There are three possible dashboard wizards, used to recover a blog with a corrupt template aka "500 Internal Server Error".
- The Template Designer page.
- The Template page.
- The Template Editor ("Edit HTML") page.
With most blogs, one of the three can eventually be used, to install a clean, new template - and recover a blog that's offline because of the broken template.
Some blogs, unfortunately, cannot be recovered this way.
Some blogs have templates so badly broken, that no dashboard template wizard can be accessed - and used to restore the blog to operational status.
If there's no way to recover a broken blog by replacing the template, the next possibility is to recover the URL - and install a new blog at that URL.
- Create a new blog - with a clean, working, Blogger supplied template.
- Swap URLs between the old and new blogs.
- Export content from the broken blog - and Import to the new blog.
- Transfer / update Followers.
- Rebuild the template, and add gadgets.
- Provide notice to your Followers, readers, subscribers, and other viewers.
Create a new blog - with a clean, working template.
Use the dashboard "New Blog" button, and create a new blog. You'll only create the new blog, in this case, to recover the URL of the broken blog - so just use a random, non valued URL.
Choose a template similar to the one on the broken blog, from the dashboard Template page - and get your new blog online. Use a Blogger standard template, until you are satisfied that the problem won't continue.
Swap URLs between the old and new blogs.
Hoping that you can access the Settings - Basic ("basicsettings") page - first rename the URL Of the broken blog, to a second random, non valued URL. Then you can rename your new blog - created above - to the URL previously used by the broken blog.
Just Edit "Blog Address", twice, to swap URLs.
First, for the broken blog, to free up the current URL - then, for the new blog, to recover the current URL.
Now, your broken URL is back online, with a clean template - though without content.
Export content from the broken blog - and Import to the new blog.
Use the "Import & back up" wizard at the Settings - Basic ("othersettings") page for the broken blog, and export comments, pages, and posts. Then use the wizard for the new blog, and import the content just exported.
Transfer / update Followers.
If the broken blog uses Blogger Followers for community building, and you had a significant Followers community, the community will remain on the old, broken blog. This is the one down side of recovering a broken template using this technique.
Fortunately, the only specific problem is the effect upon the Followers community. The other half of Following - the blog feed - will be re established with the new blog, which will now have the desired URL being recovered. And the sooner you get the blog back online, the sooner you can rebuild / recover your Followers.
Rebuild the template, and add gadgets.
If you periodically back up the template, as you tweak it, this will be the easiest step in the recovery. Of course, since you are here because the template is broken, maybe you should rebuild the template, one step at a time. Try to not repeat the previous mistake.
Then add gadgets back, one at a time - and test carefully.
Provide notice to your Followers, readers, and viewers.
If you care about your community - Followers, readers, subscribers, and other viewers - a new post, briefly admitting to your mistake might be a good idea. You can even display your new post, as a Featured Post.
Sometimes, it's not possible to recover a broken #Blogger blog, using any of the Template dashboard pages, with a blog sidelined by a "500 Internal Server Error" broken template. If the URL has any value to you - or your viewers - you can recover it, using a new blog.
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The "Featured Post" gadget is a useful tool, for spotlighting individual posts.
One of the limitations of the gadget is that it, like many (though not all) Blogger supplied gadgets, allows only one copy on the blog, at any time. The gadget is, after all, called "Featured Post" - not "Featured Posts". Blogger does not give us the ability to feature multiple posts, simultaneously.
Given a little imagination, we can make the gadget work, for multiple posts. We can't feature multiple posts, simultaneously - but we can alternate featured posts, sequentially.
Combining the "Featured Post" gadget and labels, we can alternately feature multiple posts, in a daily or weekly sequence.
I added a label in this blog, "Featured Posts".
I identified a couple dozen posts, in this blog, which need to be featured - and gave each post the label "Featured Posts". My intention, once the Blogger Followers gadget rewrite effort is behind us, is to feature one different post in "Featured Posts", each day.
Just edit the "Featured Post" gadget, and select a different post - each day.
The "Featured Post" gadget is at the top of my blog.
I can edit the gadget, and open the label list.
And, select "Featured Posts".
That gives me a list of my posts, with the "Featured Posts" label.
And, I selected the currently featured post, "Dear Followers Of This Blog".
Next month, I may select a different post to be displayed as a Featured Post.
So I can't feature more than one post at a time - but I can alternately feature different posts. And with some planning, I can make it easy to alternately feature different posts.
The #Blogger supplied "Featured Post" gadget can't be used with more than one such gadget on any blog, simultaneously. It is called "Featured Post" - maybe, for a reason.
With a little planning, though, you can organise the posts to be featured - and change the gadget, daily or weekly.
Blog owners are always changing the URLs of their blogs - then asking why Blogger does not provide automatic redirection, to the new URL.
We see the occasional query, in Blogger Help Forum: Learn More About Blogger.
How do I redirect my readers, to my new URL?
And this is a need that will likely go unfulfilled.
If Blogger provided automated redirection, spammers would abuse it, as part of a spam publishing strategy.
Blogger wants to keep the Blogger infrastructure as free from spam, as possible.
Changing the URL is simple enough.
Just use the Publishing wizard, in the Settings - Basic page, and Edit the "Blog Address". Subject to availability, your blog will have a new URL - as you watch.
The change is not difficult. Just Edit "Blog Address".
But with a new URL, unplanned, you'll lose traffic.
Blogger does not support automated blog to blog redirection.
Trying to keep the Blogger ecosystem clean from spam, Blogger actively discourages automated redirection. Neither JavaScript or meta refresh redirection is recommended.
You can use passive redirection, though - and give your readers the choice, to read the blog using the new URL.
- Setup a blog cluster.
- Setup a stub blog, at the old URL.
Setup a blog cluster.
Publish a blog at the old URL - and pair the old and new blogs, actively. There are a number of possible techniques to use, to combine two blogs as equals.
You will need informative, interesting, and unique content, for both blogs, to get the most from this approach.
Setup a stub blog, at the old URL.
Publish a blog at the old URL - and add a single post, advising your readers about the change - with a link, taking them to the new blog. You can use a custom 404 display, to collect all existing links to posts in the blog, which will take your readers to the single post.
A Featured Post is perfect, as the single post in the stub blog.
You can redirect the blog posts feed, even though you can't redirect the posts themselves. Just redirect the old blog feed, to the new blog posts feed URL.
Combine the two approaches, if you like.
There's no need to consider the two approaches as mutually exclusive. You can use techniques from each, if you like. Simply pick an approach that suits your readers.
Just don't look for automated redirection. That's not likely to happen.
Some #Blogger blog owners decide to change the URL of their blog - then ask how to setup automated redirection, from the old URL to the new. That is, however not likely to be an option provided, or even allowed, by Blogger.
