Static pages on your blog

Static pages on a blog are a useful element. They establish a place for us to share resources or content that does not need to be updated on a daily basis. For example, at the top of my blog I have several tabs, including an About Me and Schedule Me tab. These pages are static - I don't need to change or update the information on a regular basis. I've also created pages on Edmodo, Mystery Skype, and Blogging - topics I am passionate about and want teachers to have quick access to the resources. The main page of the blog is updated constantly with new posts, but the static pages don't change as frequently.

Blogging platforms such as Blogger let you easily create static pages. Kidblog doesn't have this same feature, but there is an easy work around.

Blogger

Log in to your Blogger account and navigate to your blog. In the navigation menu on the left, click on Pages. Click New page and add text, images, HTML codes or whatever else you would like. The interface is almost identical to the one where you write your posts.

In the Page Settings on the right click Options. If you don't want your readers to leave comments on static pages, then change that option.

Once everything is done, click the Publish button. You then need to add a navigation bar to your blog to display those pages.

Add Navigation Bar

On the left side of the page, click Layout. Click the Add a Gadget link. In the box that pops up, find the Pages gadget and click the plus button.

Check the boxes next to the pages you want to appear in the navigation.

You can drag and drop to rearrange the order.

In some cases you want your static page to be a little more dynamic. For example, this art teacher has pages on his Thomas Elementary Art blog that updates as he adds posts for certain grade levels. I have done something similar with the Edmodo, Mystery Skype, and Blogging pages at the top of this blog. To add tabs that go out to another website or contain a collection of posts, click  Add external link, paste in the URL, and save it. This tab can also be arranged along with the others.

Save the widget and drag it to your desired location on the layout. Click Save Arrangment and check out your cool blog!

Kidblog

Kidblog doesn't allow you to add static features, but using Categories you can create a similar effect. In this example, an elementary art teacher uses categories to group her blogs for easy reference by grade level.

Log in to your Kidblog account and click Settings.

Click Categories. You can edit the name of the default Blog category and add additional ones.

These categories appear in one of the right side widgets. As you create posts be sure to assign the post to a category.

Static pages are a really good way to add functionality to your blog, making it easy for your readers to find information. What are some other ways you can use static pages?