Blogger™ skins, also known as Blogger™ templates, are pre-made designs that can be applied to an existing blog, without the need for the user to do any design or coding whatsoever. There are many blog templates in existence, not just those for blogs that are hosted with Blogger™, though Blogger™ skins are some of the more common. They allow bloggers to change the layout, design, graphics, and font of their blogs, among other features, with just the click of a button.
Many Blogger™ skins are free, and can be found just by searching online. They may be applied to a new or existing blog. Free templates may be changed as many times as the user desires.
Blogger™ skins may be designed in a number of different ways; it is common for these templates to feature a two- or three-column layout. The center column is used for displaying published blog posts, while the side columns might be used for widgets. Some things that might be added to a side column in a blog includes links to related entries, links to other blogs, advertisements, or a tag cloud with commonly used topics, just to name a few. Most Blogger™ skins allow the user to add or remove sidebar widgets as needed.
Though a blog template will, by nature, come pre-designed with images, font colors and sizes, background images, and any other necessary design elements, some templates allow users to make changes to the design. A user may be able to modify font sizes or colors, for example, or to place a custom header image at the top of the page. Other Blogger™ skins will not allow users to make any changes to the design. Some Blogger™ skins are designed to function well on blogs with a specific purpose; a template designed for a photography blog, for example, may have a wider center column to better feature photographs.
Custom designed Blogger™ skins may also be available. Though these are typically not free, they can add a very personal and professional appearance to the blog. Designers will then be able to work with the blogger every step of the way to create the perfect custom blog template, using personalized images and colors. There are literally thousands of free Blogger™ templates available online, however, so it is best for a blogger to check those out first before paying.
