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OK, all is about done, or is as done as it is going to be.

I hope you like the new layout and format, I wanted something a little more unique and this is what I have ended up with. I have less control now over things like font sizes, which is all set and imported, but I can live with that. Gone is the reaction buttons, which do not seem to want to work on non-standard templates. Also gone is the twitter-meme function, which does not seem to want to work on this format, but I will keep looking into it to restore quick RT function.

I hope people like the new name, I was racking my brain for something new - but some of the great names I came up with appear elsewhere on the internet and were not unique. I believe Governmentitus is unique, and is just a better sounding blog name than "Daniel1979 Blog" and fits with the general theme of this blog.

If you are having any issues, please leave a comment or email me daniel1979blog@gmail.com.

For those how are curious to learn more, read on...



I made the decision about a month ago to just look around and see what improvements might be available out there on the internet, and I quickly came to find the Blogger Templates Site. This got me thinking about looking for a more radical change, and had the added bonus of being completely free. So, if anyone is thinking about a change, this is the site I would recommend. If you do have cash to spend, still take a look as all of the designers have links from the templates they have provided to blogger. For example, this new template was created by Rays Creations India, who is linked from the Blogger Template Page and also from the bottom of this blog now.

From there it needed testing, so I set up a new test blog. Along the way, I came across a new format that was perfect for one of my other ventures, Football Banter, so I actually switched my focus across to updating that blog, which was successful. Here, my method and tips if you’re thinking about having a change yourself.  Importing a new template in itself is not difficult, it is simply importing a file to the HTML screen, but there are a few issues if this is a transition rather than starting a new blog from scratch.

1. Set up a testblog, with posts and widgets so that you can get an idea of how the transition will work.

2. Copy all HTML code from any widgets you have set up, and all the url's from blogrolls. Assume all widgets will be lost, as they might well be and will have to be re-established.

3. Remember to hunt through your existing HTML code for any add-ins that you have, such as Google Analytics and Twitter Meme Codes.

4. I used MS Word, to copy and paste all HTML code to, with little notes as to where to copy & paste to and from.

5. Attempt a transition on the test blog from the Blogger standard format to new format.

6. Then read the FAQ section on the blogger template site... There are a few standard issues which are all easily fixed. Also read the comments section on Blogger Templates, as others may have experienced the same and the answer may be there already.

7. If you have made changes to the Test Blog set up that you want to use on your main blog, save it and use that file when doing the main transition.

8. Update your main blog.

9. IMPORTANT - when adding or changing HTML code, always remember to click to preview BEFORE you save. This will not allow a preview, or will show in a screen how the blog will look based on the most recent changes.. You might not like it. You can then click to undo edits which will revert the HTML code back to the last saved instance.

10. IMPORTANT - Thing look better, but what you can do with the format interms of tweeking is now a bit more limited, and will require playing around with the HTML to change text colours etc.. There is also a limitation on how much can be changed under the Creative Licence - You get a free template so long as it remains pretty much as provided

Post transition things work in pretty much the same way on the dashboard as they do on a standard blogger template, so there is no new things to learn from that perspective.

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