Hey Judith,

Can you tell me how to add a signature to my blog posts like you have on yours?

Thanks!
[Some Blogging Mama Somewhere]

Sure thing, [Some Blogging Mama].

There are actually a couple of ways to do this… Wait. I take that back. There are probably lots of ways to do this. But as this is my blog and my tutorial, we're gonna do it the way that I do.

Well, because that's the way that I do it.

Confused, yet?

No? Give it a minute, you'll get there. I promise.

Okay, to add a signature that automatically posts to the end of your blog posts like mine below, you'll need two things:

1. A Blog
2. A Signature Graphic

If you don't have number one, then you most likely live in a cave somewhere and could care less about pretty little signatures or anything else that I have to say in this post. I'll be adding some naked pictures tomorrow that are sure to interest even the most Neanderthal-ish being, however, so feel free to come back then.

Already have a blog? Good for you, moving on:

To create your signature, you can either pay a little visit to My Live Signature or open up your favorite handy dandy graphics program and make one of your own.

I, of course, opt for the making of your own bit… Especially if you happen to be a font whore like myself. On the other hand, if you have no idea what a "font whore" is, My Live Signature has lots of fun options including some great font choices and varying slants. Simply follow along with the easy to use signature generator and download your finished signature at the end.

Either way, be sure to choose a size and style that "fit" well with your template and voice.

(In other words, ix-nay on anything wider than your posting column and leave the fun little fonts with heart dotted 'i's for the more cheerful of the bunch, alrighty?)

Once you've got your signature created, you'll need to upload it to your blog's media manager or whatever it is that you use for image hosting, OR, if you used My Live Signature, simply click on the "Want to use this signature?" link that appears below your finished signature and allow them to generate the html for you.

Now let's add it to your blog:

To add it to a hosted Wordpress installation (not a wordpress.com blog), we're going to have make a little adjustment in your theme's files:

1. Click on Design > Theme Editor
2. Now look on over in the column on the right and open the file that is called something like "Single Post (single.php)". If you don't have a single.php, then open up your "Main Index Template (index.php)" instead.
3. Find the line that looks something like this:
   

   <?php the_content(); ?>

   OR this

   <?php the_content('<br /> <p class="serif">Read the rest of this entry »</p> <p>'); ?>

   Basically, whatever says "the_content" followed by whatever it is that your blog says for the read more option.

4. Add your image code (or the code that My Live Signature provided) just after that so that you now have something that looks like this:
   

   <?php the_content(); ?>

   <img style="border: none;" src="http://theonlythingiknow.com/images/sig.gif" >

5. Update the file, and you should be good to go!

For Blogger:

*Edited 8/15: If you were having problems getting this to work via copying and pasting the code below to your blogger account, it wasn't because you were doing anything wrong… It's because I'm secretly a blond. Seriously. You should be able to C&P now with no problems!

1. From your dashboard, go to Layout > Edit HTML
2. Check that little box next to "Expand Widget Templates"
3. Find the line that looks like:
   

   <div class='post-footer'>

4. Now paste your image code right above that. It should look something like this (be sure not to forget the trailing slash (/) after the image address):
   

   <img style="border: none !important;" src="http://theonlythingiknow.com/images/sig.gif" />

   <br/>

   <div class='post-footer'>

5. Preview & Save.

And that's it! If I've explained it right (which is probably like a 1 in 3 chance, I figure), then you should now have a signature that automatically posts whenever you do.

If I didn't explain it right, well, then, at least you got to see a nifty little post full of pretty code, right?

What was that? You don't find code pretty? Oh…

Well be sure to come back tomorrow for a naked picture.

It's Wordless Wednesday after all.

Have a similar question that I may be able to help you with? Contact me.

Remember in that last post where I said that "Photoshop is your best friend." No? Then go back and read it again…

Because I totally said that Photoshop is your best friend.

And I said that because:

PHOTOSHOP IS YOUR BEST FRIEND.

All of those things that we're currently learning the ins and outs of- like lighting, composition, etc.- can be faked (we're talking Pamela Anderson faked) with a little PS know-how. The so-so becomes the fabulous (and, no, not the Pamela Anderson kind of fabulous. Perhaps I should have chosen a different sort of comparison, eh?), the dark becomes the light, the dull becomes the bright… And so on and so on and so on.

Don't have any PS know-how?

No worries.

(more…)

One of my most beloved bloggers, MommyTime, asked for a little 'how I did that' series on my photography… And as I am loathe to deny her anything, I thought I'd try my hand at it as well as incorporating a few basic web design tutorials to help you do simple things like change the size of your banner space and whatnot.

Please note that this is a "how I did that" series and not necessarily a "how to do that" series.

As I am self-taught/self-teaching, I can almost guarantee that somebody out there has a better method- mayhap a right method- but then that pretty much goes for everything, now doesn't it?

Enjoy.

---

I thought for my first post in this series, I'd tell you a little about the equipment that I use, why I use it, where to buy it, and how to do it all on a "I've got three kids, two dogs, and a mortgage" budget.

As I am not a professional of any sorts and have no aspirations of becoming one any time soon, my wants and needs are very  different from those who wish to be able to make money from their work and/or the hardcore amateur.

In other words:

I take pictures of my kids.

And my dogs.

And occasionally my naked husband. :)

All I need is the basic stuff that'll do that- and do that well.

(more…)