In this tutorial you will learn how to place a horizontal row of menu items above your first post in your Blogger (Blogspot) website. This process requires adding both a small amount of code to your Blogger template and a HTML/Javascript widget to your layout. This tutorial is suitable for Blogger (Blogspot) webmasters of all abilities.
Navigating a website using a horizontal menu is a traditional way to get around. On this site for example you can see that I have tweaked Blogger to create a row of horizontal text links for easier navigation of popular pages and labels. Follow the step by step instructions below and you will be able to add a customised menu of horizontal links to your Blogspot blog as seen here.
Steps to Add a Horizontal Link Menu Above First Post
1. In Blogger navigate to Layout > Edit HTML
2. Locate the header style sheet section which will be notated as
/* Blog Header */
3. Copy and paste the following code into your template under the header section taking care not to overwrite any existing code and to include the end bracket. It is probably best to paste into the bottom of the header style sheet section so that it is easier to change the code if necessary.
/* Blog Header */
#newnavbar ul li{
font-size:100%;
list-style-type: none;
display:inline;
padding:0px;
margin:10px;
border:0px solid;
}
#newnavbar li a{
color:#335577;
}
#newnavbar li a:visited {
color: #990066;
}
#newnavbar li a:hover {
color: #99FFFF;
background: #CCFFFF;
}
4. Click on Save Template
5. Navigate to Layout > Page Elements
10. Click on Save
11. Click on View Blog to see your new menu in action
Steps to Add a Horizontal Link Menu to Header
If you prefer you can add your horizontal link menu to your header instead of directly above your first post. In this case follow the steps below:
1. Follow steps 1 to 4 as for menu above first post
2. Navigate to Layout > Edit HTML
3. No need to check Expand Widget Templates
4. Locate the beginning of the body section which will be tagged as
<body>5. Find the line:
<b:section class='header' id='header' maxwidgets='1'>6. Change maxwidgets from 1 to 3.
7. Click on Save Template
8. Navigate to Layout > Page Elements
9. Click on Add a Gadget in the Header area.
10.Select HTML/Javascript from the menu
11.Copy and Paste the following code into the Content box. There is no need to add a title. You can alter the code to suit your own needs depending on the links required.
<div id='newnavbar'>
<ul>
<a href="Home Page URL"><Home></a></li>
<li><a href="URL of Your Blogger Profile Page">About Me</a></li>
<li><a href="URL of Any Label You Choose">Label of Your Choice</a></li>
<li><a href="URL of Any Label You Choose">Label of Your Choice</a></li>
<li><a href="URL of Any Label You Choose">Label of Your Choice</a></li>
</ul></div>To add a link to a label, as I did on this site, in this case Blogger Tutorials, you would enter the following:
<a href="http://blogknowhow.blogspot.com/search/label/Blogger%20Tutorials">Blogger Tutorials</a>12. Click on Save Template
13. Click on View Blog to view the new horizontal menu in your header
Tips and Troubleshooting
To add this horizontal navigation menu to the area below the header do the following:
- Login in to Blogger
- Navigate to Layout > Edit HTML
- Find the following lines of code:
<div id='crosscol-wrapper' style='text-align:center'>
<b:section class='crosscol' id='crosscol' showaddelement='no'/>
</div> - Change showaddelement to yes
<div id='crosscol-wrapper' style='text-align:center'>
<b:section class='crosscol' id='crosscol' showaddelement='yes'/>
</div> - To left align the menu change text-align:center to text-align:left
- Paste the code in step 3 of Steps to Add a Horizontal Link Menu Above First Post directly before the following:
]]></b:skin>
</head> - Save Template
- Navigate to Layout > Page Elements
- Click on Add a Gadget in the new area enabled below header
- Select HTML/Javascript from the menu
- Copy and paste the code in step 8 of Steps to Add a Horizontal Link Menu Above First Post into the content area of the gadget and change links to your own requirements
- Save gadget and select View Blog to see your menu in action
This tutorial has shown you how to add a horizontal links navigation menu to a Blogger blog (Blogspot blog) either in the header itself, directly above the very first post or in the area between the header and first post. In adding a navigation menu to your blog you improve the user friendliness of your blog by helping your visitors find information and posts more readily. Any questions please don't hesitate to ask.
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