Blogging 101: adding 'Home' and 'About me' pages

Hmm, I'm crawling to the end of the school holidays, people! Nearly there. I thought I'd post on something simple and useful tonight - adding pages to your blogs.  Not sure what they are? They're the little tabs normally at the top (although they can be in your sidebar) of a blog. You click on them and another static page opens up. Still not sure? Let's investigate mine to get more of an idea.

Up the top of my blog, you can see these tabs. They contain information I like to keep visible at all times. I think they're helpful for new readers to gain an impression of what makes me tick and what they can find on my blog.

Adding a 'Home' page

Let's start with my 'Home' page. It's a bit different to the other two I have. When you click on it, it takes you back to my home page. Sound obvious? Not sure why it's good to have one?

Well, if you don't have one and people want to return to your home page to find your most recent post, they'll have to make a real effort to find out how to do it. 

They'll have to scroll right down to the bottom of a post, underneath all the comments, to find something like this:

By clicking on 'Home' right down the bottom, they'll return to your home page. It can take a bit of time and effort to find, especially if you allow a number of posts to appear on your home page.

So, having a 'Home' page at the top of your blog is both a courtesy and convenience to any readers of your blog, yourself included!

To add one to your blog, do this:

• Click on 'Design', 'Pages' and 'New page'.

• Previously you used to have create a new 'Home' page. But now, with the recent blogger changes, I think just clicking on 'New page' immediately creates a default 'Home' page.

• Click 'Save arrangement' and you're done.

I just created a dummy blog to try it out and that's what happened. Let me know if it works like that for you!

Adding an 'About me' page

This page is always the first I seek out on new blogs. I want to know what makes the blogger tick. Know the feeling?

Often I click away if I can't find one, disappointed. 

Having such a page is your chance to allow readers to instantly connect with you. It's your welcome mat! If you make it inviting, they're likely to want to stay awhile.

My favourite blogs have theirs prominently displayed and have current information, photos and a dash of humour.

To add one, do this:

• Click on 'Design', 'Pages' and 'New page'.

• Type in your information and add some photos.

• Scroll down the menu pane to decide where you want your pages to be displayed.

• Click 'Save arrangement' and you're done.

What to include:

I updated my 'More about me' page when doing the Blogging Your Way 2.0 e-course. Here's the top of it.

Some of the tips of things we were advised to include on our pages were:

• Your name or your alias. You can use your full name, first name or alias - whatever appeals most. Adding a current clear photo of yourself really adds appeal. 

• Who you are. Why are you writing your blog? You might want to state your background, occupation or passions. For instance, you might describe yourself as 'a want-to-be writer'. It doesn't have to be completely serious. You might identify with being a 'dreamer', for instance.

• Where you live. A general geographic location is all you need. You don't have to name your suburb or even city. You might just want to put your country. Whatever you choose, it allows people to mentally place where you are on the globe and form more of a connection with you.

• What your blog is about. A pithy, informative few sentences will do the trick. This is the meat - what people really want to know. Here they'll discover if you're like-minded. Or not!

• Why to read your blog. It helps to mention the topics you cover, how often you post and whether you have any special features or series.

These are the two main pages I'd recommend for any blog. You may also choose to add 'FAQ' and 'Contact me' pages if you wish, for example. It's totally up to you!

So, do share if you have any more tips of things to include on your 'About me' page. Is anything unclear? Are there any features you seek out when reading such pages? And do you have any pet peeves? Over to you - I look forward to reading your ideas.