When you open Blogger's Settings panel for the first time, you see dozens of options. Most beginners either ignore them entirely or randomly change things without understanding what they do.
Both approaches cause problems. Ignored settings can tank your SEO before you publish a single post. Wrong settings can make your blog invisible to Google or break your design.
This guide explains every important Blogger setting — what it does, why it matters, and exactly how to configure it for a new blog.
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How to Access Blogger Settings
Log in to blogger.com → select your blog → click Settings in the left sidebar.
Settings is divided into sections. We will go through each one that matters for beginners.
Basic Settings
Title
Your blog's display name — appears in the header and in browser tabs. Set this to your blog name exactly. Do not add your tagline here; that goes in the Description field.
Set to: Your blog name (e.g., InsiderHacks)
Description
A brief summary of your blog — typically 1–2 sentences. This appears in some themes under your blog title and may appear in Google search results as your site description.
Best practice: Include your main keyword naturally. Keep it under 160 characters.
Example: "InsiderHacks helps beginners build, grow, and monetize their blogs with simple guides on Blogger, SEO, and making money online — reaching audiences in India, USA, Canada, Australia, UK, and worldwide."
Blog Language
Set to the primary language of your content. This helps Google show your content to readers searching in that language.
Set to: English (or your content language)
Adult Content
If your blog is NOT adult content, this must be set to No. Blogs marked as adult content are hidden from Google Search by default.
Set to: No (unless applicable)
Publishing Settings
Blog Address (URL)
Your blogspot.com address. This is permanent once set — changing it breaks all existing links and loses any SEO authority you have built. Choose carefully from the start.
Custom Domain
If you have purchased a custom domain (like insiderhacks.com), add it here. Blogger provides instructions for configuring your domain's DNS settings. The process takes 24–48 hours to propagate.
Redirect Domain
When enabled, Blogger automatically redirects visitors from the www version to the non-www version (or vice versa). Keep this enabled — important for avoiding duplicate content issues where Google sees your site as two different websites.
Set to: Enabled
HTTPS
HTTPS encrypts your blog connection, showing the padlock icon in browsers. Google uses HTTPS as a minor ranking factor and browsers warn users about non-HTTPS sites.
HTTPS Availability: Set to Yes
HTTPS Redirect: Set to Yes — forces all visitors to the secure https:// version
Privacy Settings
Visible to Search Engines
This is the most important setting for new bloggers. If this is set to No, Google cannot index your blog — meaning you will get zero search traffic, no matter how good your content is.
Set to: Yes — always
Many beginners accidentally leave this on No while setting up their blog, then wonder why Google never finds their content. Check this setting first if your blog is not being indexed.
Posts Settings
Max Posts Shown on Main Page
How many posts appear on your homepage at once. Too many slows your homepage loading time. Too few means visitors see less content.
Recommended: 5–7 posts
Post Template
You can add default HTML that automatically appears in every new post. Useful for adding standard closing sections, disclaimer text, or a "related articles" prompt at the end of every post.
Optional but useful: Add your standard closing CTA here so you do not forget it.
Show Share Buttons
Displays social sharing buttons (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) at the end of each post. Worth enabling — makes it easy for readers to share your content.
Set to: Enabled
Show +1 Button
Legacy Google+ button — largely irrelevant in 2026. You can leave this off.
Show Ads Between Posts
Only relevant if you have AdSense connected. When enabled, Google shows ads between posts on your homepage. Generally leave this off for new blogs — focus on content first.
Comments Settings
Comment Location
Where comments appear. Options: Embedded (under each post), Full Page, or Pop-up. Embedded provides the best user experience.
Set to: Embedded
Who Can Comment?
Controls who is allowed to leave comments on your posts.
- Anyone — Maximum comments, but attracts spam
- Registered users — Reduces spam but limits genuine comments from new readers
- Users with Google Accounts — Good balance for most blogs
Recommended: Users with Google Accounts for a new blog
Comment Moderation
When to require your approval before a comment appears.
- Always — You approve every comment before it shows. Best for new blogs.
- Sometimes (posts older than X days) — Auto-approve new comments, moderate older posts (where spam tends to accumulate)
- Never — All comments appear immediately. Not recommended.
Recommended: Always (for new blogs) or Sometimes after 14 days
Show Word Verification
CAPTCHA for commenters. Reduces spam but adds friction for genuine readers.
Recommended: On if you are getting spam, Off if comments are genuine
Email Settings
Comment Notification Email
Enter your email address here to receive notifications when someone leaves a comment. Essential — you want to respond to comments promptly, especially when your blog is new.
Set to: Your active email address
Formatting Settings
Time Zone
Set to your local time zone. Affects when scheduled posts publish and the timestamps on your posts.
For India: (GMT+5:30) India Standard Time
Date Header Format
How dates appear on your blog. Choose a clear, unambiguous format.
Recommended: Day Month Year (e.g., 15 June 2026)
Timestamp Format
Time format on posts. Either 12-hour or 24-hour — personal preference.
Meta Tags Settings
Enable Search Description
This is one of the most important settings for SEO. When enabled, it adds a meta description field to every post and page editor — allowing you to write custom descriptions that appear in Google search results.
Set to: Enabled — always
Without this enabled, Google chooses its own description for your posts — which is often not the best representation of your content.
Errors and Redirects
Custom 404 Page
The page visitors see when they land on a URL that does not exist on your blog (broken links, deleted posts, typos). A custom 404 page can redirect visitors to your homepage or popular content instead of showing a generic error.
Basic custom 404 message to add:
"This page does not exist. The content may have moved or been deleted. Return to our homepage to find what you are looking for."
Custom Redirects
If you change a post's URL after publishing (not recommended), use custom redirects to send visitors from the old URL to the new one. Without redirects, old links become broken 404 errors — losing traffic and SEO value.
Crawler and Indexing Settings
Custom robots.txt
Advanced setting that controls which parts of your blog search engines can crawl. For beginners, leave the default settings — incorrect robots.txt can accidentally block Google from indexing your blog entirely.
Recommended for beginners: Leave as default
Custom robots header tags
Allows you to set indexing instructions (index/noindex, follow/nofollow) for different parts of your blog. For beginners, the defaults work correctly — do not change these without understanding what each option does.
Recommended for beginners: Leave as default
Settings Checklist for a New Blogger Blog
| Setting | Correct Value | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Blog Title | Your blog name | 🔴 Essential |
| Blog Description | Keyword-rich, under 160 chars | 🔴 Essential |
| Adult Content | No | 🔴 Essential |
| Visible to Search Engines | Yes | 🔴 Essential |
| HTTPS Availability | Yes | 🔴 Essential |
| HTTPS Redirect | Yes | 🔴 Essential |
| Enable Search Description | Enabled | 🔴 Essential |
| Time Zone | Your local timezone | 🟡 Important |
| Comment Notification Email | Your active email | 🟡 Important |
| Comment Moderation | Always (new blogs) | 🟡 Important |
| Show Share Buttons | Enabled | 🟢 Recommended |
| Max Posts on Main Page | 5–7 | 🟢 Recommended |
| Custom 404 Page | Add simple message | 🟢 Recommended |
What Comes Next
With your settings configured correctly, Cluster 1 — Blogger Basics — is complete. You now have:
- ✅ A clear understanding of what Blogger is
- ✅ Your blog created and set up
- ✅ Knowledge of costs and platform comparison
- ✅ Your niche chosen
- ✅ Your blog name and domain decided
- ✅ Your first post published
- ✅ Essential pages created
- ✅ All settings configured correctly
The next cluster covers making your blog look professional — themes, design, and creating a homepage that keeps visitors reading:
How to Choose the Best Blogger Theme →
And critically — set up Google Search Console before you go further:
How to Set Up Google Search Console for Blogger
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