Add Some Bling with Images

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You may have noticed several of your peers are adding images to posts and pages: some are creating graphics that complement a particular post or page, like Jay’s customized header for her blog or JM’s graphics to draw attention to his ideas.

Using images is a great way to add bling to your blog. Before I explain how to add an image, you should keep in mind some blogging best practices:

Be sure the picture/graphic complements the content; don’t fall into the trap of adding meaningless, random images that don’t relate to the content.

Don’t overdo it; a well-placed graphic can enhance your ideas, but too many graphics can clutter the page.

Don’t use pictures from the Internet without properly citing them. You MUST cite pictures as you would text. This means you should include a link to the original source of the picture, and include the source information of the picture in MLA format or another accepted format. The best way to do so–without cluttering your post, is to include a list of sources at the end of the post.

You might want to try creating your own graphics. Simply use PowerPoint to create a graphic (that’s what JM used in the example above). Then, take a screenshot of it when you’re finished (hit the “Print Screen” button on your keyboard–in the upper rand-hand corner). Paste the screen shot on a new slide. Then, right-click on the image and save it. You’ll have to change the file type (by clicking the pull-down arrow on the “save as type” box) to a JPG or PNG. You may have to experiment to see which file type displays best on your blog.

The easiest way to insert an image in your blog is to upload the image to your blog. If you scroll past the big box you type your post into, you’ll see another toolbar, with “Upload” as one of the commands. Click the “browse” button next to the “file” box. Locate where you have saved the image, select the file, and click “open” (just as you would attach a file to an e-mail). Next, you click the “Upload” box at the bottom of the page. You will then have the option to change the size of the image and link it to the page. Click “send to editor,”  and–presto–you see the photo appear inside the box with your text.

Most accounts come with a good bit of free storage space, but, if you use up your free space, you can use an online photo storage service. Check out PhotoBucket or Flickr ; both are free services. You simply create an account and start uploading your images. Once the image is online, you’ll be able to copy the URL of the picture (usually by right-clicking on the photo, scrolling down to “Properties” and then copying the address (URL).When creating a post or page in your blog, you simply hit the “img” tool (for image). It will pop up a box for you to paste the URL. It will add this complicated looking code to your post, which may look a bit like a foreign language, but when you publish your post, your image will appear.

Try it out–see if you can add some bling to your next post. A picture truly is worth a thousand words. And, it’s fun!

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Filed under Blogging How-To

Tags: blogging, design, images, layout