How to add Google+ Updates Gadget to Blogger

As yet, there is no official "widget" or RSS feed which we can embed in Blogger to display a stream of our recent posts on Google Plus.



Luckily, Google+ to RSS offers a free service enabling us to generate an RSS feed for our personal profiles and pages which we can add to a simple Feed gadget in Blogger.



Take a look at the sidebar to see this technique in action and read on to find out how to add a Google+ updates gadget in your own Blogger site.



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How to add a music player in Blogspot

Since this archived post was written in 2007, web design and Blogger templates have changed immensely. The development of HTML5 and <audio> tags enable us to add music to our Blogspot websites and posts far more simply, and with improved control.



In preparation for explaining how to podcast with Blogger, this tutorial explains how to easily add an HTML5 mp3/audio player to your blog posts or layout. No JavaScript, Flash or plugins are required, and with a fallback for older browsers which don't support the player.



I've even created a simple form to generate basic tags for you! Adding music to your Blogspot site has never been so easy!

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Add a Facebook Invite Friends Link to your Blogger Site

Over at 9Lessons I read a very helpful tutorial to add an "Invite your Facebook Friends" link to a website. I was able to modify this in order to add to a gadget which now appears in the sidebar on all pages of Blogger Buster (beneath the Facebook Like box).

If you click on this link, a box will appear on the page enabling you to invite chosen friends from your Facebook profile to visit Blogger Buster.



In this simple tutorial I'll explain how you can add this functionality to your own Blogger powered blog.

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How to control the Attribution gadget when using the Template Designer

If you are using one of Blogger's new templates, you'll notice an "Attribution" widget which appears at the very bottom of your site. This will contain details of the template designer, a "Powered by Blogger" statement, and possibly attribution for any background images you've added through the Template Designer.



We can add copyright information to this gadget by editing through the Layout page in our dashboard, but by default are unable to change it's position or remove it.



For various reasons, you may want to remove this gadget from your Blogger layout. For example, if you have highly customized your template so it looks nothing like the original design on which it is based, or you would prefer visitors not to know that your site is operated using Blogger's free service.



Since removing the Attribution gadget is not a straightforward customization, I have developed a simple method we can use to remove this gadget and (if you choose) replace it with a gadget of your choosing.



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Adding a Google+ Badge to Blogger (Updating my Blogger Template)

Adding a Google+ badge to our Blogger templates enables readers to easily connect with our Google+ page. This can be achieved in just a few simple steps by adding a Google+ Badge gadget; it's also possible to customize the badge and change the display effect.



As part of updating my Blogger template, I added a badge to the sidebar which enables readers to directly connect to the official Blogger Buster page on Google+. I've documented my methods here for other Blogger users who may find this tutorial useful.





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