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Posts from October 2012

Create A Page For Your Blog Without Sidebars

At the end of each article in the Knowledge Base, you'll find a very brief survey asking you if you found the article helpful. In addition to updating the Knowledge Base from your suggestions, we also get ideas for blog posts from the feedback you submit. Recently we were asked how to remove the sidebars from Pages. This is a question we receive on occasion and we wanted to share our recommendation with you.

By default, any Pages added to your site will use the same design as your blog. However, you can add a bit of CSS in the body of any page to hide the sidebars and expand the content of your page to fit the full width of your blog.

First, you'll need to determine the layout applied to your blog, and we'll provide you with the correct code for each of the classic layouts. You can go to Design > Layouts to determine which layout you are using for your blog.

Two Column (Right)

<style>
.layout-two-column-right #alpha { width: 100%; }
#beta { display: none; }
</style>

Two Column (Left)

<style>
#alpha { display: none; }
.layout-two-column-left #beta { width: 100%; }
</style>

Three Column (Right)

<style>
.layout-two-column-right #alpha { width: 100%; }
#beta { display: none; }
#gamma { display: none; }
</style>

Three Column (Right)

<style>
#alpha { display: none; }
.layout-two-column #beta { width: 100%; }
#gamma { display: none; }
</style>

After selecting the code which applies to your layout, you'll want to add the code to your Page. It is best if you finish writing the page before adding the code, because once the code is added, you will not be able to work in Rich Text mode.

At Posts > Pages, click on the title of the page to edit it. Click on the HTML tab to view the code for the post. Place the code at the end of your page and click Publish.

Edit Page HTML

Please note you should not click back to Rich Text view after adding the code to hide the sidebars. Use the Preview button to see how the published page will appear on your blog, instead of Rich Text view.

The above code provided for each layout works beautifully without further adjustment for many themes. Some themes, however, may require additional tweaks, depending on borders and padding for the selected design.

The opposite of hiding the sidebars on a Page is displaying a specific module only on specific pages of your site. We have an article which covers this as well. Check out the article on setting a sidebar module to display only on a set page, post, or index for more information.

Do you have other design changes you want to make to your blog but you're not sure how to get started? Search the Knowledge Base for answers, and if you don't find a relevant article, take a few minutes to complete the survey at the end of the article. Let us know if you didn't find what you were looking for, if the articles which came up didn't relate to your search keywords, request new articles, or anything else you want to share! We look through all the survey results and update and add articles based on your feedback.

And if you have any other questions, you can always ask the Typepad community for tips in the forum.


Featured Blog: Grouchy Puppy

NAME: Sharon Castellanos
BLOG: Grouchy Puppy
TYPEPAD MEMBER SINCE: 2008
WHY YOU'LL LOVE IT: Sharon Castellanos is a long-time blogger and Editor-at-Large for LIFE+DOG Magazine. She also writes a weekly column for LifeandDog.com. Her mission is to educate others on the power of the human-animal bond, exploring facets like the healing powers of companion animals, the benefits of adopting a senior dog, and the way that our common love and respect for animals brings us together, motivatingus to be better people.

Grouchypuppy

FOLLOW: Twitter | Typepad


Featured Blog: The Path of the Sun

NAME: Seti Gershberg
BLOG: The Path of the Sun
TYPEPAD MEMBER SINCE: 2011
WHY YOU'LL LOVE IT: The Path of the Sun is a compelling documentary film and blog by artist, anthropologist, photographer and filmmaker Seti Gershberg, exploring shamanism and whether the knowledge and wisdom of its practitioners can better our lives and enhance our well being. The blog itself is a fantastic resource, designed to provide information on shaman, shamanistic practice, ritual and concepts as well as a source to follow the happenings of the film.

The_path_of_the_sun

FOLLOW: Typepad | Twitter


Tips for adding and updating your Twitter Widget

As we recently discussed, the folks at Twitter made some changes to their API that affected how Twitter interacted with different sharing platforms, including Typepad. For many people, this means that you will need to replace your current code to ensure that your widget works again, and continues working in the future.

The old Twitter API will be retired on March 15, 2013, so if you're not using the new Twitter widget by then, your tweets will no longer be displayed on your blog.

Ready to get the new Twitter widget? Here are some tips to easily configure your new widget and add it to your sidebar:

  1. Go to https://twitter.com/settings/widgets and sign in.
  2. Click the "Create New" button.
  3. Enter your Typepad blog address in the Domains field (i.e. example.typepad.com or www.example.com). This is very important - skipping this step will cause your tweets not to display.
  4. Adjust the other available options.
  5. Click "Create Widget," and copy the code provided.
  6. Log in to your Typepad account.
  7. Open the Blogs menu and select the blog you want to add the Twitter widget.
  8. Click to Design > Content.
  9. If you currently have Twitter code installed, click into the appropriate module and replace the code there with your new code. If you're adding the widget for the first time, select the Embed Your Own HTML module from the center column, click Add This Module, and paste the code for your Twitter widget into the pop-up box.
  10. Click OK, rearrange the module in your sidebar, and click Save Changes to update your blog with the new widget.

Please note if you are using Advanced Templates, Mixed Media Layout, or Chroma Theme for your blog's design, you will not have the Embed Your Own HTML module option. Instead, you can use one of the other options to add content to your sidebar described here.

Important notes about the width of the new Twitter widget:

The width of the new Twitter widget is controlled remotely by Twitter, and is designed to automatically fit your blog's sidebar with a minimum width of 220 pixels. Therefore, the widget will appear cut off if your blog's sidebar column is not at least 250 pixels. At this time, there is not a way to manually change the width of the widget.

If your sidebar width is less than 250 pixels, you will either need to update your column width or switch to a newer Theme with wider columns, like Chevron, Chunky, Metropolitan, or the Theme Builder, which allows sidebars up to 300 pixels.

Bloggers at the Pro Unlimited level who are using a Pre-Defined Theme can increase their column widths by using some Custom CSS.

Bloggers at the Pro Plus level or below will either need to switch to a theme with wider columns or the Theme Builder, as mentioned above. If you want to keep your current theme but need access to the Custom CSS feature to increase your column width, you'll need to upgrade to the Pro Unlimited level. We're happy to provide bloggers who would like to upgrade to Pro Unlimited to take advantage of Custom CSS a discount to offset the increase in price. Just open a Help Ticket in your Dashboard after you've upgraded and let us know!

As always, be sure to check our Knowledge Base for more information!


Did You Know?: Split Extended Entry Feature

It's happened to everyone; you're writing a blog post about a favorite topic, and you notice that the post is getting a little long. We all know that writing passionately is a great way to engage your readers, but if you're not careful, that post might end up dominating your blog's entire first page, causing some readers to quickly click away.

One way to prevent this and encourage people to keep reading is by using the Split Extended Entry feature.

The Split Extended Entry feature allows you to display an intro on your main page, with the remainder of the post on its Permalink page. Your reader would click a link that says "Continue reading..." at the end of your intro on the main page to keep reading the post.

Extended
Click to view the Split Extended Entry in action!

Information on setting up the Split Extended Entry is available in our Knowledge Base.

We hope you found this useful! Check back every other week for more "Did You Know?" tips to help make your blog even better!


From SAY Daily: 9 Great Sources of Interior Design Inspiration on Instagram

Do you use Instagram to enhance your blog design or posts? Like many Typepad bloggers, I showcase my Instagram photos right on the sidebar of my blog using the super easy Snapwidget service. My instagram photos also make appearances in my posts, like Traci's from Creativity Unleashed. This great post from the SAY Daily blog introduces some super inspiring Instagramers. Follow along and start snapping photos around your house!

Though many of our favorite interior designers have yet to discover the joy and fun (and marketing-savvy) that is sharing photos on Instagram, we think this mix of design editors and designers are a stylish—and inspiring—bunch to follow. Whether you have modern sensibilities or prefer fun and whimsy, there's something in this group for everyone obsessed with stunning spaces.

image from saymedia.typepad.com

Jonathan Adler @jonathanadler
Jonathan Adler needs no introduction, as this iconic potter and designer has made his way into many homes either via his home store or his appearances on Bravo TV. His Instagram gives a behind-the-scenes look at his busy life, but also has plenty of silly outtakes and modern design inspiration.

Find the rest at SAY Daily!


A Finely-Tuned Design for Harpblog

In the world of music, Camac Harps is known for being the sole manufacturer of concert harps in France. They use their Typepad blog to share business news, on-the-go updates from director Jakez François, information about competitions and pretty much everything else you can imagine that's related to harps, harpists and harp enthusiasts.

Camac needed a new blog design that's modern, professional, and easy to use. They contacted us with an idea of what they were looking for and provided an updated logo to use in the design. Using their requests as a starting point, we created a new design that offers more space for post content, a streamlined sidebar, and improved navigation links. Check out the before and after below.

Before-after
Harpblog before (left) and after (right)

Does your blog need some fine-tuning? We're here to help! Contact us today for information about how to get started.

P.S. You can view this and many other great blogs in our portfolio.


Twitter API Changes & Adding The New Twitter Widget

Update October 22, 2012: See the Add Twitter's Timeline Widget article in the Typepad Knowledge Base for more detailed information if you are not seeing recent tweets after adding the widget or the widget is being cut off.

Many of you noticed issues recently with the Twitter related features available for your Typepad blog. (You can read the discussion in the forum thread.) Most of the issues have since been resolved!

Twitter made some changes to their API which Typepad uses to provide the options to sign in to Typepad using Twitter, connect a Twitter account, and share posts to Twitter. Due to the changes to the Twitter API, these features were not available for a few days. The Typepad team worked over the weekend to develop a fix which was released on Monday afternoon.

The ability to share posts to Twitter, sign in to Typepad using Twitter, and add Twitter to the Other Accounts module has been restored. The option to sign in to comment using Twitter will only be available if you are using Typepad Connect comments. The default commenting system, however, does not allow you to sign in to Twitter to comment at this time, but you can sign in using one of the other options. We are working on resolving this issue as well.

Please also note the changes to Twitter's API impacted other third-party tools which offer up widgets which display your recent tweets. If you have a widget which is not functioning, we would recommend configuring a new recent tweets widget using Twitter's widget creator. We have outlined the steps to configure the User Timeline widget here:

  1. Go to https://twitter.com/settings/widgets. You'll be prompted to sign in to Twitter if you aren't already.
  2. Click the Create New button.
  3. Enter your Typepad blog address in the Domains field. i.e. example.typepad.com or www.example.com
  4. Adjust the other available options.
  5. Click Create Widget.
  6. Copy the code provided for the widget.
  7. Go to Typepad. You'll be prompted to sign in to Typepad using your email and password if you aren't already.
  8. Open the Blogs menu and select the blog you want to add the Twitter widget.
  9. Click to Design > Content.
  10. Select the Embed Your Own HTML module from the center column.
  11. Click Add This Module.
  12. Paste in the code for the Twitter widget in the pop-up box and enter a Label (optional) which will not display on your blog.
  13. Click OK.
  14. Rearrange the module in your sidebar.
  15. Click Save Changes to update your blog with the new widget.

Please note if you are using Advanced Templates, Mixed Media Layout, or Chroma Theme for your blog's design, you will not have the Embed Your Own HTML module option. Instead, you can use one of the other options to add content to your sidebar described here.


Featured Blog: Makewells

NAME: Megan Wells
BLOG: Makewells
TYPEPAD MEMBER SINCE: 2011
WHY YOU'LL LOVE IT: Artist Megan Wells lives with her husband, Brent, and their dog Teddy in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, where he writes, and she makes things - and blogs about it! Tune in to Makewells for daily inspiration, good design, and tidbits of her life as an artist in Virginia, and the lives and inspiration of the artists she profiles.

Makewells

FOLLOW: Twitter | Typepad


Featured Blog: Very Sarie

NAME: Sarah
BLOG: Very Sarie
TYPEPAD MEMBER SINCE: 2011
WHY YOU'LL LOVE IT: Sarah is a surface pattern and graphic designer living and working in Los Angeles. She brings a deep understanding of brands, styles, trends, and the way they connect to our lives into her design work. This experience, fantastic style, and a wealth of inspiration can be seen on her blog, which also features great photos and sneak peeks into her daily life.

Very_sarie

FOLLOW: Typepad | Twitter