Everything Typepad

Everything You Want To Know About Images For Your Blog

Today, we are going to talk about the different file types, recommended image sizes, and image SEO.  What makes a great image for your blog? That’s an easy and complex question to answer. Your images are the supporting tools for your words. You want to make sure you provide the best images for your words. 

File Types

In Typepad, you can upload a JPEG, PNG, and GIF. Each file has different strengths and should be used in different instances. 

 

JPEG/JPG: Joint Photographic Experts Group

 

This format will allow you to display millions of colors. This is an excellent format for images with lots of colors and is complex. This file can be compressed into smaller files without losing its clarity. Smaller files have less impact on your blog's load time. This file is great for real-world images, images with complex colors, and if the image has shading light and dark. 

 

PNG: Portable Network Graphics 

 

This format is great for transparent images. It allows you to create a clear and crisp image that is transparent. You can place that image (like a logo) on top of other images or backgrounds. PNGs are also great for screenshots. The text is clearer and transitions between dark and light colors are crisper. 

 

GIF: Graphics Interchange Format

 

This format is used for animated images. They are like very short videos but in image form. These files are very large and should be used sparingly. They can cause longer load times for the page. If you want to find some great gifs, check out Giphy. Once you have selected to best GIF you can add it to your post. 

Image Size

The size of your image will depend on where you want to put your image. Images for the web are made up of pixels. These are very small squares that make up an image (if you zoom into an image, you can see them). When describing the size of an image, we use pixels (px).

 

When you insert an image into Typepad, we compress it so it will load quickly on your site. You want to make sure the image is larger than the area you are inserting so when it is compressed it will not lose any quality. We’re going to break down your blog into different sections and give you recommendations for image sizes. The examples shown are from a Design Lab theme, but this can be used as a guide for other themes. 

Banner Image

This image goes above your blog posts. It’s the images that can showcase your blog logo and name. You have two options, the banner can go the width of the blog area or the width of the browser. 

 

Recommend image size for a blog-width banner.

Width: 1140px       Height: 250px

 

 

Recommend image size for a browser-width banner.

Width: 1400px       Height: 250px

 

Sidebar

When selecting your blog's layout, you can add sidebars to either the left, right, or split on either side. The sidebar will appear on all blog posts and pages on your blog. The sidebar is a great place to display information about yourself, your blog, and your ads. We have a module called Sidebar Image that you can use to insert your images into the sidebar. 

 

When creating an image for your sidebar you want to make sure the width is correct. We recommend a width of 500px wide and an auto-adjusted height to keep the image proportional. If you want to create a profile image, we recommend 500px by 500px. 

Post/Page

When composing a blog post or page for your blog the size of the image you want to use depends on what you want the post to look like. We go over some popular image placements and the recommended sizes below. 

 

Header/Featured Image

 

A header or featured image is an image that appears before the text of your blog post. It can reiterate or enhance your post title. You see this in Everything Typepad blog posts. The image size recommended for your header/featured image is 1000px wide and 350px high. 

 

 

Infographic

 

Infographics are visual ways to provide information to your readers. You can add graphs and small text to present information to your readers. These will be larger image files so we recommend you use the JPG file format as it will be compressed to help it load faster. When designing your infographic we recommend keeping it between 600px to 1000px wide and no more than 1800 high (or long). These should provide basic points about a topic, if you want to expand on the points, write them out in the blog post. Check out how we've used an infographic in our post 25 Mobile Design Principles from Google. 

 

Wrapping Text Around an image

 

For smaller images, or if you want to reduce the space in your post, use our text-wrapping feature. This will wrap your text around an image. If the image is too large, you will have a small sliver of text next to your image and it will look out of place. If you want to wrap text around your image we recommend staying around 250px wide and keeping the height proportional. 

 

 

Full-Size Image

 

Full-size images are great ways to break up a large piece of text in your post with a large image. You can use this to showcase visual examples to better explain your idea or show off your images. We recommend the width of the image be around 1000px wide and an auto-adjusted height to remain proportional. 

 

Image SEO

Image SEO will help your images and posts be found in search engines. Here are some tips to help your images SEO and get your content found in search engines. 

 

Image Name

 

What is the image 73q7478303437.png about? If you don’t know neither will the search engines. Make sure to give your image a name anyone could understand. For example, name the image Me_at_Santa_Monica_Beach.png so search engines can pick out keywords from the name. 

 

You can rename the image before you upload it into your post or you can make the change in Typepad. From the Compose page, double click on the image. In the pop up you will see the name of the image in the Description box, you can update this box to be more SEO friendly. This will add the description to the image title and alt tag. 

 

 

Describe The Image

 

Like you, search engines look for clues about an image in the text around it. Make sure the text around your image talks about the image or uses the same verbiage as the image name and alt tag. 

 

These helpful tips apply if you create images for your blog or find images from free image sites. If you find images from the internet, check out Blogger Beware - What You Need to Know about Using Images on Your Blog.   This shares tips on how to safely use images found on the web. 

 

Images are a great way to visually showcase your ideas and thoughts. What are some of your tips to help your image stand out? 

Need New Pinterest Followers? Showcase Pinterest On Your Blog

Is your blog on Pinterest? Let your readers know by showcasing your Pinterest profile or a popular Pinterest board on your blog. Pinterest makes it very easy to create a widget to add to different areas of your blog. Let us show you how!

Creating your Pinterest Widget

Pinterest has a Widget Builder that allows you to customize their widget so it fits on your blog. You can showcase your Pinterest profile or a popular board.

First, you'll need to get your Pinterest profile or board URL. To get your profile URL, log into your Pinterest account and click on the profile image (top right). The URL that shows in the address bar is the URL to your profile page. If you want to get the URL to a popular board, click on the board from your profile, then copy the URL in the address bar.

Now you are ready to go to the Pinterest Widget Builder. Select Profile if you want to link to your Pinterest profile page or click on Board if you want to link to a popular board. Add the URL, then select how you want the widget to appear. 

Pinterest offers you different sizes to choose from. This allows you to create the widget that works best for your blog. If you want to fit the widget on your sidebar, select Square or Sidebar. 

Square: This will add a small square to your sidebar. It will show the first couple of pins on your profile or board.

 

Sidebar: This is longer than the square. It goes down the length of your sidebar. This widget is thinner than our sidebar and may look out of place in your blog. You can adjust the width of the widget by changing the width in the code. 

Code to look for: data-pin-board-width="150"

Change the 150 to make the board wider to fit your sidebar. The example below used "300".

 

Header: This is a horizontal rectangle widget that would be great in the ad module in Design Lab themes. 

 

Create your own: If you know the exact size you want the widget to appear on your blog, you can enter the width you want the individual image pins, the width, and the height of the widget to add to your blog. 

Now that you have customized the widget, you'll see the code you can add to your blog. 

Add To Blog

With the code from Pinterest, it's time to add it to your Typepad blog. First, you need to add the pinit.js code to your head module. (Head module is only available to Unlimited plans and higher.)

Click on the Blogs tab, then the name of the blog. Click on the Design tab, then Head. Paste in the pinit.js code Pinterest provides then click on Save Changes. 

Now you are ready to add the widget code to your sidebar. Click on the Design tab, then Content. Under Modules, select Embed Your Own HTML then click on Add This Module. Give the module a label (like Pinterest Widget) then paste in the code from Pinterest. Click on OK, then Save Changes. Now your profile or board will show on your blog. 

Did you know you can also verify your website with Pinterest and add Pinterest icons to your images? Once you are done adding all things Pinterest to your blog, share it with us. We would love to see it! 

Easily Create A Book From Your Popular Blog

Writing a blog is no different than writing a book. There are many platforms that will take your blog and turn it into a book. Books can make great gifts for friends and family. We did a little research and found two platforms that you can use to easily create a book from your Typepad blog. 

Blog2Print

Blog2Print will log into your Typepad account and easily export your blog posts into their platform. When you click on Sign In, select Typepad and create your Blog2Print account. Once in Blog2Print, click on Get Started and select Typepad. 

Here you will add your Typepad username and password. Then you will see a list of all your blogs. Select the blog you want and customize your options. Click on Preview after you're done customizing. In the preview window, you can flip through each page to make sure it looks correct and select your book cover options. 

The Blog2Print pricing depends on how big you want your book to be, how many pages you want, and what you choose for the cover. 

Pixxibook

Pixxibook lets you enter your blog URL and they will grab all the posts from your blog. 

After they gather all your posts you can customize what is shown in the book. You can narrow it down by date or by category. Customize the cover of your book and add tweaks to how the posts are shown. On the right, you will see your total and when you are done, you can purchase your book. Pixxibook’s pricing is based on the number of pages in your blog. Once you are done, you can purchase and ship your blog around the world. 

Have you created a book from your blog? Tell us what program you used and if you would recommend it. 

Featured Category Post: an excellent new way to highlight categorized content!

We're here to announce a brand new feature we're sure everyone will love! Now you can select a featured post for a specific category. 

When readers click to view a category page, they can see the featured post before the other posts in that category. Create an introductory post that explains more about the topic or information from a recent post you want to highlight.

Let's get started

First, make sure the post is added to a category. From the Compose page, under Categories, select the categories for your post. 

Next, scroll down to the Feature Post In Categories section and select the category you want the post to be featured in. 

Pro Tip: You can select more than one category to associate with the featured post.

Once you're done, you can save or publish the post. When you go to the category page, you'll see this post before the others in the category. 

Categories are a great way to help readers find the information they're looking for in one easy place. Don't forget to check back regularly, or keep an eye on our social media, for tips on how to make these featured posts stand out from one category to the next.

Have you created a featured post for your category page? Share it with us in the comments. 

Featured Blog: FutureLawyer

Recently declared the most prolific law blog of 2020, we are happy to have FutureLawyer as a Typepad blogger.  Richard Georges practices law in Pinellas County, Florida, specializing in real property, corporation, wills, trusts and estates law.  He is also an author and a poet. FutureLawyer focuses on the use of computers and technology in practicing law.

Profile | Twitter

Top 10 Everything Typepad Posts for 2020

2020 has been a memorable year. Some great memories and some not so good memories. The good news is, like you, we blogged our way through it. While looking over our Google Analytics, we have to say, we shared some really great content. Here are our Top 10 Everything Typepad posts from 2020.

 

At the beginning of 2020, we released a new magazine theme called Featured Cards. This new theme is a content-driven layout that focused on the ability to beautifully display text and photos in a way that was clean and organized.

 

With PayPal you can easily accept payment from your readers. Learn how to add buttons to sell products or subscriptions to your blog. Turn your blog into a side hustle and pay them bills! 

 

Did you know we accept guest bloggers? We love to have our Typepad bloggers write about their experience and blogging knowledge. The Book Shopper wrote this great piece about how his blog is his own archive. 

 

Google allows you to create great photo albums to organize your memories. We have a way for you to share those albums with your readers too! Embed your album and show off your adventures. 

 

Pinterest is a popular social media platform that can be a great tool for reaching new readers. Make sure your site is verified with Pinterest so they know the information is from a trusted source. 

 

2020 was the year we rolled out a top request — having a store within your blog! We integrated Ecwid to make it easier to merge your blog and shop content for readers to access.

 

 

We know, you don't want to think about cleaning right now; that's for Spring time! This last Spring we had a great list to help you start cleaning up your blog so it is ready for 2021! 

 

 

Social media is a great place to interact with your readers. Make it easier for readers to find you on social media with buttons that share which services you're active on. We provide 3 different ways to add social media links to your blog. 

 

 

We know it can be stressful when you visit your blog and it doesn't load. The most common mistake for a blog not loading is when your domain is missing a Forward to the non-www domain. In this post we showed you how to set a Forward so it's one less thing to worry about.

 

 

By adding a small bit of CSS, you can add a message over your comment section. Let your readers know about your comment policy or rules for your blog's comment section. 

And there you have it! Our best Typepad posts! If you have Google Analytics you can find your most viewed pages and share with your readers. If you don't have Google Analytics, now is a great time to add it so you can do this for 2021!

 

 

Get what you need with our Cyber Monday Sale!

Cyber Monday is traditionally about buying presents for friends and family. Get something for yourself too! Save money on your Typepad account and domain!  

Yearly And Monthly Discount

Save 25% when you prepay for one year!

Use discount code CYBERPADYEAR2020 and receive 25% off when you pay for one year. Valid until Sunday, Dec 6th, 2020.

Save 50% for 3 months when you pay monthly!

Use discount code CYBERPADMONTH2020 and receive 50% off your next 3 months. Valid until Sunday, Dec 6th, 2019.

*Discount cannot be used with any other discounts. Only available for Plus, Unlimited, or Premium Plans.

Apply Your Discount Code

From your dashboard, click on the Account tab, then go to Billing Info. Click on Update Payment Method and put in your discount code. Scroll down and save changes. This will apply the discount to your next yearly or monthly bill.

Don't see the box to enter your discount code? Let us know! Create a Help Ticket (Help > New Ticket or email [email protected]) and let us know what discount to add.

Save Money On Your Domain!

We are offering an amazing discount on popular, top-level domains. Until December 31st, 2020, you'll pay what we pay for all .com, .net, .org, and .blog domains! You can enjoy this discount when purchasing a new domain or renewing a current domain.

Top-Level Domains

.com
$11.99 now $8.89

.net
$12.71 now $12.21

.org
$12.71 now $12.59

.blog 
$29.99 now $24.99

To purchase a domain, click on the Account tab, then Domain Mapping. Type in your domain then select a Top Level Domain from the drop-down. Click on Check Availability. You can purchase the domain if it's available. If not, try another version of the domain name.

Once the domain is purchased, you will need to apply it to the blog you want.

Already purchased your domain? Renew your domain and get this great deal. You can renew for up to 9 years to get the most out of this discount.

This pricing is only available until Saturday, December 31st 2020.

 

 

 

Seen On Typepad: Stitch A Giant Candy Corn

Seen on Typepad highlights new and interesting posts from our community of Typepad bloggers, enjoy!

Add rows of white, orange and yellow floss to the Stitched Tree die for a giant candy corn to tower over two little ghosts.  Hi, happy weekend...Jean Okimoto here with my last Halloween 2020 card - let's use a winter die for a fun fall card.

Read more at Outside The Box >>

Quickly Create Your Store With Ecwid

We've integrated Ecwid! A popular e-commerce platform, Ecwid offers multiple plans for all sizes of businesses. You can get started with any plan (even free!) to launch your shop and, what's more, we've made it super simple to integrate it into your Typepad blog. Join our Beta team to get early access to Ecwid.

Now, let's go through the process together.

To get started, you'll need to create an Ecwid account, which you can begin by browsing to Blog > Settings > Ecwid. Click on Create your own store at Ecwid to be redirected and start the process.

The Ecwid login page will show in a new browser tab. Select Create new Ecwid account to start your new account. First, you'll be asked to enter your name, email address, and password. Your email address will be used as your username.  Now, there are 4 steps to finish setting up your Ecwid account. 

Step 1: Give your store a name, select your country, and currency. 

Step 2: Enter your business' physical address. If you don't have a company address yet, please enter an address from where you'll be shipping your orders. 

Step 3: Tell Ecwid about yourself. They want to know about your experience selling products, what type of product you're selling, and if you're selling for someone else. 

Step 4: Tell Ecwid about your website. They want to know if you have a website and with which service. Currently, Typepad is not listed. You can select Other, then enter Typepad into the box. 

Congratulations! You've created your Ecwid account. Now you'll need to add your products into Ecwid. 

In Ecwid, you will see a To-Do list. Part of the To-Do list is adding your product to your account. Click on Add your products or services and follow their instructions. Once you are done adding your products you're ready to add your store to your blog.

Click on the Dashboard link of your Ecwid account. At the bottom of the page you'll find your Store ID. Copy this number to be used in Typepad. 

In your Typepad account, go back to the Ecwid section (Blog > Settings > Ecwid). Under Already an Ecwid user? paste in your Store Id and click on Save Changes. 

Next, click on Create Store Page in my Blog. Typepad will create a page for you titled Store. You can add text to tell people more about what you're selling.

NOTE: You won't see the products you added on the Compose Page or Preview, only when you publish the page. 

Share your store on your blog by adding it to your navigation bar or sidebar with a fun image. 

Now that you've created and integrated your store, share the link with us in the comments! We'd love to see (and maybe purchase) what you're selling!

Verify Your Blog With Pinterest

Pinterest is a popular social media platform. If you're familiar with Pinterest, you've likely spent an afternoon or more (we won't judge) dreaming about and pinning future projects. If you're on Pinterest, take a moment and make sure your blog is verified.

Not on Pinterest, what are you waiting for? Create your Pinterest Business account today. Once your account is set up, easily share it with your readers by adding a board or your profile to your blog sidebar. Make it easy for readers to share your posts on their Pinterest boards by adding a Save button to your images. When you verify your blog with Pinterest you get access to more analytics to inform your strategy on Pinterest. A verified blog also shows a small globe icon that appears next to your URL on your Pinterest profile. Readers can be assured they're viewing pins from a reliable source. 

There're two ways to verify your blog with Pinterest: add HTML tags; or upload an HTML file. Today we'll walk you through how to verify your blog each way. 

Log into your Pinterest Business account, click on the down arrow on the top right. Then click on Settings. 

Now click on the Claim tab. Under Claim your website, enter your  blog domain. Don't enter the www, only your domain like in their example.

In the pop-up you're given the option to Add HTML tags or upload an HTML file. Below you'll see the steps for both options.

Add HTML Tags

Select Add HTML and some code will show up in a box. Copy the code and add it to your Head module in Typepad. You need the unlimited plan or higher to have access to the Head module.

In a new tab, log into your Typepad account. Click on the Blogs tab, then the name of the blog. Select the Design tab, then Head on the left. Paste in your code from Pinterest and click on Save Changes. 

Now go back to Pinterest and click on the red Next button. The next pop-up will confirm you have added the code to your head module. Click on Submit. 

Now Pinterest will review your blog and email you once it's approved. This can take up to 24 hours. 

Upload HTML File

Select Upload HTML file and then click on Download. 

Save the file to your computer. Don't change the name or anything about the file. We recommend you save it to your desktop so you can easily find it. 

Open a new tab and log into your Typepad account. In Typepad go to Library > File manager. What you do next will depend on your domain. If you are using your example.typepad.com URL you will upload the file to your Home folder. The Home folder is the default folder when you go to the File Manager. On the top right, click on Choose file and select the Pinterest file from your computer. Then click on upload. 

If you have a domain mapped to your blog, you want to add the Pinterest file to the blog folder. From File Manager, click on the specific blog folder, then upload the Pinterest file to that folder. 

Pro Tip: Not sure what blog folder to look for? Click on Blogs > Name of blog > Settings. Next to Blog Folder you will see the name of the folder. This is the folder name you're looking for under File Manager. 

In Pinterest, click on the Next button and then Submit to claim your blog with Pinterest. Pinterest will review your blog and email you once it's approved. This can take up to 24 hours

Once your blog is claimed you will see a green check-mark next to the domain in Pinterest

Now you're verified with Pinterest! We'd love to see how you're using Pinterest, so drop your Pinterest board links in the comments below.