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December 18, 2010

Mobile Blogger Templates

This year, Blogger's team added so many new features that it's difficult to count them: dynamic templates, comment spam filtering, a new way to manage comments, real-time stats, better post preview, static pages and so much more. Blogger is one the few Google products that have improved dramatically this year, after many years when it was neglected.

Since a lot of people use phones to browse the Web, it makes a lot of sense to add a mobile interface for Blogger and to create mobile versions for Blogger's templates. There's no mobile Blogger yet, but all Blogger blogs have a mobile version optimized for WebKit browsers. Just add ?m=1 to the URL of any Blogger blog, and you'll get a simplified version that works well on an iPhone, Android phone and probably other phones that use a browser based on WebKit. Here's an example: http://googlesystem.blogspot.com/?m=1.


Bloggers can enable the mobile version of their blogs, so that visitors are automatically redirected to this version when they're using a supported mobile browser. This option is only available if you go to Blogger in Draft, click on "Settings", switch to "Email & Mobile" and enable "Yes, On mobile devices, show the mobile version of my template." This didn't work for me, so you'll still see the regular mobile version of this blog that uses a custom stylesheet.

Google says that the new feature only supports 12 existing templates (6 variants of the Simple template and 6 variants of the Awesome template) and that all the other templates will be rendered as the Simple template. The mobile version drops the sidebars and most of the gadgets, shows small excerpts from the posts on the homepage, hides the comment form (but you can still post comments), resizes images and videos, adjusts fonts and converts AdSense ads into mobile ads. Unfortunately, you can't customize mobile templates, at least not yet.

43 comments:

  1. I liked this feature but it introduced me a problem since I don't use Blogger commenting system but Disqus. Now users cannot comment via Disqus when using Mobile Web site.

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  2. Now if there were only a setting to respect a user's browser language settings and not show the Google UI in something foreign.

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  3. you should be shame google when you used Iphone pic when you have good android user

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  4. i dont see the option at all, is it because i use an outside html template other than bloggers own????

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  5. doesn't work for me right now - looks like nokia symbian devices aren't supported yet

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  6. it will be even better if it uses the subdomain m.blogname.blogspot.com

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  7. Hi,
    We do not see any ad on our mobile version. Is there anything else to be done in addition to changing that setting?

    Regards,
    Team - Free Calls Hub

    ReplyDelete
  8. Its creating problems
    For Example:
    Below Is My Blog Post Link:
    http://www.tech-corner.co.cc/2011/01/soundtrckr-11-s60v5-s3-symbianos94-95.html
    And I Mobilize It Using ?m=1 Prefix.
    http://www.tech-corner.co.cc/2011/01/soundtrckr-11-s60v5-s3-symbianos94-95.html?m=1
    And I Have Saw At Google Webmaster tools
    Its Creating duplicate Meta Tags At
    Following Desktop Link With ?m=0
    http://www.tech-corner.co.cc/2011/01/soundtrckr-11-s60v5-s3-symbianos94-95.html?m=0

    ReplyDelete
  9. I've switched just for mobile template, but disqus comments isn't active on that one. So here we are, without an usable mobile blog.

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  10. Not only does the mobile app ignore discus and intense debate comments.... but if you activate it and someone comments on the native commenting system, all comments made using discus and i.D. dissappear on that post and is replaced by that one blogger native comment.

    Blogger comments suck so very bad - it's a shame when you'd rather do without a valuable tool like this rather than be subjected to such a horrible commenting system such as blogger's.

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  11. the interface won't recognize third party commenting systems - instead, forces the user to use bloggers outdate, ugly and useless commenting system.

    If someone does leave a comment through the mobile app, all comments left by discus or intense debate users disappear in lieu of the lone comment left on the native system.

    Another great tool gone to waste all because blogger won't devise a decent commenting system.

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  12. I have successful blog but now I want to switch to WordPress as it has a lot more great options which are available in blogger. Is my switch from blogger to WordPress is going to be the biggest mistake in regards it will decrease my traffic and other stuff.

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  13. i waiting for this so long... nice move...

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  14. Ugh. Blogger's comment system is terrible. I have Disqus comments on my blog, and I just wish they'd show up on the mobile site.

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  15. has anyone found a work around to keep blogger mobile and use disqus? I would hate to disable mobile feature, but the commenting mix ups don't work....

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  16. Please google get it to work with disqus comments!!

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  17. I have Disqus comments on my blog, and I just wish they'd show up on the mobile site.

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  18. They show up now! YAY!!! I love the mobile version and now my DISQUS comments show up, just turn on mobile in settings!

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  19. What about intense debate? Any chance those are going to start working on mobile?

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  20. But then they stopped.

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  21. I too use Disqus comments on my blog. I love the new mobile themes, but if I can't use Disqus with the mobile theme I'm better off without it!

    Has anyone found out a way to use both simultaneously?

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  22. any blogspot editor for symbian?
    Can i edit my blog from my mobile?

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  23. but by activating the template lead to duplication of a mobile version of the title is pretty much, how to reduce them?

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  24. If you want to integrate blogger mobile and disqus, have a look at this:
    http://unico-lab.blogspot.com/2012/01/how-to-make-blogger-mobile-working-with.html

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  25. I liked this feature but it introduced me a problem since I don't use Blogger commenting system but Disqus.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Look at here:
    http://unico-lab.blogspot.com/2012/01/how-to-make-blogger-mobile-working-with.html

    ReplyDelete
  27. I have successful blog but now I want to switch to WordPress as it has a lot more great options which are available in blogger.

    ReplyDelete
  28. i've done it few months ago. But unfortunately mobile viewers, who don't have any google accounts, can't comment easily. Is there any solution?

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  29. facebook comments are also disabled in mobile view :C

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  30. Replies
    1. here it is: http://unico-lab.blogspot.com/2012/01/how-to-make-blogger-mobile-working-with.html

      Delete
  31. Hii,

    I use a custom template on my blog. If I enable mobile templates without changing the custom template, will the adsense ads be still displayed when viewed from a high end device?

    ReplyDelete
  32. I use a custom template on my blog. If I enable mobile templates without changing the custom template, will the adsense ads be still displayed when viewed from a high end device?

    ReplyDelete
  33. Mobile phones have become an indispensable part of our daily life. We even cannot imagine living our life without them. However given the current trends, they have become geekier and delicate.

    ReplyDelete
  34. We do not see any ad on our mobile version. Is there anything else to be done in addition to changing that setting?

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  35. The dynamic version has one problem... it loads all posts at a one time. I love this but.....

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  36. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  37. mobile phones have become an indispensable part of our daily life. We even cannot imagine living our life without them. However given the current trends, they have become geekier and delicate. This post is so good. I got many idea for here...

    ReplyDelete
  38. Great post.

    https://interiordesignpoint.wordpress.com/

    ReplyDelete
  39. Wow, I never knew that mobile blogger templates exited until I landed on this page and actually I will be downloading one for my android phone so that I can have a fast hand experience of how they operate. Thanks for sharing this information with us. I have found it to be very educative and informative. Check out my writing site by clicking on Results Analysis Help.

    ReplyDelete
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