What Are The Differences Between Pages And Posts?

Occasionally, we see a naive question about pages (static pages), and posts (dynamic pages), requesting a value comparison.

What are the advantages of using a page, instead of a post?

That question, worded in that vague way, cannot be answered. The various differences between pages and posts can provide advantages, or disadvantages. To evaluate a page or a post as an advantage, one must know the specific needs of the blog in question.

Long ago, Blogger blogs consisted simply of posts, displayed using the static Classic template. The "home" page of each blog was merely the most recently published post. Each post was published with an optional index, "Previous Posts", which listed merely the 10 posts previous to the post displayed. There was no

• Archives gadget (Date sequenced post index).
• Labels gadget (Topic sequenced post index).
• Main page display (Date sequenced aggregated post display).

Other posts could be located, only one post at a time, by following the top link in "Previous Posts", from post to post - or directly, from any links in the posts.

With blogs published to Classic templates, important posts were directly accessed using in post links, intentionally added as the posts were composed.

In 2007, Blogger added the dynamic Layouts templates.

Instead of displaying the most recent post as the blog home page, they gave us the main page display, to display a sequential array of recent posts. Instead of the "10 Previous Posts" index, they gave us a true "Previous Posts" index, renamed "Archives", which indexed all posts in the blog.

All posts could be accessed, using either the Archives index - or by following the main page display links ("Newer Posts" / "Older Posts"), located at the bottom of each main page display segment.

Some blog owners, enjoying their blogs with the new Layouts templates and the Archives index, demanded special blog posts that were not indexed in the Archives gadget, and could be "hidden" from their readers.

Remember that all posts, using the Classic templates, were "hidden" - excepting important posts, directly accessed using in post links. To satisfy this new requirement, Blogger later added "pages", special posts that are accessed only when linked - never in archives, label searches, or main page displays.

Some time after adding the "pages" feature, Blogger added the "Pages" gadget, to provide an easy to setup index for important pages and posts. The term "pages" became used by many blog owners, to refer to both "ordinary" posts (aka "dynamic" pages), and "special" posts (aka "static" pages) - since both classes of "posts" could be accessed using the Pages gadget

The confusion between "pages" and "posts" is further aided because the edit wizards for each feature have a common overall display layout. Those blog owners not knowleagable about "pages" design may confuse the "page editor" and the "post editor", and continue to refer to everything as either "pages" or "posts".


This post, composed in the Page Editor.
Pages ("Static" Pages)

• Are created using the page editor, accessed from the dashboard Pages wizard.
• Are edited using the page editor, accessed using the dashboard Pages wizard, or the QuickEdit icon on the blog face.
• Are not relevant to the date when published.
• Cannot be scheduled, to publish in the future.
• Cannot be properly created with a blank title - though malfunctioning Blogger code has occasionally allowed pages with blank titles, a mistake which has caused other problems with pages.
• Cannot be created with a custom URL. A Page URL is rigidly based on page title, when published. URL Duplication prevention for pages is not understood.
• Cannot use "Jump Break" in a summarised index (main page display).
• Are limited per blog. Each blog can have a maximum of 20 pages - and deleted pages do not allow creation of additional pages.
• Will host one single post.
• Do not appear in archive indexes, label searches, and main page displays.
• Do not appear in blog newsfeeds.
• Do not have labels.

This post, composed in the Post Editor.
Posts ("Dynamic" Pages)

• Are created using the post editor, accessed from the "New Post" button, located in the Navbar, or in the dashboard Posts List display.
• Are edited using the post editor, accessed from the dashboard Posts List display, or the QuickEdit icon on the blog face.
• Are relevant to the date when published. The URL of each post will always include the current year and month when published.
• Can be scheduled, to publish in the future.
• Can be properly created with a blank title - though problems occasionally make the post editor malfunction when publishing posts with blank title.
• Can be created with a custom URL, when originally published. URL Duplication prevention for posts, especially considering "custom" URLs and post scheduling, is complicated - and has caused other problems with posts, and with their URLs.
• Can use "Jump Break" in a summarised index (main page display).
• Are unlimited per blog.
• Can host multiple posts, using label searches. A label search can also be used as a dynamic page.
• Appear in archive indexes, label searches, and main page displays.
• Appear in blog newsfeeds.
• Have labels.

In general, use of a page or a post, in any given scenario, is chosen based on the latter 6 details. When incorrectly chosen, we frequently see questions.

How do I publish a page with multiple posts?

or

How do I publish more than 20 pages in my blog?

This post is being published as a "dynamic" page. Click here, to see this post published as a "static" page - and click here, to see this post published as a portion of a label search "dynamic" page (with "Jump Break").

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YouTube Hosted Videos May Not Be Visible, On Some Mobile Computers

We see occasional reports from owners of blogs with lots of video content.

My readers can't view the YouTube videos in my blog, on their cell phones or iPads.

YouTube video content, as uploaded through the Blogger Post Editor, uses Adobe Flash embedded code. The native browser, on Apple based mobile computers, doesn't support Flash content. Many non Apple mobile computers may be similarly limited.

If your blog contains videos, uploaded using Post Editor, and your readers have problems viewing your videos, you have two possible alternatives.

• Replace all video content, in your blog, with the YouTube embedded player.
• Instruct your readers, who use mobile computers, to view your blog using a custom, non Apple browser.

Neither solution will be universally accepted or usable.

There is probably no 100% accepted or used solution, for blogs which contain videos uploaded using Blogger Post Editor.

Editing the posts in the blog, and replacing each Flash based video with the native (non Flash based) YouTube player, embedded in an iframe, is going to present a fair amount of effort, for blogs with lots of videos. Each blog post will have to be edited, in HTML mode - and the code for each video replaced by the code provided on the YouTube website.

The alternative, having your readers use a different browser, on their mobile computers, may not be widely accepted. Not all mobile computers will support installation of additional browsers. Also, not all mobile computer owners will want to install a custom browser, simply to view the videos on your blog. And casual visitors to your blog may not even understand this solution.

The bottom line here is that you may have some decisions to make, if you upload videos to your blog posts, using Blogger Post Editor. This is one more example of the challenges involved, in supporting mobile blog access.

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Publish New Posts Sooner, And Edit After You Publish, To Avoid AutoSave

Many blog owners spend hours - or days - composing a new post.

Occasionally, we see the complaint in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken

I had been working on my post, for days. Just as I accidentally erased everything, AutoSave kicked in, and saved my empty post. Now, I have to spend days rewriting!

Given the right reflexes, and presence of mind, recovery is simple. Most browsers provide an "Undo" command, which will back out the erasure of the contents - as long as you react properly. Just hit "Undo" - and you're back in business.

If using "Undo" is a problem for you, avoid AutoSave. As soon as you have a basic post written, publish the basic post. Then, edit what you just published.

Unless you have a lot of readers who read each new post, immediately - and who would be bothered by reading an incomplete post, this strategy will help you avoid problems generated by AutoSave.

Spend some time observing reader activity, using the visitor log / meter of your choice. Then consider

• How long it takes you, to publish a finished post.
• How many readers would typically read the post, during the time you spend publishing a finished post.
• How many readers would typically read the post, after you publish a finished post.
• How many more readers are you likely to get, if you can publish your posts without worrying about AutoSave ruining your efforts.
• How much easier it would be for you to publish, without dealing with the annoyances of AutoSave.

Unless you have more than a few readers who jump on each new post immediately after publication, you'll gain more, in the long run, by publishing sooner - if you have frequent problems with AutoSave.

This is another technique in progressive publishing. Publish sooner, and edit later.

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Automatic Sharing Of New Posts, To Google+, Is Here

Almost 3 years ago, Blogger introduced easy sharing of new Blogger posts, to Google+.

This week, they took the next step. For those blogs associated with a Google+ page or profile, you can share new posts, Publicly, automatically.

Starting today you can automatically share your blog posts publicly to Google+ — as soon as you publish them, with no additional clicks.

Just select "Automatically share after posting", and you're ready to share new posts, publicly, as soon as they are published.
When you share automatically, it's absolute and immediate.

• Everything gets shared to Public - no Circles selection.
• No Comment addition.

But, for those who like a no option sharing, it's here.

We see in Google Help: Automatically share to Google+, some interesting advice.

Automatic sharing to Google+ is enabled by default on all public blogs linked to Google+ pages or profiles.

If you setup a new blog, you might do well to check the setting, before publishing your first few posts.

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CAPTCHA Verification Is Broken, For Some Blogs, In Various Applications

We're seeing a number of problem reports, in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken, about various problems which involve CAPTCHA verification processes.

The symptoms are fairly diverse.

• Some blog owners report problems with commenting, on their blogs.
• Some report problems with high posting volumes.
• Some report problems getting abuse review requested, for their blogs falsely accused of hosting abusive content.

The reporting volumes, and perceived urgency, for each case, will vary.

The known problems involve various bX codes, issued in place of the CAPTCHA form.

• An unverified code is being seen, by people trying to post comments, on blogs using CAPTCHA screening.
• Blog owners are reporting various bX codes, when trying to post high volume blogs.
• Other blog owners are reporting "bX-niui1k", when trying to request spam review, from the dashboard "Deleted blogs" list.
• It's possible that there are other CAPTCHA applications, also seeing bX codes.

The audience observing the bX codes will differ - because the relationship of the people needing to use the CAPTCHA, and the volume of CAPTCHA use by the affected people, will differ.

People observing a bX code, when trying to post a comment, will be guests on blogs which use CAPTCHA screening - since blog members and owners are not subject to comment screening. CAPTCHA screening is optional for comment moderation, in general - and it's possible that many blog owners are not using CAPTCHA screening on their blogs.

It's also possible that only blogs which use the full page and popup comment forms are vulnerable, to this problem. The report volumes involving bX codes involved with comment moderation are low - and this will make affinity analysis difficult.

People observing a bX code, when trying to post at high volume, will be blog owners who post frequently. The reports of this problem are low to medium volume - possibly because many blog owners avoid posting excessively. This may be because we have observed that repeatedly solving a CAPTCHA will be inconvenient.

The people who report this problem are fairly insistent that this problem needs to be solved. Since the bX code is observed repeatedly (once for each high volume post attempted), by the blog owners affected, this case will involve the most controversy. Several blog owners have reported seeing differing bX codes.

People observing a bX code, when trying to submit an abusive blog review request from the "Deleted blogs" dashboard list, will be blog owners whose blogs were deleted or locked, spuriously, for abusive content (aka "spam hosting"). These people will post in the forums, and can be helped fairly easily, by our promptly offering a manual review, submitted to Blogger Support.

This case represents the most frequently reported symptom - but since the people affected can be helped with minimum fuss - and since this case is only observed once for each blog involved, this case will involve less controversy. This case has been reported, as noted, consistently producing the "bX-niui1k" code.

It's possible that CAPTCHAs are used in other unidentified applications - and we may yet have other cases to discuss, if the base problem is not resolved fairly promptly. Blogger Support is currently aware that there is a problem - and hopefully, where the problem lies.

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The Mysterious URL Hashtag Suffixes

From time to time, we see evidence of anxiety, in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken.

Why do my posts have hashtag suffixes?

and from some, more anxiety

How do I know what hashtags to add, when referencing my posts?

These two blog owners don't understand the purposes of the suffixes.

Third party post linking services, like AddThis and LinkWithin, add the hashtags, to give them the ability to track access of the posts - in a blog which uses their service to link the posts.

Use of the hashtags is not required, simply to access the posts. In fact, including the hashtags, outside the context of the service providing the post links, could interfere with the service's ability to consistently track use of their product.

AddThis provides a reference Why is there an extra string after my url after putting your codes?.

They're there so that we can collect analytics when someone copies the URL out of the address bar instead of going through our sharing tool. It shouldn't affect people linking to your site and can provide insight into what content is the most popular on your site.

Essentially, the hashtags are not needed for accessing the posts in the blog. If you add the hashtags when referencing the posts outside AddThis, you may be creating false tracks of AddThis use. If you care about consistent reporting within AddThis, you probably should not add the hashtags to any of your own code.

Leave the hashtags to the internal portions of AddThis, LinkWithin, or whatever third party post linking service that you're using. AddThis even provides an option, to eliminate the hashtags completely.

If they're not wanted or are causing issues, you're free to disable address bark sharing tracking.

and

More information about address bar sharing analytics is available here: http://www.addthis.com/help/address-bar-sharing-analytics

Stop worrying about details which don't affect you - and get back to work on blog content.

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Post Editor Problems With Blog Owners Using Internet Explorer V8

We've been seeing a steady stream of problems being reported in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken, from blog owners unable to use post editor.

The symptoms are varied, in detail.

• Some can't get the cursor active, in the window.
• Others can't use the Preview option.
• Still others can't Publish.

The primary symptom, seen by many, involves yet another mysterious bX code.

In many cases, this problem has been forecast, for some time - and the blog owners should blame only themselves. Many of these blog owners are using - or trying to use - Internet Explorer V8, to maintain their blogs.

Last year, Google warned us that this time was coming.

We support the latest version of Google Chrome (which automatically updates whenever it detects that a new version of the browser is available). We support the current and previous major releases of Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Safari on a rolling basis. Each time a new version is released, we begin supporting that version and stop supporting the third most recent version.

Google stopped supporting Internet Explorer V8, in 2012.

As previously announced, Internet Explorer 10 launched on October 26, 2012, and as a result, we discontinued support for Internet Explorer 8 on November 15.

Recently, as part of an update to post editor, Blogger used code which is incompatible with Internet Explorer V8. As they continue to update Blogger, to remain compatible with newer browsers, they will continue this policy.

As time progresses, more blog owners, trying to use IE V8, will find problems with Blogger - with the problems not answered by Blogger Support. Blog owners using IE V9 or V10, in compatibility mode, will also see these problems.

If you are using Internet Explorer V8, you are way overdue for a browser upgrade. If your computer uses Windows XP, then you need to replace or update your computer. As an alternative, consider using Chrome or Firefox for all Blogger activity.

The solution, for this problem, requires your action.

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Blog Owners, Composing A Post, Seeing "Required field must not be blank"

We're seeing a few reports in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken, from blog owners attempting to compose a new post, and seeing

Required field must not be blank

The problem appears to result from trying to compose a post, without first entering a Post title.

It appears that Blogger, trying to stabilise the post editor, is requiring non blank post titles, to save posts being composed. This includes the post being under effects of AutoSave, and the creation of Draft posts.

If you are composing a post, and seeing "Required field must not be blank", ensure that you are entering a valid Title to your new post.

As you enter this non appreciated new requirement, you may consider the requirement for Post Title uniqueness. A single space is accepted as a Title - but multiple posts, with the same Title, will result in duplicate titles, and an anti-duplication title suffix.

As an alternative to the single space, you may be able to hide the Title altogether, by adding custom CSS code.

.post-title.entry-title { display: none; }

If you have to change the Title before actually Publishing the post, you may be able to use the Permalink option, to change the URL to match the final Title.

We have a rollup discussion, where we are asking the people who are seeing this problem to provide details of what they are seeing, to help Blogger Engineering diagnose the underlying problem.

If you're willing to provide details, we ask that you be brief, polite, and on topic. Blogger Support needs objective statement of details - but using the rollup discussion to simply complain won't effectively encourage them to do anything.

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(Update 7/8): We're seeing reports that this problem has been fixed.

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Custom Permalinks Let You Create New Posts, And Publish Different URLs

We've been asking for the ability to have post URLs that differ from the post titles, for some time. Up to now, we had a workaround, to do this.

• Publish a post, with a title worded to give the desired URL.
• Edit the previously published post, and change the title.

That was a clumsy procedure - and it had side effects.

Now, you simply use the New GUI Post Editor, and publish a new post. In the "Post Settings" menu for a new post, under "Permalink", select "Custom URL", and enter the customizable portion of the URL. Note the restrictions, for Custom Permalinks.

• You can only customise the post title portion of the URL.
• You can only customise the permalink, for a new post.

This post was published as

blogging.nitecruzr.net/2012/07/custom-permalinks-let-you-create-new.html

If I had used the "Permalink" option before publishing, I could have entered

new-blogger-gui-gives-us-custom

and published

blogging.nitecruzr.net/2012/07/new-blogger-gui-gives-us-custom.html

In Blogger Buzz: Customize your posts with permalinks, we are specifically instructed

The bolded area is the portion of the URL that is customizable.

In this example, "new-blogger-gui-gives-us-custom" is the customizable portion of the post URL.

If I want to change the URL of an existing post, I would use the "Custom Redirects" option, in "Search preferences", under "Settings".

Plan ahead and use Custom Permalinks - or don't plan ahead, and use Custom Redirects. It's your choice.

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Blog Owners Reporting Posts Publishing Without Page URLs

We are seeing a small amount of blog owners who report that their blogs appear to be publishing new posts without individual URLs. The latest posts, when indexed in the Archive gadget, or in the post titles, simply link to the main page of the blog. Some reports mention that links in the "Edit Posts" / "Posts" menu also link to the main page, while other reports explicitly state that the links in "Edit Posts" / "Posts" are fine.

Checking this post, I can see no apparent problem - so it appears that this problem is not affecting all blogs. The extremely low reporting volume suggests that the problem has a very limited victim population. I did examine one blog, where the URL was provided - and verified that the problem existed for a significant number of recently published posts.

We have a rollup discussion in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken, where we are requesting details, from blog owners who are observing this problem with their blogs.

If you are observing this problem with posts in your blog, please provide details, as best possible.

• What's the URL of the blog?
• Do you use Blogger Post Editor, or a third party publishing tool like "Windows Live Writer", to compose and publish your posts?
• If Blogger Post Editor, do you publish posts using the Classic or the New GUI?
• When did you first observe the problem?
• When did you last not observe the problem?
• Are you seeing the problem only in the blog content, or also in the "Edit Posts" / "Posts" menu links to View the post?

Right now, details about this problem are badly needed, so at least the scope of the problem can be determined.

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CAPTCHA Verification Required For Excessive Posting Volume

Occasionally in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken, we see a query from a confused blog owner.

I made a large number of posts today, and Blogger is now requiring me to solve a CAPTCHA, for every post. I tried to find the form to submit, so that my website could be reviewed, but I could not find it. What do I do, now?

This blog owner, like too many, does not understand the spam mitigation policy.

Long ago, we first became aware of the Blogger policy on excessive posting volume. At the time when the anti spam policy was first publicised, we were told that CAPTCHA screening would be required, for any new posts exceeding a count of 50 in any day - and that the counter would reset at the end of the day.

Recently, we have some blog owners explicitly state that they are publishing less than 50 posts, and still being subjected to CAPTCHA screening. There are two possibilities, here.

• The Blogger anti-spam policy is dynamic, and the threshold may vary, dynamically, depending upon details not being stated.
• The breaking time of the day may not coincide with the local clock observed by any blog owner. It's possible that some activity from the previous local day might contribute to a count of 50 posts, as observed by any given blog owner.

It may not be accurate, to advise any blog owner, reporting this problem, that exactly 50 posts, in any day, will consistently trigger CAPTCHA screening.

In complete accuracy, we can only note that excessive posting volume, approximating 50 new posts in any 24 hour period, will trigger CAPTCHA screening - and that sometime during the next 24 hours, the count would reset - and normal posting would then resume.

It's possible that the "24 hour" period is calculated according to a local clock - but the reset, following a period of acceptable activity, is a worldwide process for all blogs, simultaneously. This would make the reset period more like "48 hours", for some blog owners.

The exact time span of the "48 hour" period is not known. This is simply a reality of the 24 hour, worldwide, use of Blogger.

Other cases where high posting volume may be a problem include use of Mail-To-Blogger, and the Blogger app on smart phones. Mail-to-Blogger now produces Draft posts, which can be published from the Posts menu. We have reports that the Blogger app is also saving Draft posts - but we're not yet sure what options are provided for Publishing the Draft posts.

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