People visit blogs because of a sole reason of seeking information about a particular topic and leave after being satisfied.
You are you are then concerned about readers just reading a post on your blog and leave without visiting order older or newer posts. Older posts or newer posts can be automatically shown to readers in different ways. Check my last post on Manually improve search engine ranking
Have you ever visit a blog that has many gadget Popular, random, featured posts and so on displayed in the side or above or below main blog posts. I will show you how to do this with simple blogger widgets.
There are so many blogger widgets that keep readers to read more of your posts. Some bloggers don't know about this and it really help my blog to gain more engagement from visitors and from search engine.
I will show you how to get this done without tweaking or altering blogger template, its very simple and easy. I will be refferring to just three widgets
#1 Featured Post widget
#2 Popular Posts widget
#3 Random Posts widget
The important of these widgets is that
* It keep readers to stay a long while on blogs
* It makes blog faser and responsive - everybody even I love a very fast loading blogs
* It reduces bounce back rate
* It consume lesser boundwith - some readers are economize when its comes data usage, they will love to be well satisfied with scarce resources
* Blogger images were well optimized - instead of blogger to load larger image sizes the images in these widgets were smaller and fast loading.
1. How to add featured post widget to blogger
Log on to blogger dashboard -> Layout -> Add gadget excactly where you want it to be shown advised right above main posts. Then click Add gadget -> Featured post. Then you are prompt to choose your preffered post as featured.
Layout -> Add gadget excactly where you want it to be shown advised right under main posts. Then click Add gadget -> Html/javascript paste this code in the html box
"
<style type="text/css">
ul.featured-widget-list,ul.featured-widget-list li{margin:0;padding:0;list-style:none;position:relative }ul.featured-widget-list li{display:none}ul.featured-widget-list li:nth-child(1){display:block;line-height:0}ul.featured-widget-list img{border:0;width:100%;height:auto}ul.featured-widget-list .featuredbg{width:100%;height:100%;position:absolute;z-index:2;left:0;top:0;opacity:.6;background-image:url(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlEHchcs9M8yQxn5lTppYd_9sVhgjdoQTah_CZU8frRWkD0vptM4sMsu2zj1XA6N6VvmsvotBmceHn_qlGAaS1WJCw34n_A9Ywc_LdDwQUaszQxIjPVslY_3LmQ-o09hfUmcoAECBagH4/s400/overlay-bg.png);background-position:0% 100%;background-repeat:repeat-x}ul.featured-widget-list .featuredbg:hover{opacity:.1}ul.featured-widget-list h5{position:absolute;left:0;right:0;text-align:center;bottom:10px;z-index:2;color:#fff;margin:0;text-transform: capitalize;padding:10px 20px;line-height:1.9em;letter-spacing:0.3px;font: 600 16px 'Abel', sans-serif;overflow:hidden}ul.featured-widget-list li:hover h5{bottom:30px}ul.featured-widget-list .featured-meta{font: 11px 'Abel', sans-serif;letter-spacing:0.3px;position:absolute;bottom:0;left:0;right:0;text-align:center;z-index:2;color:#fff;opacity:0}ul.featured-widget-list h5, ul.featured-widget-list .featured-meta {-webkit-transition: all 0.3s;-moz-transition: all 0.3s;-o-transition: all 0.3s;transition: all 0.3s;}ul.featured-widget-list li:hover .featured-meta{bottom:20px;opacity:1}.feat-buttons{position:absolute;top:50%;left:0;z-index:5;width:100%}
.feat-buttons a{text-indent:-9999px;margin:0 7px;width:15px;height:15px;padding:5px;background:#000;-ms-filter:"progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.Alpha(Opacity=60)";filter: alpha(opacity=60);-moz-opacity:0.6;-khtml-opacity:0.6;opacity:0.6;position:relative;-webkit-border-radius: 50%;-moz-border-radius: 50%;border-radius: 50%;}.feat-prev{float:left;}.feat-next{float:right;}.feat-buttons a.feat-prev::before, .feat-buttons a.feat-next::before{content:"";width:0;height:0;border-width:6px 7px;border-style:solid;border-color:transparent #fff transparent transparent;position:absolute;top:50%;margin-top:-6px;margin-left:-11px;left:50%}
.feat-buttons a.feat-next::before{border-color:transparent transparent transparent #fff;margin-left:-3px}
</style>
<div id="featuredbwidget"></div>
<link href='https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Abel' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css'/>
<script src="http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.8.0/jquery.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script type='text/javascript'>
//<![CDATA[
featuredbwidget({
listURL:"https://pranktech.blogspot.com/",
featuredNum:9,
listbyLabel:false,
feathumbSize:350,
interval:3000,
autoplay:true,
featuredID:"#featuredbwidget"
});
function featuredbwidget(a){(function(e){var h={listURL:"",featuredNum:3,featuredID:"",feathumbSize:300,interval:5000,autoplay:false,loadingFeatured:"nextfeatured",pBlank:"https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf81ffYNxS_J7CdITPAHfJvpmvToKDlXzzZNa-HDrxHSi8zjo3oPbb6J_1DokrHtjm1cY1kQQrTUbWuhr_NbLWvEukNJ9VeAQgNGqa4qo5X-FijT54jcBrnM60Cual-LfvoNAB9NJWi30/s500/no-image.png",byMonth:["Jan","Feb","Mar","Apr","May","Jun","Jul","Aug","Sep","Oct","Nov","Dec"],listbyLabel:false};h=e.extend({},h,a);var g=e(h.featuredID);var d=h.featuredNum*200;g.html('<div class="featslider"><ul class="featured-widget-list"></ul><div class="feat-buttons"><a href="#" class="feat-prev">Prev</a><a href="#" class="feat-next">Next</a></div></div>');var f=function(w){var q,k,m,u,x,p,t,v,r,l="",s=w.feed.entry;for(var o=0;o<s.length;o++){for(var n=0;n<s[o].link.length;n++){if(s[o].link[n].rel=="alternate"){q=s[o].link[n].href;break}}if("media$thumbnail" in s[o]){u=s[o].media$thumbnail.url.replace(/\/s[0-9]+\-c/g,"/s"+h.feathumbSize+"-c")}else{u=h.pBlank.replace(/\/s[0-9]+(\-c|\/)/,"/s"+h.feathumbSize+"$1")}k=s[o].title.$t;r=s[o].published.$t.substring(0,10);m=s[o].author[0].name.$t;x=r.substring(0,4);p=r.substring(5,7);t=r.substring(8,10);v=h.byMonth[parseInt(p,10)-1];l+='<li><a href="'+q+'"><div class="featuredbg"></div><img class="featuredthumb" src="'+u+'"/><h5>'+k+'</h5></a><div class="featured-meta"><span class="fdate"><span class="fday">'+t+'</span> <span class="fmonth">'+v+'</span> <span class="fyear">'+x+'</span></span> - <span class="fauthor">'+m+"</span></div></li>"}e("ul",g).append(l).addClass(h.loadingFeatured)};var c=function(){e(h.featuredID+" .feat-next").click()};var b=function(){e.get((h.listURL===""?window.location.protocol+"//"+window.location.host:h.listURL)+"/feeds/posts/summary"+(h.listbyLabel===false?"":"/-/"+h.listbyLabel)+"?max-results="+h.featuredNum+"&orderby=published&alt=json-in-script",f,"jsonp");setTimeout(function(){e(h.featuredID+" .feat-prev").click(function(){e(h.featuredID+" .featslider li:first").before(e(h.featuredID+" .featslider li:last"));return false});e(h.featuredID+" .feat-next").click(function(){e(h.featuredID+" .featslider li:last").after(e(h.featuredID+" .featslider li:first"));return false});if(h.autoplay){var i=h.interval;var j=setInterval(c,i);e(h.featuredID+" .featslider li:first").before(e(h.featuredID+" .featslider li:last"));e(h.featuredID+" .featslider").hover(function(){clearInterval(j)},function(){j=setInterval(c,i)})}e("ul",g).removeClass(h.loadingFeatured)},d)};e(document).ready(b)})(jQuery)};
//]]>
</script>
Customization
* listURL - replace "https://pranktech.blogspot.com/" with your blog URL
*featuredNum - add the number of posts to display in the slider
*listbyLabel - if you want to display posts by category / label, such as the tag fashion, it will be written as listbyLabel: "fashion"
* feathumbSize - the size or dimension of the image in pixels
* interval - time taken to change the slides position in milliseconds
* autoplay - replace true with false if you don't want the slides to change automatically.
3. Once you are done with the settings, click the 'Save' button.
2. How to add Popular posts widget to blogger without code.
Doing the same thing, click on layout on blogger dashboard -> add gadget ->
then click on popular post widget.
You will then be directed to where you will customize it
1. Sign into your blogger account and go to the “ Layout ” section.
2. Go to the sidebar section and click on the “ Add a Gadget ” link.
3. A popup window will appear. Choose “ Popular Posts ” gadget from the list. Click on the plus button to add it to your blog.
4. Now it’s time to configure the widget. From this configuration section, you will be asked to choose the most viewed posts of your blog. How many post you want to show with or without page thumbnail and snippet. Different popular post design requires different configuration so leave it as default for now. I will show what configuration needs for every widget later. Add the popular post widget by clicking on the “ Save ” button.
After clicking on the save button, you will see the default popular post widget is added to your blogger blog. If you are using custom blogger templates then you will get a popular post widget design based on your template.
3. How to add Random post widget to blogger
Log on to blogger dashboard -> Layout -> Add gadget excactly where you want it to be advised right under main posts. Then click Add gadget -> JavaScript / html now copy the below codes and paste in the html box. You can name it 'Readers Picks', 'Admins Picks', 'Ramdom Post'
"
<style>
#random-posts img {
border-radius: 5px;
float: left;
margin-right: 5px;
width: 75px ;
height: 75px ;
background-color: #F5F5F5;
padding: 3px;
transition: all 0.2s linear 0s;
}
#random-posts img:hover {
opacity: 0.6;
}
ul#random-posts {
list-style-type: none;
padding: 0px;
}
#random-posts a {
font-size: 12px ;
text-transform: uppercase;
padding: 0px auto 5px;
}
#random-posts a:hover {
text-decoration: none;
}
.random-summary {
font-size: 11px ;
background: none;
padding: 5px;
margin-right: 8px;
}
#random-posts li {
margin-bottom: 10px;
border-bottom: 1px solid #EEEEEE;
padding: 4px;
}
</style>
<ul id='random-posts'>
<script type='text/javaScript'>
var randomposts_number = 10 ;
var randomposts_chars = 110 ;
var randomposts_details = ' yes ';
var randomposts_comments = 'Comments';
var randomposts_commentsd = 'Comments Disabled';
var randomposts_current = [];
var total_randomposts = 0;
var randomposts_current = new Array(randomposts_number);
function randomposts(json) { total_randomposts = json.feed.openSearch$totalResults.$t}document.write('<script type=\"text/javascript\" src=\"/feeds/posts/default?alt=json-in-script&max-results=0&callback=randomposts\"><\/script>');
function getvalue() {
for (var i = 0; i < randomposts_number; i++) {
var found = false;
var rndValue = get_random();
for (var j = 0; j < randomposts_current.length; j++) {
if (randomposts_current[j] == rndValue) {
found = true;
break
}
};
if (found) {
i--
} else {
randomposts_current[i] = rndValue
}
}
};
function get_random() { var ranNum = 1 + Math.round(Math.random() * (total_randomposts - 1));
return ranNum
};
</script>
<script type='text/javaScript'>
function random_posts(json) {
for (var i = 0; i < randomposts_number; i++) {
var entry = json.feed.entry[i];
var randompoststitle = entry.title.$t;
if ('content' in entry) {
var randompostsnippet = entry.content.$t
} else {
if ('summary' in entry) {
var randompostsnippet = entry.summary.$t
} else {
var randompostsnippet = "";
}
};
randompostsnippet = randompostsnippet.replace(/<[^>]*>/g, "");
if (randompostsnippet.length < randomposts_chars) {
var randomposts_snippet = randompostsnippet
} else {
randompostsnippet = randompostsnippet.substring(0, randomposts_chars);
var whitespace = randompostsnippet.lastIndexOf(" ");
randomposts_snippet = randompostsnippet.substring(0, whitespace) + "…";
};
for (var j = 0; j < entry.link.length; j++) {
if ('thr$total' in entry) {
var randomposts_commentsnum = entry.thr$total.$t + ' ' + randomposts_comments
} else {
randomposts_commentsnum = randomposts_commentsd
}; if (entry.link[j].rel == 'alternate') {
var randompostsurl = entry.link[j].href;
var randomposts_date = entry.published.$t;
if ('media$thumbnail' in entry) {
var randompoststhumb = entry.media$thumbnail.url
} else {
randompoststhumb = "https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyOyw1mwAbM8LIC0NF7L8NrfIqjSc3UNWWbG57uuJFoF6-FZmF6x8bU2RRR4n0DPWqepHgfRV2vq_22MVQPsVOySgjbvjPJNaUDaC7E-PYBIb4TJCUCb_8nHs22uL8AwskIZ6SbhynHeU/s1600/no_thumb.png"
}
}
}; document.write('<li>');
document.write('<a href="' + randompostsurl + '" rel="nofollow"><img alt="' + randompoststitle + '" src="' + randompoststhumb + '"/></a>');
document.write('<div><a href="' + randompostsurl + '" rel="nofollow">' + randompoststitle + '</a></div>');
if (randomposts_details == 'yes') {
document.write('<span><div class="random-info">' + randomposts_date.substring(8, 10) + '.' + randomposts_date.substring(5, 7) + '.' + randomposts_date.substring(0, 4) + ' - ' + randomposts_commentsnum) + '</div></span>'
};
document.write('<br/><div class="random-summary">' + randomposts_snippet + '</div><div style="clear:both"></div></li>')
}
};
getvalue();
for (var i = 0; i < randomposts_number; i++) {
document.write('<script type=\"text/javascript\" src=\"/feeds/posts/default?alt=json-in-script&start-index=' + randomposts_current[i] + '&max-results=1&callback=random_posts\"><\/script>')
};
</script>
</ul>
"
Search for the below code and change the number of posts to your desired "var randomposts_number = 10"
Then save it.
Preview sample
How to show gadgets on mobile version
Best Practices to make a blog xxfaster
Instead of displaying countless posts on the home page you can reduce the number of posts to maybe from 5 posts to 10 posts.
If your blogger template displays higher quality of image you can optimize it by reducing the post image size by tweaking your template if you know about html /css.
Having done that, you will have to rearrange those widgets accordingly.
Featuted post first, followed by Main blog post, followed by Popular post, and then random posts.
Done with the arrangement? Now click on 'Save arrangement' on the right top corner.
See the sample here @ pranktech
NB
Those widget can only be seen and active in blogger desktop version, see how to enable any gadget on blog's mobile version.
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