Can You Change Your Blog Format?

Q: Dear Editor, 
I got so used to the previous website that the present one is a bit of a challenge to navigate. I have a couple of comments that can make my (and other's as well) experience more easy.
 1) Can you provide a direct link on this site to the YFHA's Facebook page URL as well? 
2) Your scroll bar overlaps with the Right tab keys (subscribe, labels, archives etc). So when I have to scroll down, I invariably hit the right tab keys which is a pain in the .....
3) Your SEARCH function is not very user friendly. It does not give all the older posts. It gives only some of the topics? Can you do something about it?
 Thanks, and if my complaints are not valid, kindly ignore. This old man may be asking for more comforts, that is all.

A: Of course your complaints are valid! But before I address the specific points you raised, I need to give you—and all our other readers—a bit of background about our blog and the way it is put together.

We are using a prefab format for our blog that is provided by the Google Blogger software. There are two reasons we are using Google Blogger: 1) it’s completely free (our blog is not monetized so we have no income to pay for web site hosting or a custom format) and 2) it’s very easy to use (we’d rather spend our time writing content than doing HTML programming). Unfortunately, using the prefab format means that we are stuck with certain features (or lack thereof). One day we will create our own web site that has all the features we (and our readers) want, but that will take an investment of time and money we’re not quite ready for. In the meantime, there are a lot of features that we just can’t control from our end. For example, one reader wrote in to ask why we didn’t have a Print function, and the answer is that with the Blogger, you just get what you get.

Obviously the shift from the old format to the new dynamic format was a huge one for our long-time readers. I was especially concerned about the new functionality for subscribing, and for searching for labels and archived posts (see the How to Subscribe and How to Search pages on the blog). But I decided to make the shift because the new format is much cleaner and easier to read, and certain features work much better (including the comments, the ability to share on Facebook and Twitter, and even the Search function, which I’ll discuss below). However, certain functions that used to work in the standard format just don’t work in the dynamic format. For example, the Facebook “badge” that used to work on the old format just doesn’t appear in the dynamic format. (I have done some research and learned that certain Blogger “gadgets” just don’t appear in the dynamic format, even if you have included them in your page layout.)

Now I’m going to address your points one by one:

The Facebook link that used to be on the blog's home page no longer works automatically the way it used to. If there is someone out there who can help me fix this—probably with some custom HTML programming—do let me know! (In the meantime, I have added a direct link to the YFHA Facebook page on the How to Subscribe page as well as at the bottom of this page.)

I’m not sure exactly what you mean by the scroll bar overlapping the right tab keys because I haven’t experienced this problem but it is definitely not something I can control from my end. It may have something to do with the platform you’re on (the operating system) or even the particular browser you are using to visit the site. Obviously you can’t switch operating systems (though perhaps you could upgrade) but you might try a different browser to see if that helps. Shari found a problem she was having was resolved by using Firefox instead of Safari. But without knowing whether you’re on a Macintosh or PC, I can’t help you more than that. Again, if there is anyone out there who can help with this, let me know.

Finally, the Search function is provided by the Blogger and I can’t control how it works. However, I actually think it works better than the old one. My initial instructions in the How To Search page were incorrect (and I have since updated them). Instead of typing the search phrase followed by Return, type your search word or phrase into the box, and as you are typing the phrase, a pop-up window will open that displays the titles of posts that contain that word or phrase.

You can then move your mouse down to the appropriate post title and click on it to open the post. That being said, if you can’t find the older posts you want with the Search box, try using the index (the Label function) as I describe on the How to Search page.

I hope this helps you. Although I have a number of wonderful writers and a wonderful editor assisting me with the contents of the blog, I alone am responsible for the blog’s format. However, as I’m not an HTML programmer, I obviously have my limitations. So I’m open to advice and guidance from anyone who will provide it!

—Nina

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