Layouts - Can’t Live With Them, Can’t Live Without Them
When I first created this Tumblr blog I didn’t really take it seriously. Not because Tumblr is a bad site, but because I just didn’t think I would be spending much time posting anything. Like when you created your first Twitter account 8 months ago, tweeted what you were doing, and never logged in again am I right? It just didn’t seem like something I wanted to keep up.
However, things have changed. I truly do enjoy writing about what interests me most (big surprise) and have poured more effort into my Tumblr blog than I previously anticipated. As a result, I have been making some big changes to my layout.
Every blog needs - and I can’t stress this enough - needs, needs interactivity and shareability. Facebook share, retweet, and comments are becoming the industry standard and everyone should utilize these tools on their blog if they want to be able to compete with the hundreds of thousands of blogs on the internet.
Sadly, many layouts on Tumblr do not come stocked with these tools. My first layout, which took me all of two minutes to find, was completely bare. All it had was a nifty background and some cool transparent elements. But a pretty layout isn’t going to get me anywhere and it certainly isn’t going to help you get the name of my blog out there.
The fb share button, retweet button, and discus comment system were all hard coded by me. I had to copy all of the script from the respective Websites and insert them into the HTML of my layout. This was fairly easy for me to do, being that I have been working with these Web design languages for quite a while now, but what about the average user?
Some people use Tumblr because it is so easy and there is no coding involved. I know that’s why I chose it! I code enough on Yourwiseguy.com as it is (although I never mind the practice)!
Sadly, the only solution is to just go out there and search. Find layouts with these buttons built in because they will really make a difference! I believe that there are some layouts with discus built in as well. If you haven’t heard of discus, you really should check it out because it will change the interactivity of your blog and really help you reach out to your user.
I will be searching for a new layout to fit my needs an I can only hope that these features will be built in. If not, I will have to open up the code and dig in.
Good luck and comment letting me know what you’ve found! Thanks for reading!
