Monday, June 1, 2009

Blogger templates - favorite sources?

A while back on Twitter, I invited @Blogger followers to share their favorite third party template designers, and promised a summary post on Blogger Buzz with pointers for our users. Responses were great - but unfortunately, they're lost (for the time being, at least) while Twitter works on repairing its archival search.

So I'm going to try again: and this time, I promise a more timely response. If you have a favorite source of Blogger templates, please share it in the comments. I'll summarize by tomorrow on Blogger Buzz (if I get enough comments), Wednesday at the latest.

Looking forward to seeing what you share!
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40 comments:

  1. CaySedaiJune 1, 2009 at 4:47 PM

    http://www.thecutestblogontheblock.com/

    ReplyDelete
  2. TenkelyJune 1, 2009 at 4:49 PM

    I have ended up just hacking up the default ones (with very little css/html know how) to meet my needs. I just Google what I want to do and usually find a quick result to making it happen.

    ReplyDelete
  3. JoannaJune 1, 2009 at 4:49 PM

    http://btemplates.com/ is great, particularly for more artistic looking ones

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ignacio PanJune 1, 2009 at 4:53 PM

    My favorite is Blogger Styles: http://www.bloggerstyles.com/

    reviews and all you need to know about any template

    ReplyDelete
  5. Alvaris FalconJune 1, 2009 at 4:54 PM

    First of all is shameless promotion of my site, FalconHive.com, as we convert free high quality Wordpress themes into free Blogger templates, and support our template user very, very much. :)

    BloggerStyles.com is our template directory site that provides free Blogger templates with review that the template is safe to use or not, and we provide template support for our own Blogger templates.

    You can also get some better template source's guideline by refer to the search ranking (keyword: blogger template) in buysellads.com. Hope this helps, have a nice day in Blogger!

    ReplyDelete
  6. MozzJune 1, 2009 at 5:10 PM

    http://all-blogspot-templates.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  7. ClaudiaJune 1, 2009 at 5:11 PM

    That's truth: Alvaris Falcon (Falconhive.com and BloggerStyles.com) converts great templates from Wordpress to Blogger. But the best source for Blogger templates is still BTemplates.com (haha!).

    Other great sources:
    Blogandweb.com/templates-blogger
    ZonaCerebral.com
    QuiteRandom.com
    Ipietoon.com
    DeluxeTemplates.net

    I don't like to do self-promotion (I'm honest), but I also make templates for Blogger at ChicaBlogger.com (under label "Blogger Templates").

    ReplyDelete
  8. LindaJune 1, 2009 at 5:14 PM

    www.pyzam.com is where I got the one I'm currently using. They had a large selection.

    ReplyDelete
  9. JorgeJune 1, 2009 at 5:49 PM

    I Use http://btemplates.com/ everytime I want to change my blogger templete. (Almost everday)

    ReplyDelete
  10. PavelJune 1, 2009 at 6:02 PM

    One more great source: http://www.ourblogtemplates.com/

    ReplyDelete
  11. Alvaris FalconJune 1, 2009 at 6:23 PM

    Haha Claudia, you got a point! :D

    You are honest? Then I help you to promote! ChicaBlogger also converts free high quality Worpdress themes into free high quality Blogger templates, you can find many clean, beautiful and elegant Blogger templates inside!

    Also, ChicaBlogger and Ipietoon produce many Blogger templates suitable for female. :)

    btw, CahayaBiru.com is a nice starting blog which has awesome and professional Blogger templates inside. The key for professional Blogger template is we need to host JavaScripts to activate those professional features, when would we have free JavaScript hosting space(shameless request)? ;)

    ReplyDelete
  12. IdzieJune 1, 2009 at 6:25 PM

    http://www.thecutestblogontheblock.com/free-backgrounds.html

    ReplyDelete
  13. FeistyKelJune 1, 2009 at 7:46 PM

    Pyzam

    ReplyDelete
  14. Ralph ButtigiegJune 2, 2009 at 3:47 AM

    G'day

    Here my favorite: http://www.deluxetemplates.net/

    ta

    Ralph

    ReplyDelete
  15. KlodianJune 2, 2009 at 7:31 AM

    Hi Rick,
    There are many blogger templates around, you know this, just to search "blogger templates" in google, but I should say that are a huge difference between them, some are really cool and some other not, some are hard to install some other are not.

    I think what blogger users want are only some simple fast loading, good looking blogger templates easy to install and to customize without javascript codes and etc.

    Users love Blogger.com because is easy to start, just 3 steps... so they want the same for templates.

    @Claudia
    @Ralph Buttigieg
    Thank you for mentioned my blog here :) really appreciated.

    Number one is btemplates.com of course.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Hüseyin KELEŞJune 2, 2009 at 9:13 AM

    i usually use eblogtemplates.com

    ReplyDelete
  17. chethJune 2, 2009 at 11:52 AM

    I've listed down some of the best blogger templates around you can have a look at it.. hope it impresses you :)

    http://chethstudios.blogspot.com/2009/01/roundup-of-best-blogger-templates.html

    Good day.. sorry for the shameless self promotion :D

    ReplyDelete
  18. Dante AraújoJune 2, 2009 at 1:12 PM

    I will be very straight to the point. Here is my list:

    www.deluxetemplates.net - If you are looking for well designed, bug-safe and trustable templates, with unique designs and converted from wordpress, I know Klodian very well and I can say that he thinks a lot about his users.

    www.btemplates.com - Huge amount of templates, Submited from people all around the world though, I don't know If this is a good or a bad thing, You may know who you should trust or not. Claudia does a great job organizing it.

    www.dantearaujo.net - My own website (this is not self promotion) It's pretty new, But i already got my own little list of templates with unique designs (all by myself) and I watch for every little detail, what makes my templates easy to install and pretty safe to use. I also support my users a lot, so I am getting lots of comments and e-mails from my readers every day, and I never left any user without help.

    There are many other template sources, but these are the ones that I really trust. They always think about the users, and don't do the thing thinking that it's all about money.

    ReplyDelete
  19. SadeJune 3, 2009 at 12:20 AM

    My favorite blogger theme is Scarlett. - http://takipteyiz.blogspot.com/2009/05/scarlett-temas-turkce-anlatm.html

    or for demo http://blogger-template-scarlett.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  20. Alain-ChristianJune 4, 2009 at 1:43 PM

    I thought I posted but I guess not.

    Very simply, I looked around for a months but I never found a suitable template for MY STADY so I roll my own. The biggest hurdle hasn't been learning the template system, it's been trying to work within it's many limitations.

    Like, I don't understand why podcast enclosures can't be posted to the blog entry. The podcast enclosures are only posted to the RSS feed. I could go on but you've heard me say it all before.

    Are there plans to update the template system at any point in the near future?

    Why can't you update the template system on a regular basis like Google does with it's other products?

    ReplyDelete
  21. Rick KlauJune 4, 2009 at 1:50 PM

    Thanks everyone for your feedback! The Blogger Buzz post is here.

    @Alain-Christian: The enclosure element is an RSS element, not an HTML component. Do you mean that you want an embedded MP3 player to stream the file in the body of the post, or something else?

    ReplyDelete
  22. Alain-ChristianJune 4, 2009 at 2:38 PM

    Whoa, quick response! Well, MP3s are an example. Like say I link to an MP3 in the enclosure, I can't see or access that MP3 from the template. If I could, then yes, I could embed an MP3 player—of my own choosing, we use JW Player on our site—below the entry.

    But I don't only post MP3s, I may populate the field with pictures or software and even text files. If the template could see those files and MIME types, I could really customize how each blog entry is displayed.

    Another example with the pictures is using that for as splash image like you see on sites like gizmodo. The first PNG would always be the splash image.

    BTW, I just read the buzz post, "Many of you weren't aware of a wealth of third party sites offering quality Blogger templates" is probably the nicest way to say "Google Search" I've seen so far! Also, I am VERY relieved you're not spending valuable R&D time on templates when there are already thousands out there waiting to be sampled.

    Also, Summer is to far away! Say more about templates now! Please!

    ReplyDelete
  23. KevinJune 4, 2009 at 9:26 PM

    Here is mine : http://i-stuff.blogspot.com/ I modified the blogger.com default code for that old default template and you can always play with css...

    ReplyDelete
  24. LawnyJune 5, 2009 at 12:14 AM

    I also create free blogger templates and post them on my blog http://www.templates.lawnydesigns.com

    ReplyDelete
  25. AaronJune 5, 2009 at 3:36 PM

    The 3rd party sites are fine & dandy but I want some new official templates from the blogger team. I want to see some 3 column and/or magazine style templates. I've found a few 3rd party templates that would look good for my blog but the fact that I don't know html stops me from using them. They're not "dummy proof" like the blogger products are.

    ReplyDelete
  26. KlodianJune 5, 2009 at 11:50 PM

    @a-one
    I know why you think so, because are some templates around that are really hard to install and customize, need to have good HTML / CSS knowledge.

    I design / convert templates in blogger, and when I do this job first I think for users, to be easy to install and to customize.

    So I call all blogger templates designers to make easy customization templates, not templates that need host JavaScript or to design PSD or to replace images etc etc..

    Deluxe Templates
    www.deluxetemplates.net

    ps. thx Rick for this post, when we can express our thoughts about blogger templates.

    ReplyDelete
  27. batnaJune 6, 2009 at 12:55 PM

    the algerian fine arts life needs be provided withe the artistic press els all africa so: but this miss of specialised arts revewers in algeria need so to get the best sampls for to revewing the fine arts life artistically
    so this kind of the illiterat algerian press must have to start again crap learning how to avoiding the slapdash of therirs unfavourable arts revewing so substandarded can meet the standard to produicing so an revolutionay artistique evenement in african artistic panorama in algeria nowdays
    this scandalous nonevenement has so desappointed a few artists esperansy
    the prais of arts is not an botched work up to add a failure on the african artists losing thers universal acclaim
    with reguards to all african artist s eks the algerians
    by behaz toufik

    ReplyDelete
  28. Alvaris FalconJune 7, 2009 at 7:14 AM

    @Rick Klau

    Thanks for featuring FalconHive and BloggerStyles on the Blogger Buzz, I appreciate this very much, and probably believed that there are still many great and precious Blogger template sources to be discovered (which I would touch in coming post).

    Klodian got a very great point, most third party Blogger templates (especially mine, okay, I admit that I'm too aggressive about development :D) need HTML/ CSS skill to install and customize it, which is an inconvenience for most bloggers who are not familiar with those skills.

    I must say this is a wonderful journey that from the earliest third party Blogger template to latest piece, template makers have achieved many features that are not officially existed on Blogger official layouts. We also work our best to optimize variable definition, widgetize custom features, optimize SEO and support user as good as we can.

    However, on the opposite side, with more and more professional features made possible by third party template makers, more issues arose that we finally need a better solution (something cool that makes the feature installed and configured in few clicks), a new feature, or a new official Blogger template that shows professional features suggested in Product Ideas for Blogger.

    I keep an very close eye on Product Ideas for Blogger, and I believed that most ideas and suggestions are came from Wordpress. Actually several ideas like 'Read More' feature has been achieved by third party template makers, but Blogger users want it to be easier to install and configure (like changing the 'Read More' text, or add and remove 'Read More' feature in the 'Page Elements' mode with few clicks).

    Product Ideas for Blogger is a great step for Blogger to know about what users really want, and I always believe Google's strength and possibility to achieve these features. I'm positive about Blogger's future, please keep up the great work to make the Blogger the best blogging platform!

    Thanks for publish this post to let us share favorite template sources and yeah, thoughts about Blogger template!

    ReplyDelete
  29. Alain-ChristianJune 7, 2009 at 10:45 AM

    @a-one

    I really really really hate the idea of the blogger devs wasting their time to code templates. Templates are just an aesthetic thing and would add nothing to the actual functionality. I mean, a template doesn't bring much to the table, it's not something you can sink your teeth into.

    If the template system was far along enough and Blogger's features matched the competition then I would mind so much. But right now Blogger needs to play catch up. One that happens then maybe I personally wouldn't be bothered so much by the idea.

    Also the types of templates you're asking for are already out there. Perhaps we should stop calling them "Third-party"?

    It's not like the built-in Blogger templates are anything to write home about. In fact they're terrible! The SEO alone is a nightmare.



    @alvaris

    Same thing.

    Also, my problem with not having an official "read more" is that most methods to implement it on our own is just to hide the text. That means the characters are still downloaded and the page takes longer to load. A REAL read more would load only the small sample of text. Thus the page loads faster.



    @Rick

    Just an idea but maybe you should open that buzz entry for comments or keep updating it with link submissions?

    Also, I KNOW that if you acted on some of the feedback posted a while back Blogger would easily beat out all other free blog providers for the #1 spot. Right now Blogger is in an odd place because of it's missing features but I'm telling you, add those features and it wouldn't even be questioned.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Kémi PenélopêJune 7, 2009 at 8:54 PM

    You will find amazing blog template @ this weblog:
    http://www.simplyfabulousbloggertemplates.com/

    ReplyDelete
  31. selvakumar.vardharajanJune 8, 2009 at 4:20 AM

    You will find the blog templates at this blog
    www.indezine.com/powerpoint/templates

    ReplyDelete
  32. ATUL DOGRAJune 13, 2009 at 1:08 AM

    This blogger collected all best themes for blogspot users . You may check one of his blog post here - http://themetoday.com/blogger-templates/blogger-templates-collection-2009/

    ReplyDelete
  33. Cebong IpietJune 13, 2009 at 8:09 PM

    shame on me, I miss this post hehehe, congratz for claudia, klodian, and alvaris listed on blogger buzz

    http://www.ipietoon.com

    ReplyDelete
  34. The Cutest Blog on the BlockJune 15, 2009 at 8:03 AM

    Hello Rick!

    This is Ashley from The Cutest Blog on the Block, I just wanted to thank you for adding our site to the list of blogger recommended backgrounds and layouts. We feel honored!

    Regards,

    Ashley

    ReplyDelete
  35. birdyJune 21, 2009 at 9:45 PM

    Hi every one!
    I'm not sure whether the admin will approve my comment or not, but I'm still trying to forward my concern. I visited some of the above sites for my blog template. But unfortunately these template are not free (you have to show their links). Moreover most of the template don't have navigation bar. Is it OK to remove navigation bar from blogger?

    ReplyDelete
  36. BilalJune 22, 2009 at 9:58 AM

    @ Alain-Christian

    I totally agree with you regarding "Read More" hacks, yes they are of no use because they only hide the content but it definitely loads every time. So, no need to apply this hack, give your visitors easiest access to the content.

    @ Cebong Ipiet

    Hehe, I also missed, better luck next time...

    http://bloggerfaqs.blogspot.com/

    Well, I'm enjoying my smash hits "CraftWork" & "Infinity".

    ReplyDelete
  37. LukasJune 28, 2009 at 7:29 AM

    Another great backgrounds site that is extremely easy to navigate and use is http://hotbliggityblog.com/.

    ReplyDelete
  38. RichardJuly 5, 2009 at 9:49 PM

    Here's a newer one: http://websitetemplatedatabase.com I am one of the founders of this site. Our directory of Blogger templates is growing daily. We have a variety of themes for our templates, including sports, crafts, politics, and others. Many of these are in the works, so users can check regularly and subscribe to our feed to get updates on new Blogger templates.

    ReplyDelete
  39. Lauren AnnJuly 6, 2009 at 9:36 AM

    Quiet Designs @ http://designtipsbloggers.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  40. BeardyMarch 21, 2010 at 7:29 AM

    I download Blogger templates from Bloggertemplates.info, especially notepad chaos 2 is my favorite one among all Blogger templates..

    ReplyDelete

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