Blog Layout

My apologies if my blog layout is looking a bit weird on the left hand side this morning. I've tried several browsers (AOL, IE and Firefox) and the same problem - photobucket bandwidth exceeded - is showing on all of them. I think it's something to do with the 3 column blog template I'm using, but I've run out of time trying to fix it this morning.

I will try again on my return this evening. In the meantime, if you see anything other than the Photobucket bandwidth problem, or if the blog looks fine for you, or indeed if you have any ideas on how I can fix the problem, do leave me a Comment. Thanks.

I've pulled today's scheduled post - whilst the posting part of the template isn't affected, I'm sure you don't really want to view an untidy looking blog!

Update: As I suspected the message is to do with the Photobucket URLs I'm linking to which give me a 3-column template in Blogger. These are held on someone else's Photobucket account, so unless they upgrade their account or let me have the code they hold there, I won't be able to continue to use this template. I suspect neither of these will be happening, in the short term at least.

I think I have 3 other options at this point:
  1. Revert to a Blogger hosted 2 column template - they don't have any 3 column ones :(
  2. Find another 3-column template for Blogger - preferably one I can host myself
  3. Convert to WordPress and use one of their 3 column themes

Ideally I would like to take option 2, but I suspect it's going to take some time to find a suitably reliable template, so in the short term I'll be going back to a 2 column one :(

I've tried option 3 already and have decided WordPress isn't for me unless I also change my link-rich and widget based approach to blogging. I would prefer not to do that at this stage. There's also a longer term option 4 - to have my own website - but I don't think my HTML abilities are good enough to pursue this one at the moment.

Please bear with me whilst I make the necessary changes - normal service will be resumed as soon as possible. Any thoughts/help you have on all of this are welcome!

Update 2 (17:00 pm GMT): So, there I am checking out Happy Mouffetard's superb Out on the Streets post and how it's linking to my blog when I spot the problem's sorted itself out. It looks like the template's image providers have put another shilling in the meter over at Photobucket. In the meantime, I've been up to my eyes in HTML and I now understand a hell of a lot more about how Blogger templates work. You were saved from me putting this new found knowledge into practice in the nick of time. Probably just as well ;)

Many thanks for your supportive comments and suggestions today - especially Linda over at Crafty Gardener - whose link in the comments is to a website which has the best explanation of all of this kind of stuff I've seen so far.

Normal bloggage will resume tomorrow. In the meantime I'm in need of a quick lie-down followed by a curry with my mates.

Update 3: (9:15 am Sunday) Lord, it's back to being weird again - sorry folks. And yes, I thoroughly enjoyed my curry thank you :) Unfortunately I've chosen to amend a template with images in it, and it's these that are hosted on Photobucket. I have two choices - either chose another simpler Blogger template where the amendment to 3-column is pretty straightforward, or stick with this one, obtain the images for myself and set up an account to host them online for me. Either choice is going to take a while to set up and test before unleashing it to you all (and I also need to have a think about the pros, cons and risks of them), so please bear with me as all this has coincided with a particularly busy time. I'll be resuming my scheduled posts later on today as luckily the main part of the blog is unaffected by all of this.

Comments

  1. Carrie28 March 2009 at 11:52

    oh that's wick! but i'll gladly read the wonderful content you create and ignore the surroundings until something can be done. Bloody 'improvements', when it ain't broke - don't 'fix' it!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Linda28 March 2009 at 13:08

    Check out this link as they offer 3 column templates for blogger. You get the code and enter it onto your own template so it isn't hosted anywhere.

    3 column templates

    ReplyDelete
  3. Susan Tomlinson28 March 2009 at 13:54

    Ah computers. Gotta love 'em, though.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Juliet28 March 2009 at 14:13

    Photobucket are a pain - I'm always having problems with them - I can't show my photo albums any more because of unnecessary changes they've made & I have trouble viewing other people's.

    I hope you get the problem fixed. Using Mozilla on a Linux machine, I'm used to web pages not looking quite right though, as most people set them up for IE, so I'd also be happy to read the blog without worrying what the sidebar looks like!

    I have the opposite problem with blogger - I can't work out how to remove one of my sidebar columns, as I only use one, and don't really want all that blank space on the left-hand side of my blog.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Soilman28 March 2009 at 14:51

    Widgets are an easy option in WP, too. Have another look. If you host the site yourself, WP is endlessly flexible - and there are now themes that will do anything you like. I switched to WP from Typepad and now wish I'd done it ages ago.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anna28 March 2009 at 19:38

    Can't offer any suggestions VP but fingers crossed that you come through the other side - I'm sure you will. Enjoy that curry !

    ReplyDelete
  7. Karen - An Artist's Garden28 March 2009 at 20:11

    Hi VP it is 8 pm - and your side bar still looks very messed up to me on my computer.

    While I am a big fan of wordpress, particularly a self hosted wordpress blog and would urge anyone to move there - I think you would loose a lot of google ranking if you did this - although you can re-direct things from blogger to self hosted blog via some HTML stuff which is way above my head and not lose your ranking.

    I dont have a solution for you - but there is so much more flexibility if you self host

    ReplyDelete
  8. Juliet28 March 2009 at 21:00

    9pm and sidebar still messed up for me as well - sorry :(

    ReplyDelete
  9. Gail28 March 2009 at 21:19

    I want to update my blog, too...make it wider with larger photos and it seems daunting! We will all figure this out together won't we! gail

    ReplyDelete
  10. Mr. McGregor's Daughter28 March 2009 at 21:32

    It's back to being weird. It's better to just customize your template through the html code stuff on Blogger. There's a way to do a 3-column blog, but I've forgotten where I saw the info when I redid mine last year. I'll look for my notes. I hope you get it resolved without having to play with code. Have you downloaded your template to your computer?

    ReplyDelete
  11. petoskystone29 March 2009 at 13:20

    photobucket must be on a roll. this is the second blog-site to be messed with. the first one dumped photobucket completely & re-did thier site. that's frustration!

    ReplyDelete
  12. F Cameron29 March 2009 at 13:21

    Are you trying to post images from Photobucket in the left side bar (which is messed up)?

    Try selecting a smaller size image and use that html code. If it is images that you are posting and they are too wide for the space, you'll get error messages.

    Cameron

    ReplyDelete
  13. Frances29 March 2009 at 15:54

    Hi VP, you have my deepest sympathies for dealing with this. Some people love this kind of challenge. Others, like me despise it but muddle through somehow. My long term goal is the self hosted blog too, but I am not ready for that kind of project, may never be in fact. I did purchase my domain name and feel good about that. Good luck and we will keep viewing no matter what you decide. :-)
    Frances

    ReplyDelete
  14. VP30 March 2009 at 08:24

    Thanks for your support and help everyone - as you can see, the problem's fixed now :D

    I'll be revisiting the way foward with my blog later on in the year, so your advice re web hosting etc. won't be lost I assure you!

    ReplyDelete

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