Third Party Templates Blogger

• What is a Third Party Template?

 Third party templates are any template that did not come from the Blogger Dashboard. This includes any templates that may of been downloaded of copied from other sites.  Make sure your not confusing backgrounds with templates in this matter.  Third party backgrounds normally fall under the third party gadget category.

•  Why is it a problem to use third party templates?

We deal with many users who are upset blaming Blogger because certain functions on the Blogger Dashboard will not work for them. The problem is Blogger functions are meant to be used with Blogger templates and not all third party template designers take this into account. Some leaving out vary important coding that is needed to run all the Blogger options. Blogger should not need to design their systems to be compatible with the never ending list of third party templates.  The third party templates need to be designed to fit Blogger standards instead.

Their is a long list of questions and issues that can be directly related to using 3rd party templates.

•  Why cant I see my post feeds? (Labels, Time Stamp, Reactions, Comments, eg)

Most issues with post feeds can be fixed with simply Reverting your widgets to default.

• How come my template gets messed up when I Revert my widgets to default?

Blogger templates are made to stay intact when you Revert widgets to default. This keeping all your colors and modifications in place (other then widget modifications). But with third party templates this is not always the case. The Revert widgets to default option will reset the widgets to Blogger defaults and not third party defaults.

• How come my blog layouts are messed up in different browsers?

Blogger templates are designed to work with all browsers although the layouts might be slightly different depending on how the browser interprets the coding. Third party templates may not of been designed with browser compatibility being top priority.  

•  Why are my Page Elements overlapping or out of place?

Third party templates are not always designed with the Page Element layouts in mind. So your third party template looks good but what good does that do you if you cant add new gadgets.

•  Why do I have links going out on my site?

Links leaving one site to another are known as backlinks. Backlinks play a big role in how Google determines Page Rank. The more Out Bound Links (OBL) on a site, the less value the links have with Page Rank. Basically all the backlinks on your site are having to split the earnings, making them less valuable to Google.
  
Another issue with backlinks is when they lead to unwanted sites. This can be compared to someone putting in a good word with their employer for a friend to get a job. If you get a friend a job and they show up late to work you maybe the one that ends up without a job. If the site you link to is flagged by Google for any reason this can affect the value of your site. A good example of this would be linking to a site that host copyrighted content.  Because your are linking to them, you are promoting the copyrighted content as well.

• Why cant I remove this ad from my Blog?

 Sometimes the designer to the third party template wants to get paid for his/her work. So they may end up hiding a ad into the content of the template.  As you maybe aware of already, Adsense will only allow 3 ads to display on the same page at one time. So by the template having a ad already installed on it, they are using up one of your ad slots.

• Other problems of note!

 Third party template designers might not always be the most trustful person. Just as their are risk of getting a virus when downloading anything from the web, their is also a risk that you maybe installing a malicious script with the template. These scripts can vary from redirecting traffic from your site to another or simply causing your viewers browsers to do unwanted things. This may result in your site getting flagged with a warning message on entry. "This site contents malicious scripts that maybe harmful to your computer!"  How many viewers you think your site will get with that message displaying?


 You may even find it hard to get help on Blogger Help Forums when using a third party template. If your cable on your TV is out, you don't call up Sony who makes the TV  and ask them how to fix it. You call the cable company about this issue. Although we do deal with a lot of questions related to third party template or gadgets, we do so on no obligation.We do not get paid to answer Blogger or third party help question, so it is a blessing to even get help at all.  Do don't get mad if you do not get the correct answer your looking for every time especially if third party templates are involved.


The problems above may not apply with every third party template, but the risk are still there. You never know what your really getting when installing a third party template, so be vary cautious when using one.