With so many blogs on the Internet, it’s important to find ways to make your blog stand out from others.
Fortunately, there are many website tools and gadgets you can find online to make your blog different from all the rest. Think of it as blog bling, which is similar to all the widgets you might add to your computer’s desktop.
Want to show the local weather on your blog? What about breaking weather news and reports? Those and more can be added to your personal blog in the form of weather widgets. And some can even be customized with a fun background or photograph!
Following are some fun website tools to enhance your blog with weather trackers, weather widgets, and other weather gadgets…
Weather Trackers For Websites
Why add a weather tracker to your blog?
Blog tools like weather trackers (or weather widgets) add extra value to your blog that will keel visitors on your site longer.
By making your blog useful and interactive, visitors may stay long enough to notice your advertisers and may also come back to read more of your articles.
If you have a blog that is location-based, a weather tracker will add extra value to your blog in the sense that people will get in the habit of checking back to read your blog and also check the weather at the same time.
Some fun weather widgets for blogs are:
The Weather Channel has a freeWeather Logo gadget for blogs which provides custom local weather content on your site.
Other weather tools provided by The Weather Channel are:
- Intellicast – has more customizable weather data and graphics options
- Simple Weather Widget – see current weather and the 10-day forecast
- Breaking Weather News Widget – embed breaking weather news into your site
iBegin has a Weather Widget for blogs. You pick your city and state in the U.S. or in Canada, then add the code to your site.
At Widgetbox, you can pretty much design your own fun weather widget for your blog. Your best bet is to start with one you see there, then modify it using their step-by-step process. It’s fun… and FREE.
WeatherBug provides a local weather widget that is very similar to The Weather Channel’s.
AccuWeather has a colorful weather widget for blogs that displays the local weather forecast in your area.
WeatherForBlog provides a Weather For Your Blog widget that lets you customize the background with your own personal image.
Other Tools To Enhance Your Blog
Subscribe buttons – Readers will gladly visit your blog again if you ask them to. For this reason you need to look into adding subscribe buttons. You can do this through WordPress, Feedzilla, Bloglines, Feedburner, and many others.
Blog themes – Giving your blog a theme adds character and ambiance to your site. While most blog sites have a few standard blog themes, bloggers typically like to add a bit more individuality than what the basic templates provide. Fortunately, there are many sites that help you customize your blog further through HTML and pre-written blog backgrounds. I recommend updating your blog theme once a year, and consider adding seasonal changes with some holiday embellishment. You can find blog themes at Blog Themes Plus. Find blog themes at Blogging Themes, as well as those that are designed specifically for a particular blog format (like WordPress, Blogger, etc.)
Don’t go too far – If you decide to add some blog bling to "pimp your site," just remember not to get too carried away. As with the traditional meaning of the term "pimp", going too far can get garish and distasteful. While a bit of blog bling will make your blog shine, too much will come across as "busy" and difficult to read. It will also overload the server and make your blog load very slowly. Impatient web surfers will move on before your blog is even done loading. One final thing to keep in mind when dressing up your blog: Beware of using too many network badges, glitter art, cutesy cats and such. With too much of that stuff, your blog will be seen as infantile.
I have been a certified tightwad since I became pregnant with my first child and decided to find a way to stay home with him. I enjoy sharing my experiences in my journey back to financial health and planning for a future — which will include sending 2 kids to college and early retirement.
