Today's tutorial is going to be: Creating a Blog Header. But
I am aware that some readers out there need me to take a step back and
explain how to get started with a template, so I will give a brief
rundown of that.
I started my blog using the Simple Template. To do this, go to your
blogger dashboard, click Template ----> Customize, then over to
Simple. The options on the left will allow you to make all necessary
customizations to make it exactly what you want. I chose the two column
template, but it is completely up to you. Adjust your widths, choose a
background color, etc. Click "Apply to Blog" to save. Then "Back to
Blogger."
The simple layout will give you a very simple ( Ha. Get it?) visual of
what your blog will look like. There will be little squares all over
your layout. These are the different aspects that will make up your
blog. In your blogger dashboard, click on "Layout". Today I will teach
you how to install the header part located at the very top of your
layout. Here to be exact:
To create the header, I use the site www.picmonkey.com.
It's amazing and can pretty much do everything you will need to create
your blog. First, you will want to click "Edit a Photo" and upload ANY
photo that you have. Then on the left side, click on the fifth option
down titled "overlays". Click on the rectangle, and stretch it over
your picture so it is completely covered. Make the rectangle white. At
the top, click on the option labeled "Merge Together" (next to
upload/save). This will create one image and will look like this:
This
will be the background that you work on to create a header. Once you
have this, you can get as creative as your heart desires. Use the text
option to the left, and whatever else you would like. Here is a very
simple example of what can be done using text and geometric shapes.
Next,
you will crop your image into a rectangle. After you crop, you will
need to resize your image to about 800-900 megapixels wide, and about
200 tall. To figure out the width of your blog, go back into the
Template, hit Customize, and then Adjust widths. This will show the
width of your blog in terms of megapixels. After sizing, SAVE the
image (always as .png to avoid a grainy image) to your desktop. The
final image will look like this:
In
your LAYOUT , click on the top box labeled "header". A box will pop up
and allow you to upload the image that you created and saved to your
desktop. Make sure you check the box that says "Instead of Title and
Description". SAVE.
That's it! You can now hit "Preview" to view your new header. You will
then want to "Save Arrangement" to make sure it saves. It's that easy.