How to: make a blog button

Making a blog button is a lot easier than you might think.  I use the free version of  Xheader. 

While you can make your button any size you like, and in fact the larger ones are becoming more and more popular, the standard size is 125 x 125.  Depending on sidebar settings if you go over 125 for the width a lot of buttons get chopped off.  You can see an example of it by scrolling down on this blog.  All of the larger buttons, while still clickable etc. are not showing the entire image because of the way blogger has the sidebar settings.  While I could set it up to show larger, that's not the look I want, so it is something to keep in mind. 


Also, many sites that will showcase your button for you ask that you not go over the standard 125 x 125, but again, it's up to you.


Xheader is very easy to use, and it has a couple of youtube videos to get you started if you need a little help.   The first thing you want to do is figure out the look you are going for.  While you can change it as often as you like, remember your button is your *brand* so to speak and the more interesting, eye-catching and appealing your button the more likely it is that it will be clicked, which is the point.


You can use your own graphics or snag some from the web, but check first to see if they are free to use.  Some ask for a small fee, some a large one but many, many are free for personal use (they may ask for a link back to their site, it's common courtesy and only right if you use one of these to do so-  chances are you won't get caught and asked to remove it but nobody wants their work stolen, I'm sure you feel the same way).


Once you download Xheader, open it and click up top left where it says new then unless you are using the graphics provided click Create a Blank Header then change the size to whatever you like.  Again 125 x 125 is standard.


After that have fun with it-  you can fill in shapes, upload pics, write over them etc-  pretty much anything you like-  and you can spend forever messing with all the options- ask me how I know this.  ;-)


When you are done go back to the upper left and click the Save As button.  I like to use JPG but there is also a PNG option.  Click on your choice then choose your resolution-  I use the top one (highest quality).  Save it to a folder (mine is labeled blog stuff) or your desktop- somewhere you can easily find it.


That's all there is to it.  And no, it was NOT this easy for me because I had to find all this out the hard way, like I do most everything, but we wanted to make it easy for you.

Once you have your button created, you are going to want to share it-  try this easy blog tutorial on how to upload and share your blog button.


If you use this tutorial, let us know how you made out, we'd love to see your work. 


If you find this easy tutorial useful, feel free to spread the word, we'd really appreciate it.  Knowing we helped someone avoid the headaches and hassles really brightens our day.  :-)

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