Template Change: 5 Important Things About Template Changes in Blogger

Template change for your blog is a serious decision and can be from a breeze, to tricky or downright disasters. Here are 5 important things I consider about template change in my blogs.

Decision to implement Template Change

Any decision to change blog templates should be to improve the overall look and feel of the blog for the visitors & readers. That reason alone merits serious consideration.

Template change crosses my mind when I see a new great-looking free blogger template online. And then, I refer to my blog analytics in terms of the bounce rate and length of stay on my blog. Afterwards, I try to compare the new template with blogs that I follow under the same niche. I try look for similar elements. If it does, then I make the decision to implement template change.

1. Testing the New Blogger template

To do this, I use an old blog that is no longer updated. There, I test the new template plus other HTML/XML customizations I need in that old blog. If I found some difficulty or not contented with overall new look & feel, I just look for a new template. By the way, ourblogtemplates.com is a good resource for great looking and customizable free blogger templates.

2. Backing-up the Existing Blogger template

Backing up your blog should be a must and should be done regularly, like every quarter. And I just don't mean the Download Full Template you see when you access your Blogger/Design/Edit HTML tab. I also suggest exporting the whole of your blog (via Blogger/Settings/Basic tab), taking notes of all the customizations you did, and the widget html codes. I tell you, it pays to have it all on record just in case things get messed up.

3. Implementing the Template Change in the actual Blog

After the first two things, I now have the confidence and peace of mind to implement the template changes in the actual blog I want to improve.

4. Testing the Blog's New Look

It is now time that I test my new look blog. I test the navigation. I check how my existing blog entries is rendered by the new template, especially the popular posts or top contents. I examine if the images, blockquotes, lists,etc are all looking good.

5. Incorporate other customizations

When I'm already satisfied with the testing, I think about other customizations that I can incorporate. This is where I refer to my bookmarks of blog customization taken from authority websites on the subject. Some of which include optimizing google adsense ad placement, adding an application/widget or simply putting additional ads or new ones from affialite programs etc,.

These were the things I just did with my Prepaid Cellphone Portal blog. It's my blog with the most search traffic but still a relatively high bounce rate.

I hope that the change of template and other improvements would improve its readability. The hope is that visitors would love their visits, stay longer, possibly interact with me thru commenting and return often.

When that goal is achieved, I know income and profit is not too far behind. How about you? When how do you implement a template change in your respective blogs?