Creating a Basic Template
On the main template page, you will see two tabs in the top right corner, "Basic" and "Advanced".
Click on "Basic" and then "Add a Basic Template". You will be given the option to "Create A Template" or "Import A Template". Click on "Create A Template" - you are going to use the Template Creation Wizard to create your own template.
Step 1: CREATE A TEMPLATE - "TEMPLATE ATTRIBUTES"
You will begin by naming your new template. Be sure to name your template something that identifies it easily for you. Next, select a basic layout. You are given four basic options to choose from.
The dark blue denotes a header area. The light blue denotes columns and the grey denotes your body (blog entry) area. Once you have named your new template and selected a basic layout, click "Next". Typically your blog name will go in the header area and your components (more on that soon) will go within column areas.
Step 2: CREATE A TEMPLATE - "CHOOSING YOUR COMPONENTS"
Next you will select components for your blog. Simply check as many or as few of the components as you wish. (You can always edit your template in the future to add or remove any components). Once you have made your selection, click "Next".
Step 3: CREATE A TEMPLATE - "TEMPLATE LAYOUT"
You will now see the layout you selected with the body area in orange and any columns in grey. (The header is not shown as components can not be added into the header area). You will also see boxes representing the components you selected.
Click on any of these boxes and drag and drop them wherever you wish - reorder them however you'd like them to appear on your blog page. Components can be moved from one column to another (if you have selected the basic layout with two columns) and can be moved up and down within a column. Components can not go within the body area - as this is where your entries will go! Once you have placed and ordered your components as you wish them to appear on your blog, click "Next"
Step 4: CREATE A TEMPLATE - "TEMPLATE STYLING"
Now you can start applying style (colours, font styles etc) to your template layout! In the top left corner you will see the basic layout that you selected in Step 1.
Page Background
Before we get to styling your components and blog entry area, you can set the background colour of the entire page or set a background image. You will see a little "Files" icon next to the option, "Background Image". If you click on this icon a pop-up window will display your uploaded files.
Click on any of the uploaded files in your list and then "Select" to set that image as your background image for your new template. If you have a new file that has not been uploaded yet that you wish to use, click on "Manage Files". A new window will launch and take you to your Files section where you can upload your new file. Once you have done that, return to the pop-up window "File Chooser" and click on "Refresh". You will now see the file you just added! Select it and click on "Select" to set it as your background image. You can have the image repeat or not - play around and see what suits you.
Editing the areas of your blog
In the blue area you will see "Select an element to edit" and the first element is "Blog". Below this highlighted blue area you will see options for Title, Font, Text Color, Link Color, Link Decoration and so on. Next to this you will see a box which defaults to showing you your blog element. This is the preview area. As you make changes to the styling elements on the left, this area on the right will preview your options so you can see what your selections look like. The name of the element (in this instance "Blog") will reflect the style you attribute to any normal text. Below that you will see "Link Text" and this will preview any styling changes you make to highlight linked text.
Title: This gives you the option to add a title above your component. For example, you can add "Archives" above your calendar component, or "About Me" above your text area component. This is not a required field.
You now have the option to style each component and area individually by selecting an element to edit from the drop down menu and styling it. Or, you can use the "Apply this to all Components" link. This will mean that by clicking "Apply this to all Components" whatever component you are currently styling, or that is currently selected from the drop down menu will be applied to all other areas and components. For example: If I wanted all my areas to have a white background and an orange border, using Arial as the font set to 10px and a link colour of green, I could edit one component to meet these requirements and then just click "Apply this to all Components" rather than having to edit each component individually.
Once you have created your template it will be added to your list of template options for all your blog pages. To select a template for a blog page, simply click on "Pages" to get a listing of your blog pages. Click on "Edit" for the blog page you wish to edit. You will be given the option to select a template design from a drop down menu. This menu will show the templates you have selected from the pre-designed templates as well as the templates you have created yourself.