How To Use Google Adwords To Increase Blogger Blog Traffic

how-to-use-google-adwords-in-blogger-101helper

As far as I am concerned with blogging, Google Adwords is the only ad network which I prefer best to advertise a blogger blog. Although I get my whole traffic from search engines but in the beginning I used Google Adwords to promote my blog. You can also use Google Adwords to promote your blog and help it to start running. 


Why Google Adwords?

Only few of us know how to use Google adwords and its good for blogger because of its policy which is to pay only when you get clicks. It means you don't have to pay a fixed amount to advertise your blog but you choose your own budget and also pay per click amount. Moreover if you don't get clicks and your site is against Google Adword's policy you will get your money back. It has tremendous features which makes it better than other advertising networks.


Payment Methods:


- Credit Or Debit card.

- Bank Account.

Mobile App:




Stay up to date about your ad campaign clicks and impressions via smart phone app(Andoid/iphone). Just go to your phone's app store and download Google adwords app. Login by using your blogger account and stay updated about your campaign as well as keep full control over your account from your phone.

How To Use Google Adwords For Blogger Blog?


Well it seems that using Google Adwords is very difficult to understand but it isn't so. Even a beginner can start promoting his blog with it, all you need is a way to pay and follow this tutorial. So lets begin, follow below steps to start promoting your blog through Google Adwords.


Step 1: Go to blogger dashboard and navigate to Campaigns.



how-to-use-google-adwords-in-blogger-101helper

Step 2: Click on Start Now.



Advertise-blogger-blog-101helper

Step 3: Wait for the page to load and refresh it if its not showing anything.


Step 4: Type your Email, Select your country, Select your time zone and your currency(in which you will pay for advertising).



advertise-blogger-blog

After selecting desired options click on save and continue to proceed away. Congratulations! your adwords account has been created.




How To Create My First Ad Campaign In Google Adwords?

Read and follow below steps to create your first campaign and start promoting your blog/website.


Step 1: Click on Create Your First Campaign.




Step 2: Give a title to your campaign, Select the type of ads either Standard or All features, Choose networks and devices(on which ads will show up e.g computer, tablets, mobile etc).




Step 3: Scroll down the page and move to Locations, here you have to choose the countries in which you would like to show your ads. Choose All the countries or your own country or if you want to target specific country then choose Let me select. If you choose Let me select then type the name of the country in the search box below and select it.


After location you have another option below "Languages" so check the languages in which you would like to show your ads. Be sure that the languages you select aren't only languages but these languages will decide that on which Google domain your ads will appear. 


Say that you choose English, now your ads will be shown on the Google domains which have English language e.g Google.co.uk, Google.com, Google.pk. 


It doesn't mean that your ads will not be shown in the countries you choose. 



how-to-use-google-adwords-blogger-tutorial

Step 4: In step 4 there are three things that you have to deal with, one is to choose a bid strategy, budget for your ads and other is to ad extension to your ads.


Choose Basic options in bid strategy because Advanced options are difficult to understand.


- In bid strategy area you have two options:

  1. Adwords will set my bids to help maximize clicks within my target budget.
  2. I'll manually set my bids for clicks.
Choose I'll manually set my bids for clicks because if you let Google to choose bids for you then you will get more and more traffic but have to pay high rates.

how-to-set-bid-in-google-adwords-101helper
How to set bids in Google Adwords?

After choosing I'll manually set my bids for clicks you will have two options:

  1. Default bid.
  2. Budget.
In the default bid type the rate which you will pay for each click(PPC).

Tip: For a quick boost in traffic while spending lowest amount set $0.02 as default bid.

In budget area type $1 or $2 no matter what you type but it is just a limit in which you will pay Google Adwords. For example if you set a budget of $1 and default bid $0.02 then you will get 20 clicks for 1 dollar and after that your ad will stop running because your daily budget is consumed. If you don't get 20 clicks in a day then your remaining budget will be used next.

What Is Ad Extension And How To Use It?



ad-extension-google-adwords-blogger-101helper

Ad extension is an optional feature to include relevant business info with your ads e.g location, sitelinks, call info.


So if you want to use this feature just check any of the given option and follow instructions to proceed away. 


Step 5: Click on Save and continue and you have successfully created your first campaign now its time to create an ad group which will include you ads so follow next step.


Step 6: Give a name to your ad group and below it design your ad look. You can see a preview of your ad on the page.



how-to-create-ad-in-google-adwords

Step 7: Scroll down and write your keywords in the given text area as shown in below photo. Write 10-20 keywords on after other.



how-t-add-keywords-in-google-adwords-101helper

Step 8: After writing keywords click on Save and continue to billing as shown in below image:



how-to-set-keywords-in-blogger

Setting Up Billing Settings In Google Adwords:


Step 9: Select your country and click on Continue.



set-payment-settings-in-google-adwords-blogger-101helper

Step 10: Select account type as individual and fill up your info. E.g your name, address, phone number etc and scroll down the page.



billing-settings-in-blogger-google-adwords

Step 11: Select Automatic payments in How you pay option and the payment method is chosen in step 9(you can pay with either credit or debit card or by bank account depending on your country).




Fill up all your info carefully and choose your billing language also.


Step 12: Check the Yes, I agree the above terms and conditions and click on complete sign up.



how-to-signup-google-adwords

Congratulations! you are done successfully. You can read more about Google adwords below e.g how to create more campaigns or edit the existing one, how to change billing info and account info and also how to cancel your account any time.


How To Make Changes In Settings?


Although payment settings and other settings are configured and saved at the time of setting up account but later you can change your payment as well as account settings. To change your account settings just click on the settings button on the top-right-corner of the page.



To create more ads and ad-groups just navigate to campaigns and click on  +CAMPAIGN 

I hope you like this post if you have any question ask me in comments or contact me. Follow through social networks and subscribe to Newsletter for E-mail notifications about new posts. Share this post with others and help me spread my blog. 

Search Tags: How to Use Google Adwords, Google adwords help, Google adwords for blogger, Step by step tutorial Google adwords, Increase traffic Google adwords,Get Google Adword's tips,Advertise blog low rates,101Helper blogging tutorials


Customize Blogger EU Cookies Notification Bar

Blogger EU Cookies NoticeAll blogspot users are recently informed in their dashboards that European Union (EU) laws require all publishers to give EU visitors information about cookies used on their blogs. For that reason Blogger team has automatically added a notice bar on all blogs to help meet these regulations. The notice lets visitors know about Google's use of certain Blogger and other cookies used on these blogs, including Google Analytics and AdSense cookies. It is a publisher's responsibility to ensure that the Notification bar must be clearly visible on the blog and must not be disabled in any case using CSS or JavaScript unless the publisher is already displaying a custom bar notifying users about the use of cookies on his site.

EU Cookies notice in Dashboard

Will Blogger Show The notice on Custom Domains also?

Of course it will!

Note that all blogspot blogs which are using the default .blogspot.com Domains ( country-code Top Level Domain or ccTLD) or custom domains (such as .com, .net, .org etc.) will automatically show the following sticky Notice at the top of the page when a user visits that blog from a browser in a European Country:

This site uses cookies from Google to deliver its services, to personalise ads and to analyse traffic. Information about your use of this site is shared with Google. By using this site, you agree to its use of cookies.Learn More Got it

The message will disappear when the user clicks Got it.

Is it shown on all Country Specific URLs ccTLD?

It will be shown only to visitors from European Union associated countries like Italy, France, UK, Denmark, Sweden, Greece, Germany etc.

You won't see the notice outside of the EU.

How to see the Notice if you are Outside European Union?

To see the notice if you’re outside of the EU, view your blog and change the country code, for example blogspot.it,  blogspot.fr or blogspot.co.uk.

If you use a custom domain, you can use a EU IP Proxy address to browser your site. A Simple trick is to add the following string parameter just after your custom domain:

.prx.gb.teleport.to

Like in our case to visit mybloggertricks.com in united kingdom we will type the following URL in address bar:

http://www.mybloggertricks.com.prx.gb.teleport.to

Clicked the 'Got it' button and now you can not see the notice bar again?

Use the Netherlands proxy and it will appear again!  Make sure you don't click got it this time else you will have to delete your browser cookies to make it appear again :)

.prx.us.teleport.to

Can We Hide or Disable the EU Cookies Notice?

Yes you can but only if you are already displaying a custom message using custom script on Top of your blog which informs users about the use of cookies on your site. If you are not using any such script to inform readers about cookies then you are obliged to display the Blogger Default notice instead. You must not choose to avoid informing readers about the use of Cookies on your blog. Doing such may cause your blog to get banned.

If you are already using a custom script to inform readers about Cookies used by 3rd part services on your blog and the message clearly links to your Privacy Statement page then you can surely choose to disable the default notice by add the following script just above </head> tag inside your template

<script type="text/javascript">

  cookieChoices = {};

</script>

How Do the Notice Look Like?

You must not try to hide this notice bar like we normally hide the Blogger navbar. If in case you have not hidden the blogger navbar then the message will look like this:

EU cookies notice when navbar is enabled

If you have chosen to hide the navbar then the message will display like this:

EU cookies notice when navbar hidden

Lets Customize the EU Cookies Notice Bar!

Before: A Long Textual string with dull colors.

Default EU cookie Notice bar

After: A Neat and cleaner message with custom colors.

custom EU cookie Notice bar

The default Notice is a long lengthy text with dull colors, in order to make sure to display a custom Short message to your readers that may also match your Template color theme then follow the steps below:

1 Go To blogger > Template > Backup your template

2 Click Edit HTML

3 Paste the following code just below ]]></b:skin> tag

<!--Custom EU Cookies Notice by STCnetwork.org-->
<script type="text/javascript">
  cookieOptions = {
    msg: "This site uses cookies to help deliver services. By using this site, you agree to the use of cookies.",
    link: "https://www.blogger.com/go/blogspot-cookies",
    close: "Got it!",
    learn: "Learn More" };
</script>
    <style>.cookie-choices-info {z-index:999999!important;background-color:#333333!important;border-bottom: 1px solid #6FC415
        box-shadow: 1px 2px 2px #000!important; padding:3px 0px!important;}.cookie-choices-info .cookie-choices-text{font-size:14px !important; color:#dddddd!important;}.cookie-choices-info .cookie-choices-button{  background-color: #6FC415!important;border-radius: 1px!important;box-shadow: 2px 3px 2px #000!important; padding:6px!important;text-transform: none!important;}</style>

You can make the following customizations if you want:

  • Replace the black bolded text with any message you may like.
  • If you want you can replace the yellow highlighted link with your Custom Privacy Statement page else you can leave it as it is because the default link points to Blogger's Privacy page for Cookies info.
  • To change Notice Bar background color edit #333333
  • To change the green border that appears at the bottom of the bar edit #6FC415
  • To change the background color of Buttons edit #6FC415
  • To change the font color edit #dddddd

 

4 Save your template and you are all done!

Need Help?

Let me know if you need any further clarification or help. We have also started a discussion related to this topic at our Forum where you can interact with more bloggers to help you setup the cookie bar for you. Join the discussion by clicking here.

I hope you are now more safe than before. Wish you all a safe blogging journey. Peace and blessings buddies! :)

Create a Mobile Responsive Multi-level Drop Down Menu

responsive menu for blogger blogs

The biggest hurdle while creating a Fluid layout is to convert your Static header menu into a responsive one. You need to replace your wide desktop menu with an auto-adjusting mobile menu that must match your webpage color theme and should also contain enough room for both your Navigation links and Search Form. It thus can play a two-in-one role. Today we will create a jQuery menu with Toggle effect to slide up and slide down the Link list. The Menu container will also contain a search functionality and will support nesting of as many child lists as you wish to create. Our previously shared Responsive menu lacked few features which we have covered in this menu. It is therefore an advanced Multi-level Drop Down menu with several important features which are:

  1. It is Fully Responsive - will auto adjust to any mobile screen size
  2. It will appear Only in Mobile devices - thanks to isMobileRequest Conditional Tag
  3. It has a Responsive Search Form - Users can now easily navigate through your site
  4. It supports Infinite Nesting - Its nested structure allows you to add infinite sub-menus!
  5. It is Cross-Platform Browser Compatible - Design Supported by all major browsers

We have added the same menu in mbt and all our client sites. You can see a live demo of this great menu in action:

DEMO (Appears when you reduce window size)
Tutorial Series
3. Hiding Widgets & Scripts in Mobile Templates [1], [2]
4. Design a Mobile Responsive Drop Down Menu for Blogger
7. Make Blog Sections Responsive: Header Widgets, Posts + Sidebar, Footer

Add This Responsive Menu in Blogspot

Since we write tutorials exclusively for blogger users, therefore non-Blogger users may ignore steps which are specific to Blogspot. Follow these easy steps:

1. Go To Blogger > Template > Backup your template

2. Click Edit HTML

3. Search for <head> and just below it paste the following code:

<script src='http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1/jquery.min.js' type='text/javascript'/>
<link href='http://fortawesome.github.io/Font-Awesome/assets/font-awesome/css/font-awesome.css' rel='stylesheet'/>
<link href='http://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Oswald' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css'/>

Note: The above code includes source links to jQuery library, FontAwesome icons and Oswald Font. If you already using anyone of it then you may avoid adding their respective source links.

4. Next search </head> and just above it paste the following CSS and JavaScript code

<style>
/*-----------Responsive Drop Down Menu by STCnetwork.org --------------*/
.sf-menu a.home:before,#searchnya button:before{position:absolute;font-family:FontAwesome;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;text-decoration:inherit;-webkit-font-smoothing:antialiased}.highlight{background-color:#f09903;color:#1a1308}#searchnya{float:right;width:80%;position:relative;right:0}.siy{bottom:0;left:0;background:none;font-size:19px;color:#fff}#searchnya input{padding:5px 10px;width:75%;margin:5px 0 0;background-color:#FFF;height:21px;box-shadow:1px 2px 4px #A2A2A2 inset;position:relative}#searchnya input,#searchnya button{border:0;-moz-border-radius:1px;-webkit-border-radius:1px;border-radius:1px;display:inline-block;outline:0;font-size:14px;font-family:oswald;color:#BDB5B5;font-weight:400}#searchnya button{background-color:#6FC415;padding:0;width:15%;height:31px;margin-right:5px;cursor:pointer;position:relative;top:0}#searchnya button:hover{background:#76D314}
#navitions{background-color:#242729;border-bottom:0px solid #6FC415;box-shadow:0 1px 9px #666;display:none}#mobilenav{display:none}#nav1{height:40px;position:relative;background:#242729;box-shadow:1px 2px 9px #6FC415}.sf-menu,.sf-menu *{list-style:none;margin:0;padding:0}.sf-menu li{white-space:normal;-moz-transition:background-color .2s;-webkit-transition:background-color .2s;transition:background-color .2s;position:relative}.sf-menu ul{position:absolute;display:none;top:100%;left:0;z-index:99;min-width:12em;padding-top:4px;width:100%}.sf-menu &gt; li{float:left;text-align:left;margin:0 1px}.sf-menu li:hover &gt; ul,.sf-menu li.sfHover &gt; ul{display:block}.sf-menu a{display:block;position:relative;height:40px;line-height:40px;text-decoration:none;zoom:1;color:#FFF;font-size:100%;padding:0 15px; font-family:oswald; -webkit-transition:all .4s ease-in-out; -moz-transition:all .4s ease-in-out; -o-transition:all .4s ease-in-out; -ms-transition:all .4s ease-in-out;transition:all .4s ease-in-out;}.sf-menu &gt; li &gt; a{font-size:105%;font-family:oswald}.sf-menu ul ul{top:0;left:100%}.sf-menu{float:left}.sf-menu a.home{background-color:#A30000;margin-left:4px;text-indent:-9999px;padding:0}.sf-menu li:hover{background:#222}.sf-menu ul li{background-color:#242729}.sf-menu ul li:hover{background-color:#333}.sf-menu ul a{font-weight:400;height:30px;line-height:30px;font-family:oswald,arial}.sf-menu ul ul li{background:#3C3C3C}.sf-menu li:hover &gt; a,.sf-menu li.sfHover,.sf-menu &gt; li &gt; a.current{-moz-transition:none;-webkit-transition:none;transition:none}.sf-arrows .sf-with-ul{padding-right:1em}.sf-arrows .sf-with-ul:after{content:&#39;&#39;;position:absolute;top:50%;right:.75em;margin-top:-3px;height:0;width:0;border:5px solid transparent;border-top-color:#FFF}.sf-arrows &gt; li &gt; .sf-with-ul:focus:after,.sf-arrows &gt; li:hover &gt; .sf-with-ul:after,.sf-arrows &gt; .sfHover &gt; .sf-with-ul:after{border-top-color:#FFF}.sf-arrows ul .sf-with-ul:after{margin-top:-5px;margin-right:-3px;border-color:transparent transparent transparent #FFF}.sf-arrows ul li &gt; .sf-with-ul:focus:after,.sf-arrows ul li:hover &gt; .sf-with-ul:after,.sf-arrows ul .sfHover &gt; .sf-with-ul:after{border-left-color:#FFF}.sf-menu li &gt; i{position:absolute;top:15px;right:15px;width:27px;height:22px;cursor:pointer;display:none;background-color:#6FC415;-moz-border-radius:2px;-webkit-border-radius:2px;border-radius:2px;outline:0;font:12px Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif}.sf-menu li &gt; i:after{content:&#39;+&#39;;color:#FFF;font-size:19px;position:absolute;left:5px;top:-2px}.sf-menu li ul li i:after{left:3px;font-size: 16px;top: -1px;} .sf-menu li ul li i.active:after  {left: 4px;font-size: 26px;top: -8px;}
.sf-menu li &gt; ul li i{border-radius:100px;-webkit-border-radius:100px;-moz-border-radius:100px; width:20px; height:20px;}
.sf-menu li &gt; i.active:after{content:&#39;-&#39;;font-size:36px;top:-14px}.sf-menu a.home{position:relative}.sf-menu a.home:before{position:absolute;font-family:FontAwesome;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;text-decoration:inherit;-webkit-font-smoothing:antialiased;height:30px;top:0;font-size:27px;left:9px}.sf-menu a.home:before,#view a:before{text-indent:0}html {-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;}
@media only screen and (max-width:320px){#searchnya input{width:67%}}
@media only screen and (max-width:768px) {
#navitions{display:block}#nav1{width:100%}#mobilenav{display:block;text-indent:-9999px;width:35px;top:4px;left:10px;position:absolute;height:32px;outline:0;background-color:#6FC415;-moz-border-radius:2px;-webkit-border-radius:2px;border-radius:2px;color:#FFF;text-decoration:none}#mobilenav.active{color:#fff}#mobilenav:before{content:&quot;\f0c9&quot;;top:3px;text-indent:0;left:7px;font-size:26px}#menunav{float:none;display:none;position:absolute;top:45px;left:10px;right:10px;z-index:99999999;background-color:#242729;padding:5px 10px}#menunav li{float:none;margin:0}#menunav &gt; li{margin:1px 0}.sf-menu a.home,.sf-menu a{text-indent:0;margin-left:0;-moz-border-radius:2px;-webkit-border-radius:2px;border-radius:2px;background-color:#1D1D1D!important;padding:5px 20px;border:0}.sf-menu a:hover{background-color:#2c2c2c!important}.sf-menu ul{position:static;padding-top:0}.sf-menu ul a{padding-left:30px}.sf-menu ul ul li a{padding-left:50px; }.sf-menu ul ul ul li a{padding-left:60px; }.sf-menu a.home,.sf-menu li:hover &gt; a.home,.sf-menu &gt; li &gt; a.current{color:#FFF;background-color:#cd2122}.sf-menu ul a:hover{padding-left:40px}.sf-menu ul ul a:hover{padding-left:60px}.sf-menu a.home:before,.sf-menu li:hover &gt; ul,.sf-menu li.sfHover &gt; ul{display:none}.sf-menu ul li,.sf-menu ul ul li,.sf-menu li:hover &gt; a,.sf-menu li.sfHover{background-color:transparent}.sf-menu a.home:before,#mbt-search-layout button:before,#mobilenav:before{position:absolute;font-family:FontAwesome;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;text-decoration:inherit}
}
</style>

<script type='text/javascript'>
//<![CDATA[
// Superfish v1.7.2 - jQuery menu widget - Joel Brich
(function(b){var a=(function(){var p={bcClass:"sf-breadcrumb",menuClass:"sf-js-enabled",anchorClass:"sf-with-ul",menuArrowClass:"sf-arrows"},f=/iPhone|iPad|iPod/i.test(navigator.userAgent),k=(function(){var c=document.documentElement.style;return("behavior" in c&&"fill" in c&&/iemobile/i.test(navigator.userAgent))})(),d=(function(){if(f){b(window).load(function(){b("body").children().on("click",b.noop)})}})(),m=function(s,t){var c=p.menuClass;if(t.cssArrows){c+=" "+p.menuArrowClass}s.toggleClass(c)},r=function(c,s){return c.find("li."+s.pathClass).slice(0,s.pathLevels).addClass(s.hoverClass+" "+p.bcClass).filter(function(){return(b(this).children("ul").hide().show().length)}).removeClass(s.pathClass)},n=function(c){c.children("a").toggleClass(p.anchorClass)},g=function(c){var s=c.css("ms-touch-action");s=(s==="pan-y")?"auto":"pan-y";c.css("ms-touch-action",s)},j=function(t,u){var c="li:has(ul)";if(b.fn.hoverIntent&&!u.disableHI){t.hoverIntent(l,h,c)}else{t.on("mouseenter.superfish",c,l).on("mouseleave.superfish",c,h)}var s="MSPointerDown.superfish";if(!f){s+=" touchend.superfish"}if(k){s+=" mousedown.superfish"}t.on("focusin.superfish","li",l).on("focusout.superfish","li",h).on(s,"a",i)},i=function(t){var s=b(this),c=s.siblings("ul");if(c.length>0&&c.is(":hidden")){s.one("click.superfish",false);if(t.type==="MSPointerDown"){s.trigger("focus")}else{b.proxy(l,s.parent("li"))()}}},l=function(){var c=b(this),s=o(c);clearTimeout(s.sfTimer);c.siblings().superfish("hide").end().superfish("show")},h=function(){var c=b(this),s=o(c);if(f){b.proxy(q,c,s)()}else{clearTimeout(s.sfTimer);s.sfTimer=setTimeout(b.proxy(q,c,s),s.delay)}},q=function(c){c.retainPath=(b.inArray(this[0],c.$path)>-1);this.superfish("hide");if(!this.parents("."+c.hoverClass).length){c.onIdle.call(e(this));if(c.$path.length){b.proxy(l,c.$path)()}}},e=function(c){return c.closest("."+p.menuClass)},o=function(c){return e(c).data("sf-options")};return{hide:function(s){if(this.length){var v=this,w=o(v);if(!w){return this}var t=(w.retainPath===true)?w.$path:"",c=v.find("li."+w.hoverClass).add(this).not(t).removeClass(w.hoverClass).children("ul"),u=w.speedOut;if(s){c.show();u=0}w.retainPath=false;w.onBeforeHide.call(c);c.stop(true,true).animate(w.animationOut,u,function(){var x=b(this);w.onHide.call(x)})}return this},show:function(){var t=o(this);if(!t){return this}var s=this.addClass(t.hoverClass),c=s.children("ul");t.onBeforeShow.call(c);c.stop(true,true).animate(t.animation,t.speed,function(){t.onShow.call(c)});return this},destroy:function(){return this.each(function(){var s=b(this),t=s.data("sf-options"),c=s.find("li:has(ul)");if(!t){return false}clearTimeout(t.sfTimer);m(s,t);n(c);g(s);s.off(".superfish").off(".hoverIntent");c.children("ul").attr("style",function(u,v){return v.replace(/display[^;]+;?/g,"")});t.$path.removeClass(t.hoverClass+" "+p.bcClass).addClass(t.pathClass);s.find("."+t.hoverClass).removeClass(t.hoverClass);t.onDestroy.call(s);s.removeData("sf-options")})},init:function(c){return this.each(function(){var t=b(this);if(t.data("sf-options")){return false}var u=b.extend({},b.fn.superfish.defaults,c),s=t.find("li:has(ul)");u.$path=r(t,u);t.data("sf-options",u);m(t,u);n(s);g(t);j(t,u);s.not("."+p.bcClass).superfish("hide",true);u.onInit.call(this)})}}})();b.fn.superfish=function(d,c){if(a[d]){return a[d].apply(this,Array.prototype.slice.call(arguments,1))}else{if(typeof d==="object"||!d){return a.init.apply(this,arguments)}else{return b.error("Method "+d+" does not exist on jQuery.fn.superfish")}}};b.fn.superfish.defaults={hoverClass:"sfHover",pathClass:"overrideThisToUse",pathLevels:1,delay:800,animation:{opacity:"show"},animationOut:{opacity:"hide"},speed:"normal",speedOut:"fast",cssArrows:true, disableHI:false,onInit:b.noop,onBeforeShow:b.noop, onShow:b.noop,onBeforeHide:b.noop,onHide:b.noop,onIdle:b.noop, onDestroy:b.noop};b.fn.extend({hideSuperfishUl:a.hide,showSuperfishUl:a.show})})(jQuery);
function menunav(b){b("#mobilenav").click(function(){b("#menunav").slideToggle();b(this).toggleClass("active");return false});b(".sf-menu ul").each(function(){var d=b(this).parent("li");d.append("<i></i>")});function a(){var d=b(window).width();if(d>979){b("#menunav").css("display","block");b("#menunav").superfish({animation:{height:"show"},animationOut:{height:"hide"}});b(".sf-menu i").css("display","none")}else{if(d<=979&&b("#mobilenav").attr("class")==="active"){b("#menunav").css("display","block");b("#menunav").superfish("destroy");b(".sf-menu i").css("display","block")}else{if(d<=979&&b("#mobilenav").attr("class")!=="active"){b("#menunav").css("display","none");b("#menunav").superfish("destroy");b(".sf-menu i").css("display","block")}}}}a();b(window).resize(a);b(".sf-menu i").click(function(){var d=b(this).parent("li");var e=d.children("ul");e.slideToggle();b(this).toggleClass("active");return false});var c=window.location.href;b("#menunav a").each(function(){if(this.href===c){var d=b(this).parents("li").children("a").addClass("current")}})};     
//]]>
</script>

 

5. Find <body> and just below it paste the following HTML code

<b:if cond='data:blog.isMobileRequest == &quot;true&quot;'>
<div id='navitions'>
        <div class='isi'>
          <nav class='navix' id='nav1'>
<div id='searchnya'>
               <form action='/search'>
           <input name='q' onblur='if (&apos;&apos; === this.value) {this.value = &apos;Search here…&apos;;}' onfocus='if (&apos;Search here…&apos; === this.value) {this.value = &apos;&apos;;}' type='text' value='Search here…'/>
                <button title='Search' type='submit'>
                  <i class='fa fa-search siy'/>
                </button>
              </form>
            </div>

            <a href='#' id='mobilenav'>
              Select Menu
            </a>
            <ul class='sf-menu' id='menunav'>
              <li>
                <a class='home' expr:href='data:blog.homepageUrl'>
                  Home
                </a>
              </li>

<li><a href='#'>LINK TEXT </a></li>
<li><a href='#'>LINK TEXT </a></li>
            
                   </ul>
           
            <script type='text/javascript'>
              //<![CDATA[
              menunav (jQuery);
              //]]>
            </script>
          </nav>
        </div>
      </div>
    </b:if>

 

  • Replace the # hash tag symbol with your Page URL
  • Replace LINK TEXT  with your Page Title
  • You can create sub-menus by following standard HTML by following these steps 
  • You can keep on adding new tabs just above </ul>

6. Finally save your template and you are all done!

 

Creating Multi Level Drop Down List

You are all done with the major code work. Now you just need to create the list in HTML using standard method. Any tab or link in your menu will have this structure:

<li><a href="#">LINK TEXT</a> </li>

To add a drop down list to this tab all you need to do is to paste the following code just before the closing </li> tag. See below:

<li><a href="#">LINK TEXT</a>

<ul>
<li><a href="#">FIRST LIST 1</a></li>
<li><a href="#">FIRST LIST 2</a></li>
<li><a href="#">FIRST LIST 3</a></li>
</ul>

</li>

To add a second drop down list within this vertical list, simply use the same concept. I will add the second vertical list after the tab: "FIRST LIST 2"

<li><a href="#">LINK TEXT</a>

<ul>
<li><a href="#">FIRST LIST 1</a></li>
<li><a href="#">FIRST LIST 2</a>

<ul>
<li><a href="#">SECOND LIST 1</a></li>
<li><a href="#">SECOND LIST 2</a></li>
<li><a href="#">SECOND LIST 3</a></li>
</ul>

</li>
<li><a href="#">FIRST LIST 3</a></li>
</ul>

</li>

 

Rest follows the same pattern.

Hide your Desktop Menu From Loading in Mobile Devices

To make sure  redundant links may not appear once because of your Desktop menu (menu you are currently using) and second because of your Responsive menu, we will have to disable your Desktop menu on mobile devices.

Enclose your Desktop Menu's HTML code inside the following conditional expressions:

<b:if cond='data:blog.isMobileRequest == "false"'>

Your Desktop Menu

</b:if>

The above condition will show the Desktop menu only in Laptops and Desktop screens but will hide it in Smartphones and Tablets/ipads. To understand in detail what the condition above does, please read part#3 of this tutorial series.

Credits

The menu uses the Superfish Plugin V 1.7.2 created by Joel Brich as the backbone for its front-end dynamic effects. Superfish is a jQuery plugin that adds usability enhancements to multi-level drop-down menus. Due to this plugin our menu now fully supports touch devices and keyboard interaction.

The design and customization to the scripts are contributed by STCnetwork. Kindly attach due credits back to this page if you wish to share this menu with your readers.

Need Help?

If you have any questions that you wish to ask then please do not hesitate to post them below. I hope the menu above may change the overall UI experience of your beautiful blogger blog for your mobile visitors.

The tutorial series above have been really popular this month and I would like to thank you all for finding it so useful. I am trying my best to complete it as soon as time allows. Wish you all a safe and happy blogging journey, Peace and blessings buddies! =)

Auto Update Credits Info in Template Footer

autoupdate credits info in template footerIt makes a lot of sense to always add your website name along with Copyrights Date/time in Footer credits to let your users get accustomed to your brand identity and also know that you reserve full copyrights of the content you share on your blog. A credit link consists of mostly your Trademark/benchmark name (i.e. Blog Title) and the Time interval for which you deserve full ownership of your Blog resources and of its use and distribution. When we design Blogger templates we often add Credit links or attribution links at the bottom of the blog footer to let everyone know who designed and developed the template.

In your case if you want to remind your visitors of who owns the content and resources then you can surely use the simple script shared below which will dynamically insert your Blog Title, Blog link and current Year in your blog to let everyone know of your Copyrights. After using this XHTML + JavaScript, no matter how many years may pass by, your footer credits will always show the current Copyrights Legal Date, thus preventing you from manually updating the Date each year and Blog Title each time you update the Site Title. If it is 2015 it will show © 2015 and in 2020 it will automatically get updated to © 2020. Therefore this tutorial will help you Auto Insert Copyrights Legal Date and Trademark in Blogger Footer Credits. Lets get started

Update Blogger footer Credits

1 Go To Blogger > Template > Backup your Template

2 Click Edit HTML

3 Search your Footer Credits code and replace the contents with this Simple code.

INPUT:

<a expr:href='data:blog.homepageUrl'><data:blog.title/>™ </a>© <script type='text/javascript'>document.write(new Date().getFullYear());</script>, All Rights Reserved.

OUPUT:

My Blogger Tricks™ © 2015, All Rights Reserved.

Things to note:

  • data:blog.homepageUrl will be replaced with your Blog Homepage URL
  • <data:blog.title/>™ will be replaced with your Homepage title i.e. Your Trademark
  • The green highlighted script will be replaced with Current new Date of the year. getFullYear() returns the year in four digits. You can learn more about it at JavaScript Date Reference
  • You can replace the bold black text with any custom message you may like

4 Finally save your template!

Your Footer will now be automatically updated each time you change your blogspot blog title or when the new year arrives!

Need Help?

Let me know if you needed any help with this simple XHMTL trick that uses Blogger layout tags and some simple JavaScript. Wish you great weekend buddies. Have fun with friends and family. Peace buddies! =)

Disable rendering of JavaScript and Widgets Using isMobileRequest [2]

Disable Javascript in Mobile Blogger TemplatesNow that you have learnt how to hide HTML content in Blogspot blogs using the conditional tag "isMobileRequest", Its time to learn how to prevent blogger Widgets from loading inside Mobile devices for Responsive Blogger Templates. It is really important that your mobile site may load as faster as possible due to slow internet speed of Mobile browsers. In order to achieve this purpose, we need to hide some widgets that makes no sense in small screen devices. These Sidebar widgets could include your Fancy Subscription boxes, search boxes, Labels, Archives, PopularPosts, Blog ROLL, Recent comments and so on. Most of these widgets use jQuery or JavaScript that really slows down the site. Therefor we will not just hide the Widget HTML content but would also disable its javaScript. You can continue showing them in Desktop/Laptop devices but it is really advisable that you hide such widgets for mobile devices in order to speed up your Page load time as much as possible in order to rank higher on Mobile Search results. We have experienced a tremendous positive impact of this technique on our Blogger blog (mbt) and it has really helped increasing our mobile traffic a lot. Lets get started!

UPDATE: isMobileRequest is applicable only to smartphone devices and it does not apply to tablets, iPads etc. Just a correction to this post.

Tutorial Series
3. Hiding Widgets & Scripts in Mobile Templates [1], [2]
7. Make Blog Sections Responsive: Header Widgets, Posts + Sidebar, Footer

How to Find and Hide Widgets?

Before hiding widgets first learn how to find Widget ID. We published a post yesterday solely to help you out.

After you have explored how to locate widgets inside Template, you are ready to learn how to disable them in mobile devices so that they may not load in background and may not slow down your blog speed in smartphones and tablets, thus giving a speedy mobile experience to your readers.

Disable Widgets in Responsive Templates

In order to understand how it is done, we will assume that our widgetid is HTML3, which is the 'Back at Home' widget on our blog and we will discuss it throughout this tutorial.

Hiding this widget in Mobile devices

1 Go To Blogger > Template > Backup your template

2 Click Edit HTML

3 From the drop down menu locate your widget through the widget ID. In our case it is HTML3

locate widget by ID

4 You will be taken to the widget code. Expand/Collapse the code by clicking the black-pointed arrow towards its left. Click it once more when you see the second sub-arrow

expand the code

5 The code will now look something like this,

<b:widget id='HTML3' locked='false' title='Back at Home' type='HTML'>
                  <b:includable id='main'>
                    <!-- only display title if it's non-empty -->
                    <b:if cond='data:title != &quot;&quot;'>
                      <h2 class='title'> <data:title/>
                      </h2>
                    </b:if>
                    <div class='widget-content'>
                      <data:content/>
                    </div>
                    <b:include name='quickedit'/>
                   </b:includable>
                </b:widget>

We will apply the conditional isMobileRequest expression right inside the <b:includable> tag as shown below

<b:widget id='HTML3' locked='false' title='Back at Home' type='HTML'>
                  <b:includable id='main'>
<b:if cond='data:blog.isMobileRequest == "false"'>
                    <!-- only display title if it's non-empty -->
                    <b:if cond='data:title != &quot;&quot;'>
                      <h2 class='title'><data:title/>
                      </h2>
                    </b:if>
                    <div class='widget-content'>
                      <data:content/>
                    </div>
                    <b:include name='quickedit'/>
                    </b:if>
                  </b:includable>
                </b:widget>

  • We have set the isMobileRequest Boolean value to false, so that the widget may load only in Desktop devices and it must be kept hidden in Mobile devices. If you visit our blog using a Mobile browser (not a desktop simulator), you will observe that the 'Back at home' widget is not loaded at all.
  • If you want the widget to display only in Mobile devices but not desktop then set the Boolean value to true
  • This Slideshow widget contains up to 12 images which could have really slowed down our blog in mobile devices but thanks to this conditional tag, things are much neater now.

6 Save your template and you are all done!

Disable Widget Scripts From Loading in Background

Almost every widget that you install on your blog has a JavaScript or jQuery attached to it to bring about the dynamic front-end fancy effects. Just by hiding the widget HTML content wont help you speed up your blog unless you also hide/disable the scripts that make them work. If you hide a widget but forget to disable the script, then the JavaScript will still be loaded and rendered in background thus slowing down your site.

JavaScript of your widgets in blogger is either located above </head> tag or below <head> tag.

You must know where you widget script is located because you installed it yourself! Normally officially blogger widgets scripts load only when the HTML loads so you don't need to worry about most of blogger official widgets like PopularPosts, archives, Poll, Comments, Label List etc.

The Slideshow widget HTML3 that we hide earlier has a script that needs to be disabled also. Lets do that now!

1 Inside your template locate the script by searching it near <head> opening and </head> closing tags.

2 Once you find it then enclose the entire script code using isMobileRequest conditional expression as shown below

Disabing Javascript

 

Use the following syntax:

<b:if cond='data:blog.isMobileRequest == "false"'>

JavaScript to Hide

</b:if>

  • The condition is set to false which means the script will not be loaded in Mobile devices but it will load in Desktop and Laptops.
  • If you want the opposite then set the condition to true

3 Save your template and you are all done! That simple!

Need Help?

Let me know if you could not understand any part of the tutorial by leaving your comments below. I hope this rarely used yet recommended technique may help you better optimize your blogger blogs for mobile.

Wish you peace and love buddies! =)

Mega Menu with Images or Thumbnails for Blogger

Visual content holds a certain appeal that websites integrate images to every page, or even operate solely through photos. Now, with the new AJAX navigation menu widget, images can be added to the drop-down menu as well.

The AJAX navigation menu for blogger is a widget designed specifically for the Blogger platform. It is inspired from the Mashable website long before it was given a makeover. Despite the plain and simple inspiration, the drop down menu with images is a huge hit.

It works based on the jQuery library and Blogger JSON Feed API. Function-wise, it works just like a normal drop-down menu when JavaScript is disabled. For it to work online, a blog must be for public visitors, so the Blogger JSON Feed API will function as designed.

Features

Multi-Level Menu Support

The AJAX menu is a multi-level drop-down menu that is based on the standard unordered list of HTML. When a menu contains a sub-menu, it loads on the fly when a user rolls over the main menu. What is great about this is that it saves outgoing traffic, especially on a website that uses a large navigation.

Cross-browser Compatibility

Most AJAX applications will work across different browsers even with other plugins or proprietary technology already installed.  The menu with images works in the same premise, instead of being designed for a specific browser. Because there is no telling which browser you or your blog readers would use, the new AJAX drop-down mega menu with images is the ideal option.

Some of the Windows browser supported includes IE5+, Firefox, Google Chrome, Safari Netscape 7+ and Opera 8+. When you're using a Mac, the AJAX menu is supported on Firefox, IE and Safari. If JavaScript is disabled, however, the menu is still accessible, but only as pure CSS menu.

Automatic Sub-Menu Display

With the new AJAX menu, you only need to roll over a menu item and sub-menus will automatically load. No need to click on a menu to get the sub-menu to drop down. This not only saves users' valuable navigation time, but also outgoing traffic.

Menu Styling

AJAX menus can be styled by simply changing the megamenu.js and the CSS style. The former is used when javaScript is turned on, while the latter is when it is turned off. You can adjust the menu parameters manually or you can use ready-to-use templates.

There are plenty of other features, but you would not be able to use or experience them if you do not install the new mega menu with images. What do you need to do then to implement it in your blog or website?


Adding Mega Menu with Images/Thumbnails in Blogger

Step 1. Log in to your Blogger account, then go to the Dashboard. Select the blog where you want to install the new mega menu.

CSS

Step 2. Click on Template, then press the Edit HTML button. Press anywhere inside the code area and use the CTRL + F function to make your search quicker and easier. Type the following tag and hit Enter to find it:
]]></b:skin>
Once you find the tag, add the code below just above/before it:
.megamenu *{margin:0;padding:0;font-family:'PT Sans Narrow'}ul.megamenu{list-style:none;line-height:1;overflow:visible !important}ul.megamenu:after{margin:0;padding:0;content:' ';display:block;height:0px;clear:both}ul.megamenu li{float:left;display:inline;position:relative;text-transform:uppercase}ul.megamenu li a.menu-target:after{content:"";width:0;height:0;border-left:3px solid transparent;border-right:3px solid transparent;border-top:3px solid #fff;font-size:0;line-height:0;bottom:22px;right:5px;position:absolute}ul.megamenu li a{display:block;line-height:50px;padding:0px 20px;text-decoration:none;border-left:1px solid #000;box-shadow:1px 0 0 0 rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.1) inset;color:#d9d9d9;font-size:14px;transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out}ul.megamenu li a:hover{background:#111111;color:#fff}ul.megamenu ul{position:absolute;display:none;top:100%}ul.megamenu li:hover > ul{display:block}ul.megamenu ul li{z-index:72;min-width:149px;float:none;background:#000;text-shadow:none}ul.megamenu ul li a{text-transform:none;font-weight:normal}ul.megamenu ul li a:hover,ul.megamenuid ul li a.hover{background:#E0E0E0;color:#444}ul.megamenu ul ul{display:none;left:100%;top:0}ul.megamenuid li div.megasubmenu{background:#F9F9F9;position:absolute;width:830px;z-index:90;left:0;top:100%;overflow:hidden;min-height:150px;-moz-transform:translate(0,30px);-webkit-transform:translate(0,30px);-o-transform:translate(0,30px);transform:translate(0,30px);transform-origin:50% 0;visibility:hidden;opacity:0;color:#888;box-shadow:0 10px 7px -7px rgba(0,0,0,0.1);transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out}ul.megamenuid li:hover div.megasubmenu{visibility:visible;opacity:1;-moz-transform:translate(0,0);-webkit-transform:translate(0,0);-o-transform:translate(0,0);transform:translate(0,0)}ul.megamenuid ul,ul.megamenuid ul li{display:block !important;border:0 none !important;margin:0 !important;padding:0 !important}ul.megamenuid ul li{background:none !important;float:left !important}ul.megamenuid ul.leftmenulist{position:absolute;width:18%;left:0;top:0;bottom:0;background:#EEEEEE;border-right:1px dashed #e5e5e5 !important}ul.megamenuid ul.leftmenulist a{border-left:none !important;color:#555}ul.megamenuid ul.rightmenulist{position:relative;display:block;width:81%;float:right;margin:0px 0px 0px !important;background:none}ul.megamenuid ul.rightmenulist li{display:block;overflow:hidden;position:relative;min-height:210px;padding:5px 17px 5px 0px !important}ul.megamenuid ul.rightmenulist li .thumb-container{left:0;width:100%;height:100%;position:absolute;overflow:hidden;font-size:0;line-height:0}ul.megamenuid ul.rightmenulist li .thumb-container img{position:relative;top:10px;padding:0;width:100%;height:100%;display:block}ul.megamenuid ul.rightmenulist li a{display:block;border-left:none !important;padding:0px 5px !important;line-height:1.4;color:#777;font-weight:bold;font-size:14px}ul.megamenuid ul.rightmenulist li a:hover{color:#000;background:transparent}ul.megamenuid .loading-icon{background:url('https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvygnZCpmPlIWMAK4v1bw69g-mc0OLLHgR7d-vV5lVdG1G9wRLa9XbYughizniPx1C9I32bJBFdSevArBGg_t8YLmEl5fe_ZcixiPJhX83fzqIfXAUv2uNDmqAjzvgxGHgZ8HkeHJJ2y0/s1600/wait.gif') no-repeat scroll 0 0 transparent;width:22px;height:22px;position:absolute;top:50%;margin-top:-11px;right:5px}ul.megamenuid .menu-icon{border-bottom:4px solid transparent;border-top:4px solid transparent;border-left:4px solid #777;display:block;height:0;margin-top:-4px;position:absolute;right:11px;top:50%;width:0}#megamenuid{background:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) -moz-linear-gradient(center top , #3d3d3d, #212121) repeat scroll 0 0;background:-webkit-linear-gradient(top,#3d3d3d,#212121);background-color:#3d3d3d;box-shadow:1px 1px 0 0 rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.1) inset;height:50px;width:100%;position:relative;max-width:1000px;margin:0 auto;padding:0px}#megamenuid h5{font-size:16px;margin-top:70px;text-align:center}#megamenuid h5:before{content:"";position:absolute;top:50px;left:50%;width:5px;height:2px;margin-left:-4px;border-left:2px solid black;border-right:2px solid black}#megamenuid h5:after{content:"";position:absolute;top:55px;left:50%;width:10px;height:5px;margin-left:-7px;border-top:2px solid black;border-left:2px solid black;border-right:2px solid black;border-radius:8px 8px 0px 0px}li.search-box{float:right !important;line-height:35px;margin:7px 10px 0 0}li.search-box .search-field{border:none;padding:3px;background:#3F3F3F;color:#fff;width:135px;font-size:13px}li.search-box .search-field:focus{border:none;outline:none;background:#4C4C4C;color:#fff}li.search-box .search-button{background:url('https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsVjsroZrhxAML6kU8tYKeDIJ6YYl-eHJrQG3QXhUftq8p3Po8rTjojQXG0idfh6CY6h-TrPkorY5N1rjeSopD0-xaQTcKA0sG5R2JNQFLxCWtv_bbjBejAPX8xJjXWAWBBELm7k9ZXpQ/s1600/search.png') no-repeat;border:none;cursor:pointer;padding:5px 10px;transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out}li.search-box .search-button:hover{opacity:0.9}.search-alert{background:#E84C3D url(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif1BJWc1OJ1Ft3ZCX0rLNedPpQM2p0DLmtJSQjWSWPYRW7FSs7Ht5g8IATYub1X76MpD0GbLio1IBckYPQOEUfSUoTLmpd3GOszh8nld_O0P1B8KLVMMDgNxn-e7Vr3M8VLOAmHLtIN-4/s1600/search-info.png) no-repeat;background-position:5px;text-transform:capitalize;color:#fff;margin:-5px;padding:0px 15px 0px 40px;display:none;border-radius:5px}

JavaScript

Step 3. Check if your blog has the jQuery plugin already installed. If not, you need to add a few lines of code before the </head> tag (CTRL + F to find it). See the code below:
<script src='http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.8.2/jquery.min.js' type='text/javascript'/>
<script type='text/javascript'>
//<![CDATA[
(function(e){var t=function(e,t){this.elem=e;this.settings=t;this.megaMenuHtml();this.ajaxcall=null;this.menulist=this.elem.find(".leftmenulist li a");this.menuHelper(this.elem);this.addEvents()};t.prototype={regex:{islabel:new RegExp("/search/label/","g"),issearch:new RegExp("[?&]q=","g"),labelsearch:new RegExp("(http://[^/]+)/search/label/([^/?&]+).*[?&]q=([^$&]+)(?:[^$]+)?","g"),label:new RegExp("(http://[^/]+)/search/label/([^/?&$]+)","g"),search:new RegExp("(http://[^/]+)/search/?[?&]q=(.*)","g")},addEvents:function(){var t=this;this.menulist.hover(function(){if(e(this).data("menuloaded")!=="true"){t.li=e(this);t.url=t.li.attr("href");t.container=t.li.closest("ul").siblings("ul");t.hoverOver()}},function(){t.hoverOut()})},hoverOver:function(){var t=this;this.getAJAXUrl();if(!this.ajaxUrl)return;this.ajaxcall=e.ajax({type:"GET",url:t.ajaxUrl,dataType:"jsonp",data:t.ajaxData,beforeSend:function(){t.showLoader()},success:function(e){t.hideLoader();t.addArrow();t.showPosts(e)},error:function(e){t.showError(e)}})},hoverOut:function(){this.ajaxcall.abort();this.hideLoader()},getAJAXUrl:function(){if(this.url){var e=this;this.ajaxData={alt:"json","max-results":this.settings.postsNumber};this.url.search(this.regex.islabel)!==-1&&this.url.search(this.regex.issearch)!==-1?this.ajaxUrl=this.url.replace(this.regex.labelsearch,function(t,n,r,i){e.ajaxData.q=i;return[n,"/feeds/posts/default/-/",r,"/"].join("")}):this.url.search(this.regex.islabel)!==-1&&this.url.search(this.regex.issearch)===-1?this.ajaxUrl=this.url.replace(this.regex.label,function(t,n,r){delete e.ajaxData.q;return[n,"/feeds/posts/default/-/",r,"/"].join("")}):this.url.search(this.regex.islabel)===-1&&this.url.search(this.regex.issearch)!==-1?this.ajaxUrl=this.url.replace(this.regex.search,function(t,n,r){e.ajaxData.q=r;return[n,"/feeds/posts/default"].join("")}):this.ajaxUrl=!1}else this.ajaxUrl=!1},showLoader:function(){e("<span></span>",{"class":"loading-icon"}).appendTo(this.li.closest("li"))},hideLoader:function(){this.li.closest("li").find("span.loading-icon").remove()},showPosts:function(t){var n=this,r=[],i,s,o;t.feed.openSearch$totalResults.$t>0?e.each(t.feed.entry,function(t,u){i=u.title.$t;e.each(u.link,function(e,t){t.rel==="alternate"?s=t.href:s="#"});o=u.media$thumbnail?u.media$thumbnail.url.replace(/\/s72\-c\//,"/s200-c/"):n.settings.noThumbnail;r.push('<li><span class="thumb-container"><a title="',i,'" href="',s,'"><img alt="',i,'" src="',o,'"/><br />',i,"</a></span></li>")}):r.push("<h5>","No posts available.","</h5>");this.container.html(r.join(""));this.menulist.removeData("menuloaded");this.li.data("menuloaded","true")},showError:function(e){if(e.statusText==="error"){this.hideLoader();this.addArrow();this.container.html("<h5>Oops... Could not fetch the blog posts.</h5>")}},addArrow:function(){this.menulist.closest("li").find("span").remove();this.menulist.removeClass("hover-menu");this.li.addClass("hover-menu");e("<span></span>",{"class":"menu-icon"}).appendTo(this.li.closest("li"))},menuHelper:function(t){var n=this;t.find(">li").hover(function(){var t=e(this);t.find("a:first").addClass("hover-menu");var r=e(this).find("ul.leftmenulist li").height()*e(this).find("ul.leftmenulist li").length;t.find("ul.rightmenulist").css({"min-height":r+"px"});n.requestFirstAjax(t)},function(){e(this).find("a:first").removeClass("hover-menu")})},megaMenuHtml:function(){this.elem.find("ul ul").remove();this.elem.addClass("megamenuid").find(">li").find("ul:first").addClass("leftmenulist").wrap(e("<div></div>",{"class":this.settings.divClass}));e("ul.leftmenulist").after(e("<ul></ul>",{"class":"rightmenulist"}))},requestFirstAjax:function(e){e=e.find(".leftmenulist li:first-child a");this.url=e.attr("href");this.container=e.closest("ul").siblings("ul");this.li=e;this.hoverOver()}};e.fn.megaBloggerMenu=function(n){var r={postsNumber:4,divClass:"megasubmenu",postsClass:"rightmenulist",noThumbnail:"/default.png"},i=e.extend({},r,n);return this.each(function(){var n=new t(e(this),i)})}})(jQuery);
//]]>
</script>
<script type='text/javascript'>
jQuery(document).ready(function($) {
 $(&#39;#megamenuid&#39;).megaBloggerMenu({
  postsNumber : 4,
  noThumbnail : &#39;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqUQarX54SCJFWlnq_bDDLXQvPKmyizA486jcLHLmsN_vnjmHrVSpWyRPsJ8PIGlSmbusVjG4rO1b4FGohkJxKaJmyD7ebVW68kQDTCXnFwsbm1N1FwMqBJv7qRvdniS1nOkLZb5gW0yg/s1600/no_image_available.png&#39;
 });
});

$(function(){
  $(&#39;.search-here&#39;).submit(function(e){
    if($(&#39;.search-box .search-field&#39;).val().length==0){
       $(&#39;.search-box .search-alert&#39;).fadeIn().css(&#39;display&#39;,&#39;inline-block&#39;);
      e.preventDefault();
    }
  });
});
</script>

Note

- If jQuery plugin already exist, remove the line in red.
- To change the number of posts, change the 4 value from:
postsNumber : 4
- To add a different thumbnail when a post has no image, replace the url in blue from:
noThumbnail : &#39;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqUQarX54SCJFWlnq_bDDLXQvPKmyizA486jcLHLmsN_vnjmHrVSpWyRPsJ8PIGlSmbusVjG4rO1b4FGohkJxKaJmyD7ebVW68kQDTCXnFwsbm1N1FwMqBJv7qRvdniS1nOkLZb5gW0yg/s1600/no_image_available.png&#39;

HTML

Step 4. Carefully add the HTML code to ensure that the drop down menu with images will work as designed. There are only three types of URLs that the AJAX Menu accepts and they must be used accordingly.

Label URL: http://yourblogurlblogspot.com/search/label/LABELNAME
Search Query: http://yourblogurl.blogspot.com/search?q=SEARCHQUERY
Label w/ Search Query: http://yourblogurl.blogspot.com/search/label/LABELNAME?q=SEARCHQUERY

Among the three URLs, the Search Query has to be URL encoded using a specific tool.

Step 5. Search the following line using CTRL + F:
<div class='main-outer'>
Just above this line, add the following HTML code:
<ul class='megamenu' id='megamenuid'>
<li><a href='/'>Home</a></li>
<li><a class='menu-target' href='#'>MENU TITLE</a>
<ul>
<li><a href='http://ADDURLHERE.com'>LABEL NAME</a></li>
<li><a href='http://ADDURLHERE.com'>LABEL NAME</a></li>
<li><a href='http://ADDURLHERE.com'>LABEL NAME</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a class='menu-target' href='#'>MENU TITLE</a>
<ul>
<li><a href='http://ADDURLHERE.com'>LABEL NAME</a></li>
<li><a href='http://ADDURLHERE.com'>LABEL NAME</a></li>
<li><a href='http://ADDURLHERE.com'>LABEL NAME</a></li>
</ul></li>
<li><a href='http://ADDURLHERE.com'>Normal Link</a></li>
<li class='search-box'>
<form action='/search' class='search-here' method='get'>
<input class='search-field' name='q' placeholder='Search Here' size='30' type='text'/>
<input class='search-button' type='submit' value=' '/>
</form>
<p class='search-alert'>Search form is empty!</p>
</li>
</ul>
<div class='clear'/>
<div class='clear'/>
Note: replace the text in blue with the label url and the text in red with the name of the label. This is the label that you have added to the Labels settings of your post editor:


Step 6. Click on Save template for all the changes to take effect.

If you can't find the line from step 5, access the Layout tab, click on Add Gadget, and then choose HTML/JavaScript Gadget. Copy the HTML code and paste it inside the box... then press the Save button.

That's it!

Once that is done, your AJAX menu with images will be implemented and ready for you to use. Make sure to choose photos that are relevant to the menu and sub-menus so your website will have cohesive look and appeal. Research shows, however, that text accompanied by any image, even if completely irrelevant, can grab attention.