Everything Typepad

Spotlight Posts To Draw Readers Into Your Blog

Getting readers to come to your blog is only half the story when it comes to building your audience - you also want to keep them there exploring all your great content. One easy way to do this is by adding a Spotlight module to highlight some of your recent posts.

For most Typepad design themes, the Spotlight module will appear in the sidebar. However, if you're using a theme from the Nimble Design Lab with a one or two-column layout, an additional option is available to you - the Spotlight module can be placed directly under your posts and will appear in that location both on the main page and on archive pages. Blog visitors don't always look closely at sidebar content, but having the Spotlight module right under your posts means they'll see it as they finish reading. If they enjoyed your post and want to read more of what you have to say, there it is right in front of them! To set this up for your one or two-column Design Lab theme, head to the Design > Content page and add a Spotlight module:

When you add the Spotlight module, you'll see a pop-up window where you can configure how you want the spotlighted posts to appear:

If you post a lot of photos to your blog, we recommend choosing the option to display a thumbnail image for each post - pictures catch the eye a lot more than text does. After you've configured the options you want and save them, the Spotlight module will be added to the sidebar as usual. Bloggers using a one or two-column Design Lab theme will see an additional option on the Content page, however. Under the representation of the main content column, you'll see an area labeled "Drop Spotlight Posts Below". Drag and drop the module to this area and you should see it settle in under the notice:

Go ahead and save your changes on the Content page and the Spotlight module will now appear on your published blog right below your posts. If you realize you need to tweak how it looks, go back to the Content page and click the pencil icon on the module to open the pop-up window with the configuration options again. A well-configured Spotlight module provides an eye-catching display drawing readers further into your blog, as shown in the example below.

You can also see the Spotlight module used in the main content column right here on Everything Typepad! Just scroll towards the bottom of the page. If you like what you see, why not log in right now and head to Design > Content to add the Spotlight module to your blog? And if you're already using the Spotlight module on your blog, let us know in the comments how you like it.

Help! My Domain Name Does Not Work Without the WWW!

Do you still type "www" when you visit a website? Or do you just type "example.com?" Why is that www even necessary?  The "www" part of your domain name is called the subdomain.  The subdomain is critical when setting up Domain Mapping with your Typepad blog.  In your domain registry, the CNAME Record is set for the WWW alias, and is where we recommend adding your Typepad domain name (ie: example.typepad.com) so your name points to your blog. 

Now, there are browsers that will allow a reader to enter your domain name without the "www" and your blog will load.  This is because those browsers are set up to automatically redirect example.com to www.example.com.  But not all browsers do this, such as Google Chrome.   If you want to be sure your readers can get to your blog on any browser by just typing "example.com" without the "www", you can set this up by setting up a Forward with your domain name registry. 

Set Up a Forward Through Typepad

When you purchase your name through Typepad, it is easy to set up a forward for your domain name.  All you need to do is check off the box at Account > Domain Mapping when you are setting up your new blog name:

Set Up a Forward Through a Third-Party

If you purchased a name from a third-party, you will need to refer to their instructions for Forwarding.  Not all registries provide this service so check with them first.   If they do, what you are doing is forwarding example.com to www.example.com - not to your Typepad blog URL.  Here is an example from GoDaddy's Forward feature: 

If you use GoDaddy, we have instructions on how to set up a forward for your name in our Knowledge Base.

If you can't locate the Forward settings on their own, they may be located in the DNS Management section.  Forwards can take a few hours before it starts working, sometimes it takes longer than the mapping itself!  

If you have Domain Mapping set up for your blog, now would be a good time to check if it works without typing "www."

 

Featured Blog: The Mattress Expert

Sleep is very important. Finding the right mattress to ensure a good night sleep can be hard. You have questions and you need answers. Check out The Mattress Experts! They are here to answer your questions about all types of mattresses. Their posts are questions from customers like you looking for the perfect nights rest. With 40 years of experience, The Mattress Experts can help you pick out the right mattress and get you back to a good nights sleep. 

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Can I Map More Than One Domain Name To My Blog?

You got your blog set up and readers are checking it out. You are ready to purchase a domain name so readers can use "www.myawesomeblog.com" instead of the default Typepad domain name.  You got the perfect name and you don't want anyone else to take it so you buy that name as a .com, .net, and .org. The question now is how can you get all of those domain names to direct to your blog?  This can be done through Domain Mapping one name and forwarding the other names. 

Typepad has made it easy to purchase a domain name through your account.  From your Dashboard, click Account > Domain Mapping, and enter the domain name you want to use. Then click Check Availability, and a list of available domains will appear. The name "myawesomeblog.com" is available in all three formats so you snatch them up.  

You can only set up Domain Mapping with one name to point to your blog, so you set up "www.myawesomeblog.com" to be the primary name where your all of your blog links such as permalinks will have the .com name.  One blog cannot have two different sets of permalinks created.  The the .net and .org names you purchased can be forwarded to your .com name through the Domain Forwarding Service.  If you are using a third-party to set up Domain Mapping such as GoDaddy, the steps would be similar as you are just forwarding the second and third names to your primary domain name.

Not only does buying a domain name with different suffixes help for brand identity, it can also help if you want your website to primarily be a .biz or .org. People are so used to typing .com for a website, you don't want to lose them for this oversight.

Have you purchased a domain name for your blog yet? Sign in to your Typepad account and purchase a name today!

Featured Blog: Only A Game

Cyborg, Robot or Human, you will love the philosophical blog Only A Game from Chris Bateman, game designer and outsider philospopher. His articles bring the works of the great philosophers to a wider audience who are into science and technology. In his latest book, The Virtuous Cyborg, he explores the problems with contemporary cyber ethics and exploring our strange relationship with technology from a new angle.

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How To Add An Amazing Background Image

Adding a background image is a great way to help your blog content stand out and reinforce your brand. When you use one of our Design Lab themes, you can use one of our pre-loaded background patterns or add your own background image. Today we are going over how to add your own background image. 

Find the perfect image

We recommend using one of the many free image finders available to you on the web. Some of our favorites are Pexels and Pixabay. Read our post "What You Need to Know about Using Images on Your Blog" to learn how to safely pick an image to use on your blog. 

When looking for the perfect image you want something that will look good repeating. You don't want the seam between images to sand out. You can use a simple wood image, brick image, or grass! Look for images that look good with your brand colors.

Save the image

Once you have the image, you will need to save it to your computer. Follow their instructions on how to save it to your computer.  A good image size to look for is around 2000px wide. 

Add to your Design Lab Background

The steps below work if you are using one of our Design Lab themes. Not using the Design Lab yet? Try changing your theme, or apply it to a test blog!

With few clicks you can change your background image.

1) Click on the Blogs tab, then the name of the blog.

2) Click on the Design tab, then on Style.

3) On the right, click on Background to display your options.

4) Under Pattern, select Upload Custom Image and upload the image you saved.

If you like how it looks in the preview window, save your changes.

Super easy! Now log into your account today to get started! 

Featured Blog: Daily Dose Of Dogs (AKA Cats With Your Coffee)

Daily Dose Of Dogs (AKA Cats With Your Coffee) shares stories from their private, no-kill, animal rescue, Winnie’s Wish Cats Rescue & Shelter. They provide care for homeless dogs, cats, and any animal that needs help before they find their forever home. Get a look inside the daily activities and humor found while working with animals. If you love the blog and want to help them you can donate to their Amazon Wish List or purchase their book Daily Dose Of Dogs (AKA Cats With Your Coffee).

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Edit the Post Permalink

When you write your Post Title, the Permalink is generated automatically using the words in the title. However, your Post Title may be long, or may not be using the keywords needed for SEO. You want to make the URL for your post concise, informative, and include key words to help search engines categorize your post.

Here's an example of a long post title where the Permalink needs to be edited from the default:

My Extremely Fun Time Swimming with Sharks in the Bahamas

The default Permalink would be:

http://example.typepad.com/blog/2018/08/my-extremely-fun-time-swimming-with-sharks-in-the-bahamas.html

A better Permalink would focus on the main topic of the post which is swimming with sharks in the Bahamas, and you could shorten the Permalink to:

http://example.typepad.com/blog/2018/08/swim-with-sharks-bahamas.html

This URL explains what the post is about and includes the keywords - swim, sharks, Bahamas - but isn't too long.

You can edit the Permalink any time before your post goes live. It is important to not change the Permalink after you publish the post as this will break any links which have already been shared.

When composing your post, click the blue Edit button below the Post Title field, update the Permalink, and click Done. Make sure to use dashes instead of spaces to separate keywords in the Permalink.