BLOOMIN' BLOGGER SUNDAYS

It's time for "Bloomin' Blogger Sundays" again. Thanks for stopping by! 

Per the request of a fellow blogger, today I will show you how to add a blogroll to your blog and give you some tips on choosing the style of your blogroll.  

So if you're really new to blogging, you may not know....what exactly is a blogroll? 

A blogroll is a list of links to blogs that the blogger likes. It is usually included in the blog's sidebar. Some bloggers divide blogroll into categories. For instance, since I am a special ed teacher, I have mine divided into two categories....regular ed blogs and special ed blogs. 

While my blogroll makes it convenient for me to hop to my other favorite blogs quickly, it is also a great traffic driving tool. With each blogroll that your blog is listed on....is the possibility that readers will click over to your blog. I have found many great blogs by using blogrolls from my other favorite blogs. I figure if it is on their blogroll, it must be a blog worth visiting. 

To add your blogroll.........

Step 1: From your blog webpage, go to design (located in the top right hand corner of your blog)

Step 2: On the left hand side of the page, click on layout. This will open up the layout of your blog. 

Step 3: Choose "add a gadget" from the left or right side of your layout depending where you want your blogroll and the design of your blog. 
Note: If you have a 3-column layout, you can choose to add it on the left or right side. If you have a 2-column layout, you will be limited to one side. 

Step 4: In the "add a gadget" window that will now be open, scroll down to "Blog List" and click on it. 

The "Configure Blog List" window will open that looks like this. Here you will customize how you want your blogroll to look. 

Step 5: In this window, give your blogroll a title. 

Step 6: In sort, choose to display your bloglist alphabetically or by most recently updated. 

Step 7: Choose how you want your blogroll to show by checking  the boxes of your choice.
The picture above shows exactly how I have customized my bloglist. If you like the way my blogroll looks, then select the same boxes as I have above. I have displayed mine a couple of different ways and like my current display the best. As you can see.....
I have checked...... 
icon,
title of most recent item, and 
date of last update. (See tips below for why I chose this display)

Step 8: At the bottom of the "configure blog list" window, click on "add a blog to your list." 

Step 9: In this window, select "add url" to add blogs individually by their blog address. Or select "blogs I'm following." If you select "blogs I'm following," a list of the blogs you're following will appear and you will place a check mark next to each blog you want to appear in your list. 

Step 10: Click add. 
Your blogroll will now appear in your sidebar in your layout screen. You may have to hold your cursor down on the gadget (blogroll) and drag it to where you want it positioned in your sidebar. 

TIPS

Tip 1: When choosing the way your blogroll will display, I highly suggest choosing to display the "title of  most recent posts" and "date of last update" because this allows you to quickly skim your blogroll for posts that may interest you and you never miss out on linky parties, giveaways, or freebies. 

By choosing the date of last update, you can see how recent they made the post. I like this because for example....if the title of their post is a "giveaway" or a "linky party", but they posted it 3 months ago, then I know the giveaway or linky is most likely over and I won't waste my time visiting that post. It also indicates how long ago they last posted. 

Tip 2: If you don't like the way your blogroll looks, 
>follow steps 1 and 2 above, 
>scroll down to your blogroll in the sidebar
> click edit. 
The configure blog list window will open and you can change your design. Play around with it until you get it the way you like it. 

Tip 3: Any time you want to add a new blog to your blogroll, follow tip #2 above to open the "configure blog list" window and follow steps 7 and 8. 

Tip 4: If you would like to put your blogroll into categories as I do, you will need to complete all of the steps above to create a separate blogroll for each category as each will have a different title. 

Enjoy your new blogroll! If you need further assistance with this, please comment below and I will try my best to assist you. 

If you have suggestions for future "Bloomin' Blogger Sundays," feel free to send them to me. 

Have a great Sunday!