How to Customize a Blogger Template: Complete Beginner's Guide

A Blogger template controls the overall design and layout of your website, including its colors, fonts, header, navigation, sidebar, widgets, post layout and mobile appearance.

You can customize many parts of a Blogger template without advanced coding. Blogger provides tools such as Layout and Theme Designer, while more advanced changes can be made with CSS and the template's HTML.

This guide explains how to customize a Blogger template safely, from basic visual changes to advanced HTML and CSS customization.

How to customize a Blogger template using Layout Theme Designer CSS and Edit HTML

What Can You Customize in a Blogger Template?

Depending on your theme, you may be able to customize:

Logo and header
Background
Colors
Fonts and text sizes
Sidebar width
Page width
Navigation menu
Widgets and gadgets
Homepage sections
Post layout
Footer
Mobile design

The amount of customization available through Blogger's visual interface depends on the theme you are using.

Back Up Your Blogger Template Before Customizing

Before making major changes, download a backup of your current theme.

Go to:

Blogger → Theme → ▼ beside Customize → Backup

Save the XML file somewhere safe.

If a customization breaks the template, you can restore the previous version instead of rebuilding everything manually.

See our Blogger theme backup and restore guide for complete instructions.

1. Customize Blogger Using the Layout Section

The easiest place to begin is:

Blogger → Layout

The Layout screen lets you manage many of the visible components of your template without editing code.

Depending on the template, you may see sections for:

Header
Navigation
Sidebar
Main content
Footer

Add, Remove or Move Blogger Widgets

From Layout, you can add gadgets such as:

Popular Posts
Labels
Featured Post
Contact Form
HTML/JavaScript
Pages

To add one:

Layout → Add a Gadget

You can also drag supported widgets into different positions.

For more details, see our Blogger widgets and gadgets guide.

2. Use Blogger Theme Designer

For supported themes, open:

Blogger → Theme → Customize

The Theme Designer can provide visual controls for settings such as:

Background
Fonts
Text colors
Font sizes
Column widths
Theme-specific design options

Make your changes and click Save.

3. Change Blogger Fonts and Colors

For themes that support Blogger's advanced visual controls, go to:

Theme → Customize → Advanced

You may find settings for different parts of your website, such as:

Body text
Post titles
Links
Headings
Background colors

Choose colors with sufficient contrast and keep typography consistent across the website.

4. Add Custom CSS to Blogger

CSS is used to control the visual appearance of your template.

It can change:

Spacing
Colors
Fonts
Widths
Borders
Buttons
Images
Responsive layouts

Some Blogger themes provide an Add CSS option under:

Theme → Customize → Advanced

If your theme does not provide that option, custom CSS can be added through the template HTML instead.

Example Blogger CSS Customization

For example, you could change the main website link color:

a{
  color:#1769ff;
}

Or customize a button:

.button{
  padding:12px 20px;
  border-radius:6px;
  font-weight:600;
}

Use selectors that match your own template rather than copying random CSS from another theme.

5. Edit the Blogger Template HTML

For advanced customization, go to:

Blogger → Theme → ▼ beside Customize → Edit HTML

This gives you access to the complete Blogger XML template.

You can modify:

HTML structure
Blogger template tags
CSS
Widgets
Conditional tags
JavaScript
Schema markup

Use Edit HTML only when the required customization cannot be completed safely through Layout or Theme Designer.

Understand Blogger Sections and Widgets

Blogger templates contain sections such as:

<b:section>

and widgets such as:

<b:widget>

A section represents an area such as a header, sidebar or footer, while widgets are individual components placed inside those sections.

For example:

<b:section id='sidebar' showaddelement='yes'>
  ...
</b:section>

Changing these elements can affect what appears in Blogger Layout, so make structural modifications carefully.

6. Customize the Blogger Header and Logo

Many templates allow you to edit the header from:

Blogger → Layout → Header

Depending on your theme, you may be able to change:

Blog title
Description
Logo image
Logo placement

If your custom template has a coded header instead of Blogger's standard Header widget, additional HTML or CSS editing may be required.

7. Customize the Blogger Navigation Menu

Your navigation should make important pages easy to find.

A basic menu might contain:

Home
Blogger Tutorials
SEO
Blogger Tips
Contact

Depending on your template, navigation may be controlled through:

Pages gadget
Link List gadget
HTML/JavaScript gadget
Template HTML

Always check your template documentation before changing a custom navigation system.

8. Customize Blogger Widgets

Widgets can usually be styled individually using their widget IDs.

For example:

#PopularPosts1{
  padding:20px;
  border:1px solid #eee;
}

This changes only that Popular Posts widget instead of affecting every component on your website.

See our guide to customizing Blogger widgets with CSS.

9. Customize the Mobile Design

Your template should remain easy to use on phones and tablets.

Responsive customization is commonly handled with CSS media queries:

@media (max-width:800px){
  .sidebar{
    display:none;
  }
}

Use responsive rules carefully and test them at several screen widths.

If you are using a modern responsive custom Blogger template, make sure Blogger is not replacing it with an unnecessary legacy mobile theme.

10. Customize Your Blogger Favicon

Your favicon is the small brand icon displayed in browser tabs.

Go to:

Blogger → Settings → Basic → Favicon

Upload a square version of your brand icon.

See our Blogger favicon guide for complete instructions.

Use the Simplest Customization Method First

A useful order is:

Layout
↓
Theme Designer
↓
Custom CSS
↓
Edit HTML

Do not edit the full Blogger template when the same change can be completed safely through Layout or CSS.

This makes future maintenance easier and reduces the chance of accidentally breaking the theme.

Avoid These Blogger Customization Mistakes

Common problems include:

Editing the theme without creating a backup.
Deleting Blogger template tags without understanding them.
Copying CSS from unrelated templates.
Adding duplicate scripts.
Using too many third-party widgets.
Using !important everywhere.
Ignoring the mobile layout.
Changing too many things at once.

Make one group of changes at a time and test the website before continuing.

Why Did My Blogger Layout Break?

If the layout breaks after customization, check your most recent changes.

Common causes include:

Missing closing HTML tags
Broken CSS braces
Incorrect Blogger XML
Removing required template code
Fixed-width elements that overflow

If you cannot identify the problem, restore the theme backup you created before customization.

Why Doesn't My Custom CSS Work?

Possible reasons include:

The selector does not match the element.
An existing theme rule is more specific.
The CSS contains a syntax error.
The element uses a different class or ID.
Your browser is displaying cached CSS.

Use your browser's Inspect tool to identify the correct HTML element and active CSS rules.

Preview and Test Every Major Change

After customizing your template, check:

Homepage
Individual posts
Static pages
Label pages
Navigation
Sidebar
Footer
Desktop layout
Tablet layout
Mobile layout

A change that looks correct on the homepage may cause problems on another page type.

Blogger Template Customization Checklist

Back up the current theme.
Decide exactly what you want to change.
Use Layout for widgets and page elements.
Use Theme Designer for supported visual settings.
Use CSS for styling changes.
Use Edit HTML only for structural or advanced changes.
Keep your navigation simple.
Test widgets after customization.
Check mobile responsiveness.
Preview important page types.
Save a new backup after completing major changes.

Questions About Customizing Blogger Templates

Can I customize a Blogger template without coding?

Yes. Blogger's Layout and Theme Designer can handle many common changes such as widgets, backgrounds, fonts, colors and some layout settings without editing code.

Where do I customize my Blogger theme?

Start with Blogger → Theme → Customize for visual settings and Blogger → Layout for widgets and page elements.

How do I edit Blogger template HTML?

Go to Blogger → Theme, open the dropdown beside Customize and choose Edit HTML. Always back up the template before making major code changes.

Can I add custom CSS to Blogger?

Yes. Some themes provide an Add CSS option in Theme Designer. If it is unavailable, CSS can be added through the template's Edit HTML interface.

Can I customize a third-party Blogger template?

Yes, but third-party templates may use their own HTML structure, CSS classes and configuration system. Follow the template documentation before modifying its code.

Why should I back up my Blogger template before customization?

A backup lets you restore the previous design if an HTML, CSS, widget or template change causes problems.

Final Recommendation

Customize your Blogger template using the simplest tool that can accomplish the change.

Use Layout for widgets, Theme Designer for supported visual settings, CSS for styling and Edit HTML only when you need structural or advanced customization.

Always keep a backup and test the website on both desktop and mobile after making significant changes.

A good Blogger customization improves the design without making the template unnecessarily complicated or difficult to maintain.