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

Feat_cat_header

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. 

Crowd  cheering for Typepad

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. 

Categories

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

Featured Post in Categories

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. 


Top 10 Everything Typepad Posts for 2020

Top 10 Everything Typepad Posts for 2020 Version 2

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.

 

Featured Card Blog Post

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.

 

image from everything.typepad.comWith 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! 

 

Book ShopperDid 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. 

 

image from everything.typepad.comGoogle 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. 

 

image from everything.typepad.comPinterest 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. 

 
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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.
 
 
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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! 
 
 
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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. 
 
 
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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.
 
 
image from everything.typepad.com

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 Monder 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.

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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 support@typepad.com) 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.

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Seen On Typepad: Stitch A Giant Candy Corn

Seen On Typepad

image from davebrethauer.typepad.comSeen 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

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.

Ecwid Store

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 1 store name

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 3 Tell us about yourself

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.

Ecwid Todo list

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

Verify 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. 

Pinterest Step 1 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.

Step 2 ClaimIn 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.

Pinterest Step 3 Select OptionsAdd 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. 

Pinterest Step 4 Submit message

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. 

Pinterest Step 5 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

Pinterest Step 6 ClaimedNow 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.


How To Make Simple Changes So Category Links Stand Out

How To Make Simple Changes So Category Links Stand Out

The Category Module automatically alphabetizes the category names on your blog. By adding a bit of code to the category name you can customize the order seen on your blog. In this post, we'll talk about other ways you can customize your category list. Let's get started! 

Find Your Categories

All your categories are listed in one place. Click on the Blogs tab, then the name of the blog. Select Settings, then Categories to view all your categories. Next to the category name, click on Edit to make any changes. 

Category List

Change Category Order

To update the order add <!--1--> before the name of the category. Save your changes and then go to the next category and add the same thing but change the number to 2.  This will sort your categories to be in a specific order. 

Category Names: 

<!--1-->BBQ Books
<!--2-->BBQ Tools
<!--3-->Favorite BBQ Recipes
<!--4-->BBQ Failures

Change the order of categories

Customize The Links

You can make your links stand out further by customizing the font, color, and style. Using our Design Lab themes, you quickly update the sidebar links on the Style tab. If you are using one of our other design themes, you can use the Custom CSS tab customize. We can show you how. 

Design Lab

From your Design tab, click on the Styles tab. On the right, click on the Sidebar. Here you can customize the color and font of the links to match your branding. 

Quick Tip: If you don't see the Custom CSS tab you will need to upgrade to an Unlimited Plan or higher. 

You can bold or italicize your category links with some CSS code. From the Design tab, click on Custom CSS. Paste in the CSS code below and click on Save Changes. 

Bold: 

.module-categories .module-content a { font-weight: bold; }

Italic

.module-categories .module-content a { font-style: italic; }

Bold and Italic

.module-categories .module-content a { font-weight: bold;font-style: italic; }

Other Themes

Using our other pre-made themes, Magazine theme, or Theme Builder, you can add Custom CSS to change the color and style. From the Design tab, click on Custom CSS. You can add the CSS below to customize.

.module-categories .module-content a { color: #003366; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; }

color: #003366; - Update the hex value to the hex value of the color you want. You can also delete it if you like the current color on your blog.

font-weight: bold; - This will bold the text. You can delete it if you don't want the text to be bold. There are other font weights you can try. Other options are bold, bolder, lighter, and number. Play with the different weights and see what you like the best. 

font-style: italic; - This will italicize your text. You can delete it if you don't want the text to be italic. Another option is oblique. Oblique is a form of type that slants slightly to the right.

Once you are done making the changes, click on Save Changes and view your blog! After you've customized your categories link, share your blog in our comments. We would love to see what you have done!


Quick Tip: How To Add A Quick And Easy Message To Your Comment Form

How To Add A Quick And Easy Message To Your Comment Form

Do you want to let your readers know about your comment policy before they comment? By adding a small bit of CSS code to your Design Lab or Magazine Layout - Featured Cards theme you can add a message over the comment form. If you have comment moderation enabled, for instance, you can let your readers know their comments won't appear right away. Or you may just want to ask for all commenters to submit their name and not a pseudonym.

Custom CSS is a feature available with the Pro Unlimited and higher plans. If you're on a lower plan, you'll need to upgrade

Typepad offers three types of commenting options: the default comments, Typepad Connect , and Disqus comments. The CSS code is slightly different depending on the commenting system you're using.

Not sure which commenting system you have on your blog? There's an easy way to check. Click on the Blogs tab, then the name of the blog. Select the Settings tab, then Comments. Along the top, it'll either say "Typepad Connect is currently enabled for the blog", "Typepad's default commenting system is currently enabled for the blog", or "Disqus Comments Enabled". Once you know the commenting system your blog is using, you can use the correct code below.

Please note, if you're using another 3rd-party commenting system, the below code will not apply.

Here's what our example will look like: 

Comment exampleFor the default commenting system, you can use the CSS code below:

#comments-open-login:before {
content: "Comments for this blog are held for moderation before they are published to the blog.";
display: block;
margin: 10px auto;
text-align: center;
padding: 5px;
border: 1px solid #ccc;
background-color: #f9f9f9;
}

For Typepad Connect comments, you can use the CSS code below:

#comments-signin:before {
content: "Comments for this blog are held for moderation before they are published to the blog.";
display: block;
margin: 10px auto;
text-align: center;
padding: 5px;
border: 1px solid #ccc;
background-color: #f9f9f9;
}

For Disqus comments, you can use the CSS code below:

#disqus_thread:before {
content: "Comments for this blog are held for moderation before they are published to the blog.";
display: block;
margin: 10px auto;
text-align: center;
padding: 5px;
border: 1px solid #ccc;
background-color: #f9f9f9;
}

Within the CSS, you can edit the following attributes:

  • The content attribute is where you'll include the text you want to display above the comment form.
  • The margin can be increased or decreased to increase the space around the note.
  • The text-align attribute can be set to center, left, or right.
  • The padding around the text can be increased or decreased. Since our example includes a shaded box, the padding determines distance between the text and the outside of the box.
  • The border settings can be changed too. If you don't want a border, remove this attribute entirely.
  • The color code for the background-color can be adjusted. If you don't want to have a background color, you can remove this attribute.

You can also include other attribute snips — for example: font-weight: 600; — will make the text of your message bold. You can find other formatting attributes in the article on styling the post title with CSS.

After you customize the CSS specific to your comment type, go to Design > Custom CSS, enter the CSS code in the text field, then click Save Changes to update your site.

Do you already use CSS to insert a message to your readers above the comments? If so, share your tips to make it stand out or let us know in the comments how well it's working for you!