Show only Before" and "Show only after" links that when you click on them, the complete pictures will be shown. If you want to hide these links, then just change true to false in the first code and they will not be displayed anymore.

Note: if you see white space around the drag icons, then search for this code in your template:

   <Group description="Images" selector=".main-inner">
     <Variable name="image.background.color" description="Background Color" type="color" default="#ffffff" value="#ffffff"/>

... and change the #ffffff value in red to transparent.

How to Write SEO Optimized Blog Posts

 

I'm not a SEO Expert, nor what we will read further is a top secret, but this is about the basic positioning that everyone should apply in order to optimize their blog posts. And with these techniques, effort, and a lot of patience, we can occupy the best places in the search results of different search engines.

For sure not all the cases are alike, neither all blogs are positioned in the same manner, some might have greater competition than others depending on how popular is the topic that they handle, thus, when it comes to web positioning, there's no specific time that applies for all. Having said this, let's begin.

Focus on a topic

Whatever the theme of your blog is, when writing a post, try focusing on a definite subject that has a clear objective and has no distractions. For example, if you write about Digital Cameras, then the beginning and the end of the post should be only about it. Don't start talking about digital cameras and end up telling about what you have done last weekend. A reader goes to a page because is looking for a specific information, so unless it is not a personal blog (where you write about your daily life) do not digress.

Define the post title

The post title should be precise, so that you can briefly summarize the content of the post, but you must not abuse this either, and although it should be concise, do not save words that might be keys to the search.

Examples:

Collection of all the cameras that have been released last year on the market

The best digital cameras of 2012

Clearly, the first one hasn't been defined very much and the second is not only more accurate but it is more appropriate as well, for what people are searching on the internet.

The keywords

Keywords are those terms that the most people search for on the internet and you should try focusing on them when writing an article; these keywords have to be included throughout the entire article but you should be careful not repeating them too many times.

Example:

During the fourth week of the technology, there were many products that are utilized today, and the most famous experts gave a speech on them.

At the opening of the fourth Technology Week, the experts talked about various topics, including how to choose a digital camera, had discussions about the pros and cons of the iPad, and which are the best smartphones.

In the first example we have written without giving importance to any terms, meanwhile, in the second one, we used phrases that are searched on the internet by the most users.

So, the most frequent search terms should be included wisely without cluttering your posts with them, or it can be counterproductive.

These keywords should be added in the title of the posts, as well.

Rely on synonyms

While it is good using keywords, we should not limit ourselves to a single word. It is recommended using synonyms because users do not name things in same way and using less keywords, you'll avoid leaving the reader under the impression that you are being repetitive and insistent.

Examples:

For those who like good quality pictures, Nikon D7000s Digital Camera is a 16.2 megapixel digital camera that takes great pictures.

For those who like good quality images, Nikon D7000s is a 16.2 megapixel digital camera that takes excellent pictures.

In the first example we have repeated the word digital camera and pictures twice, meanwhile, in the second one, we used the digital camera keyword once and changed the word pictures with images.

This way, the reader will find a greater diversity of words and might enjoy the article more.

Using bold and italics

The main keywords should be highlighted, so that they will stand out from the rest; this is taken into account by the search engine robots being like some kind of lures for them, so the words with which you want to position yourself, need to be highlighted with bold, but be careful, this shouldn't be done with CSS, but with HTML, i.e. they should not be tagged with font-weight: bold; but rather with <b> or even better, with <strong>.

Examples:

For those who like good quality images, Nikon D7000s is a 16.2 megapixel digital camera that takes excellent pictures.

The result seems to be the same, but it is not. Although the three sentences are in bold, only one is more attractive to robots, which is the first.

For those who like <span style="font-weight: bold;">good quality images</span>, <strong>Nikon D7000s</strong> is a 16.2 megapixel <b>digital camera</b> that takes excellent pictures.

The same goes for the italics, use them for highlighting important words, but do not put them between font-style: italic; but rather between <i> or even better <em>.

For those who like <span style="font-style: italic;">good quality images</span>, <em>Nikon D7000s</em> is a 16.2 megapixel <i>digital camera</i> that takes excellent pictures.

Again, the first has a better chance of positioning than the others. So, it is recommended to highlight the keywords in bold and italics, or to put them between <strong> and </strong>, or between <em> and </em>.

Using links

Some believe that we shouldn't use links in the posts because this way we are giving away our Page Rank. This is not quite true, using referral links to sites that have already shaped their credibility, will also help us to shape our own. Certainly, we should not flood our posts with links, but we can do it when is necessary and especially with sites that address the same topics as you.

Also, avoid putting the typical "click here" or similar texts. When you put a link, the anchor text should be fairly descriptive.

Examples:

<a href="Link URL">Click here</a> to know more

More information about <a href="Link URL">digital cameras</a>

In the first example, the anchor text is not relevant and descriptive, in the second it is.

Illustrating with images

Articles with images are not only visually appealing, but might help the reader to understand what you are talking about, thus, whenever you can, use an image in your post to illustrate the publishing, but do not overdo it, because many images or very large images can slow the loading time of the blog.

New and relevant content

You should focus not only on writing many posts, but also making them relevant to your readers. New and original content is more attractive to the search engines than a copy & paste and actually, the last gets penalized. So try to write new stuff, even if you think that all has been said, it isn't so, each person has a different way of saying things.

Also, always try to get informed before writing an article; do a research and see if the information is valid, based on that, you will gain the trust of your readers.

With these few techniques you can increase the chances of positioning your posts on the internet. As I said earlier, these aren't things that no one heard about, but I know that many are beginners and don't know how to optimize the blog posts.

It does not hurt repeating that the positioning is not given overnight, but with some effort and patience, you should see the desired results over time.

Top Commentators Widget with Avatars for Blogger

 

The commentators are a fundamental part of any blog, since they are the ones that give life to the blog, opening and replying to discussions which leads to more activity in the posts.

It is therefore very important to know which are the most active users of your blog, the users who leave more comments, and for this reason, today I present a great method to display a list with the top commentators.

The gadget will look something like this:

This Top Commentators gadget comes with user's avatar and is done with JavaScript.

How to Add the Top Commenters Gadget to Blogger

1. To add this gadget, you have to go to Layout, click on Add a Gadget link.

2. Select the HTML/JavaScript gadget and copy/paste within the empty box the following code:

<style type="text/css">
.top-commentators {
margin: 3px 0;
border-bottom: 1px dotted #ccc;
}
.avatar-top-commentators {
vertical-align:middle;
border-radius: 30px;
}
.top-commentators .commenter-link-name {
padding-left:0;
}
</style>
<script type="text/javascript">
var maxTopCommenters = 8; 
var minComments = 1;    
var numDays = 0;        
var excludeMe = true;   
var excludeUsers = ["Anonymous", "someotherusertoexclude"];
var maxUserNameLength = 42;
//
var txtTopLine = '<b>[#].</b> [image] [user] ([count])';
var txtNoTopCommenters = 'No top commentators at this time.';
var txtAnonymous = '';
//
var sizeAvatar = 33;
var cropAvatar = true;
//
var urlNoAvatar = "https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixwrDwCS_AWKUJ0ZmkSh_fac18GLXmotC_ks64kjLqTBfEihwgH05n2LJkJ7A8OTj3BE97tmmgHZl0AqFuxE6yECXglD3lBpj0FWmBSnplwc38sATkoY_dcWSrChxDJS2vM-_jk_TJ23wB/s1600/avatar_blue_m_96.png" + sizeAvatar;
var urlAnoAvatar = 'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidTOD6XBFAxhdzaDKMpR3hVltktioKAjFElAURSfl9cwHqwdhVeqcH8sPQM4e8QdRTUe7TJb9AFApeHEpNsbVq0KWWhbDbEmj3ZmXVnvbHNHMaGQ2-tIPUqfMQwIJIA7h7hNhL2TQSbefu/s1600/avatar1.png' + sizeAvatar;
var urlMyProfile = '';
var urlMyAvatar = '';
if(!Array.indexOf) {
 Array.prototype.indexOf=function(obj) {
  for(var i=0;i<this.length;i++) if(this[i]==obj) return i;
  return -1;
}}
function replaceTopCmtVars(text, item, position)
{
  if(!item || !item.author) return text;
  var author = item.author;
  var authorUri = "";
  if(author.uri && author.uri.$t != "")
    authorUri = author.uri.$t;
  var avaimg = urlAnoAvatar;
  var bloggerprofile = "http://www.blogger.com/profile/";
  if(author.gd$image && author.gd$image.src && authorUri.substr(0,bloggerprofile.length) == bloggerprofile)
    avaimg = author.gd$image.src;
  else {
    var parseurl = document.createElement('a');
    if(authorUri != "") {
      parseurl.href = authorUri;
      avaimg = 'http://www.google.com/s2/favicons?domain=' + parseurl.hostname;
    }
  }
  if(urlMyProfile != "" && authorUri == urlMyProfile && urlMyAvatar != "")
    avaimg = urlMyAvatar;
  if(avaimg == "http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif" && urlNoAvatar != "")
    avaimg = urlNoAvatar;
  var newsize="s"+sizeAvatar;
  avaimg = avaimg.replace(/\/s\d\d+-c\//, "/"+newsize+"-c/");
  if(cropAvatar) newsize+="-c";
  avaimg = avaimg.replace(/\/s\d\d+(-c){0,1}\//, "/"+newsize+"/");
  var authorName = author.name.$t;
  if(authorName == 'Anonymous' && txtAnonymous != '' && avaimg == urlAnoAvatar)
    authorName = txtAnonymous;
  var imgcode = '<img class="avatar-top-commentators" height="'+sizeAvatar+'" width="'+sizeAvatar+'" title="'+authorName+'" src="'+avaimg+'" />';
  if(authorUri!="") imgcode = '<a href="'+authorUri+'">'+imgcode+'</a>';
  if(maxUserNameLength > 3 && authorName.length > maxUserNameLength)
    authorName = authorName.substr(0, maxUserNameLength-3) + "...";
  var authorcode = authorName;
  if(authorUri!="") authorcode = '<a class="commenter-link-name" href="'+authorUri+'">'+authorcode+'</a>';
  text = text.replace('[user]', authorcode);
  text = text.replace('[image]', imgcode);
  text = text.replace('[#]', position);
  text = text.replace('[count]', item.count);
  return text;
}
var topcommenters = {};
var ndxbase = 1;
function showTopCommenters(json) {
  var one_day=1000*60*60*24;
  var today = new Date();
  if(urlMyProfile == "") {
    var elements = document.getElementsByTagName("*");
    var expr = /(^| )profile-link( |$)/;
    for(var i=0 ; i<elements.length ; i++)
      if(expr.test(elements[i].className)) {
        urlMyProfile = elements[i].href;
        break;
      }
  }
  if(json && json.feed && json.feed.entry && json.feed.entry.length) for(var i = 0 ; i < json.feed.entry.length ; i++ ) {
    var entry = json.feed.entry[i];
    if(numDays > 0) {
      var datePart = entry.published.$t.match(/\d+/g);
      var cmtDate = new Date(datePart[0],datePart[1]-1,datePart[2],datePart[3],datePart[4],datePart[5]);
  
      var days = Math.ceil((today.getTime()-cmtDate.getTime())/(one_day));
      if(days > numDays) break;
    }
    var authorUri = "";
    if(entry.author[0].uri && entry.author[0].uri.$t != "")
      authorUri = entry.author[0].uri.$t;
    if(excludeMe && authorUri != "" && authorUri == urlMyProfile)
      continue;
    var authorName = entry.author[0].name.$t;
    if(excludeUsers.indexOf(authorName) != -1)
      continue;
    var hash=entry.author[0].name.$t + "-" + authorUri;
    if(topcommenters[hash])
      topcommenters[hash].count++;
    else {
      var commenter = new Object();
      commenter.author = entry.author[0];
      commenter.count = 1;
      topcommenters[hash] = commenter;
    }
  }
  if(json && json.feed && json.feed.entry && json.feed.entry.length && json.feed.entry.length == 200) {
    ndxbase += 200;
    document.write('<script type="text/javascript" src="http://'+window.location.hostname+'/feeds/comments/default?redirect=false&max-results=200&start-index='+ndxbase+'&alt=json-in-script&callback=showTopCommenters"></'+'script>');
    return;
  }
  // convert object to array of tuples
  var tuplear = [];
  for(var key in topcommenters) tuplear.push([key, topcommenters[key]]);
  tuplear.sort(function(a, b) {
    if(b[1].count-a[1].count)
        return b[1].count-a[1].count;
    return (a[1].author.name.$t.toLowerCase() < b[1].author.name.$t.toLowerCase()) ? -1 : 1;
  });
  var realcount = 0;
  for(var i = 0; i < maxTopCommenters && i < tuplear.length ; i++) {
    var item = tuplear[i][1];
    if(item.count < minComments)
        break;
    document.write('<di'+'v class="top-commentators">');
    document.write(replaceTopCmtVars(txtTopLine, item, realcount+1));
    document.write('</d'+'iv>');
    realcount++;
  }
  if(!realcount)
    document.write(txtNoTopCommenters);
}
document.write('<script type="text/javascript" src="http://'+window.location.hostname+'/feeds/comments/default?redirect=false&max-results=200&alt=json-in-script&callback=showTopCommenters"></'+'script>');
</script>

3. Now you just have to save changes and you're done!

Configuration

- To modify the number of users displayed in the gadget, look for var maxTopCommenters = 8; and change 8 with any number you want.
- To change the avatar size of the commenters, look for var sizeAvatar = 33; and change number 33 with the number of pixels you want.

- To hide your name or some other username, replace the someotherusertoexclude text between the quotes (to add more, add another comma after the text in red, then type the username you want to exclude between the quotes)

Add a forum on your Blogger blog with Nabble

Forum is a platform where visitors can interact with each other and discuss different hot topics. There you can add desired topics for getting comments and diverse suggestions on them. If you have a good traffic, then you can place questions on daily basis for the potential visitors to answer, thus your forum simultaneously converts itself into a huge frequently asked quesions section "FAQ". Forums will provide your visitors an open social atmosphere to express their useful ideas and share other's ideas.

In this brief tutorial, I have explained simple steps to add a forum to your Blogger or blogspot blog. So let's get started!

How to Create a Forum With Nabble

To implement a forum we will use Nabble, in my opinion, one of the best free options. We go to Nabble page and there, we will create an account (keep in mind that this account will be the moderator of the forum).

And once we have everything set (it also has a wide variety of customizing options), go to Options -> Application -> Change appearance:

There, we can also edit the CSS of the forum and other things...

Now we have to give the structure of a real forum, i.e. organizing it by categories. To do this click on the Options menu, select Application, then click Change application type:

Then choose the Forum category and save your changes.

To finish, we only have to create categories and for this go back to Options, this time select Structure and then choose Create a new sub-forum:

Fill in the details of the category and that's it, you will have your forum running.

The rest are small details, like sort categories (Options > Structure > Manage sub-forums), customize your avatar and your signature (YourNickname > Account Settings), change permissions (Options > Users > Permissions), etc.

Now for integrating the newly created forum to your blog, you must go to Options - Embedding options and copy the javascript code.

Embed the forum in a Blogger page

Login to your Blogger Dashboard, select your blog, click the Pages link on the left sidebar and create a new Blank Page

Once there, get in the HTML mode.

Paste inside the empty box the code that we copied earlier, and if everything went well, we should see our brand new forum for our blog!

I hope this tutorial was helpful to you and you will begin using this great service.

How to Add a Recent Forum Topics Widget to Blogger

If you are using the Nabble forum in your blog is very likely that this gadget will interest you because, as the title suggests, it will display the lastest topics that have been published in your forum in a very similar manner to the recent comments gadget that works with the blog's feed.

If you want to add a list with the Recent Forum Topics then follow the steps below:

Go to your forum and look at the bottom where it says Feeds, click on that link and then two links of the Feed will appear (the first being the Topics only Feed and the other one is Topics and replies) - choose the one you want.

After this, log in to your Blogger Dashboard, go to Layout, click on Add a Gadget link, choose Feed from the gadgets list and paste the Feed URL you have selected inside the text box.

Click on Continue, and you only have to configure the parameters, then Save changes to see the results.

That's it! Enjoy :)

How to do natural SEO on Blogger

 

Although many insist that blogs hosted on free servers, such as Blogger, are not ideal for performing a correct positioning of your web site, the truth is that a blog hosted by Blogger can be really well positioned and quickly on the Internet if you are using the right SEO tools.

Now, given the latest updates from Google, the best would be hiring a specialized person, however, if we don't have the resources or we want to learn doing this job alone, we can choose to begin with the natural positioning. Here are some tips to start a SEO work (Search Engine Optimization).

The first thing is to pick a correct domain

We must try having our keyword included in our domain name, of course, this may sacrifice our branding but we can use the redirection.

Create Value Added Content

Not only rewrite articles, or write like they would be intended for us. While writing our posts we should consider our target audience, i.e., giving advices, tips, suggestions or guidance on specific topics and, aside, place links, use anchortext and keyfrases.

The topic of the links is important

They should be of quality and while, is no longer required to place five or ten links within the text of your website, now what matters is that the link is relevant to the context.

Finally, the domain, in value-added content and a right use of the internal and external links, will not be useful if we don't try to update our blog constantly.

How often should you update your blog?

This is not necessary to be done on daily basis, although this may be ideal as in this way we could achieve a greater relevance in search engines, but has to be a constant work. Let's say, two or three times a week would be enough, what should not happen is updating only three times a week and doing nothing next week.

Keep in mind that search engines happen to pass daily on our blog in order to index our content.

Add Keyboard Keys Effect To Your Text in Blogger with CSS

For many of us the design and the template are the most important, making our readers be more interested and coming back to our blog. There's an HTML element meant for marking up keyboard keys named <kbd> which can be styled with CSS, so why not use it to make those elements look the keyboard keys?

Thus, in this tutorial, I am going to show you how to create a keyboard keys effect with CSS. It doesn't require images so your blog will load faster.

How to Add Keyboard Keys to Blogger

Step 1. From Blogger Dashboard, select your blog and go to Template > Edit HTML

Step 2. Click anywhere inside the code area, press the Ctrl + F keys and search for this piece of code:

]]></b:skin>

Screenshot

Click on the arrow to expand the code

Step 3: Just above ]]></b:skin> paste this CSS style:

kbd{
border:1px solid gray;
font-size:1.2em;
box-shadow:1px 0 1px 0 #eee, 0 2px 0 2px #ccc, 0 2px 0 3px #444;
-webkit-border-radius:3px;
-moz-border-radius:3px;
border-radius:3px;
margin:2px 3px;
padding:1px 5px;
}

Step 4. To save the changes, press the Save change button.

Finally, we need to add the html <kbd> tags to the text on which we want to apply the keyboard keys style.

From your blogger's dashboard, go to create a New Post, write the text on which you want to apply the style and go to the HTML tab. Before and after the text, add the following HTML tags:

<kbd>Ctrl</kbd> + <kbd>F</kbd>

Screenshot

This will make it to look like this:

Ctrl + F