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How to Upload a Custom Theme in Blogger (Beginner’s Tutorial)

Learn how to upload a custom theme in Blogger. A guide to back up your existing theme, apply a blank theme, and upload a custom XML theme easily.
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Blogger is a free platform that enables people to create blogs for free. Blogger has many free themes, but these themes might not interest you and when you want to create a professional blog, you can't use the Blogger default themes. This is why you will need to upload a custom Blogger theme. Custom Blogger themes can help your blog in terms of SEO and user experience.

Continue reading this blog post to find out more about the benefits of using custom Blogger themes, where you can find them and how to backup and upload them.

Image showing the word Upload a Custom Theme in Blogger with upload icon
How to Upload a Custom Theme in Blogger

Benefits of Using a Custom Theme

As you already know, using custom Blogger themes has many advantages. Below are just a few of them:

  • Modern Design: Custom Blogger themes offer many modern features such as good font styles, great colors, and clean layout this improves user experience on your blog.
  • SEO-Friendly: In addition to that, custom Blogger themes are optimized for SEO, meaning that your blog will rank higher on search engines hence driving more traffic.
  • Improved Features: Custom themes also offer advanced features such as light and dark mode toggle, bookmark posts, and language translators for your blog to be accessed worldwide.
  • Unique Branding: You can easily customize this custom theme to resemble your personal style and niche.

    Sources of Custom Blogger Themes

    You might have a question in your mind "How can I upload a custom Blogger theme without having it"? Don't worry many platforms and websites offer custom Blogger themes, but the best place for you to find premium Blogger themes for free is my blog. I provide SEO-friendly, fast, and responsive themes here which you can download for free.

    Example of Blogger Themes from our blog:

    How to Upload Custom Theme in Blogger

    After you have found a Blogger template that you prefer, it's time to learn how you can upload it to Blogger.

    1. Access the Blogger Dashboard

      1. Open your web browser and go to Blogger.com.
      2. Sign in with your Google account.
        Image showing signing in to blogger dashboard
      3. In the Blogger Dashboard, select the blog where you want to upload the theme.

    2. Back Up Your Existing Theme

      Before uploading any other Blogger template, it is highly recommended to back up your current theme so that you can restore it if anything goes wrong. follow these steps to back up your current theme:

      1. In the Blogger Dashboard, click on Theme from the left sidebar.
        Clicking on theme from left sidebar on Blogger Dashboard
      2. Click the ▼ icon next to the Customize button.
        Clicking on drop-down icon next to customise button
      3. Select Backup
        Image showing backup of blogger template
      4. Click Download then it will download the theme and save it in .xml extension
        Downloading blogger theme and save it to XML file

    3. Apply a Blank Theme

      To prevent your new Blogger theme from merging with the elements of the older theme, you need to upload a blank theme first:

      1. In the Blogger Dashboard, go to Theme.
      2. Click the ▼ icon next to the Customize button.
      3. Select Edit HTML to open the theme editor.
        Clicking on Edit html to open theme editor
      4. Press Ctrl + A to select all the existing code and delete it.
      5. Copy and paste the following blank theme code:
      <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html b:css='false' b:defaultwidgetversion='2' b:layoutsVersion='3' 
b:responsive='true' b:templateUrl='clean-install.xml' b:templateVersion='0.0.1' 
xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml' xmlns:b='http://www.google.com/2005/gml/b' 
xmlns:data='http://www.google.com/2005/gml/data' xmlns:expr='http://www.google.com/2005/gml/expr'>
<head><b:if cond='false'><b:skin><![CDATA[]]></b:skin></b:if></head>
<body><b:section id='_' maxwidgets='1' showaddelement='false'/></body>
</html>
      1. Click Save to apply the blank theme.

    4. Upload the New Custom Theme

      After you upload a blank theme, it’s time to upload your new Blogger theme:

      1. In the Blogger Dashboard, go to Theme.
      2. Click the ▼ icon next to the Customize button.
      3. Select Restore.
        Image showing restoration of blogger template in blogger
      4. A message will appear: You can upload a theme from a file on your computer.
      5. Click Upload and select the .xml file of your new theme.
        Clicking upload button to upload the theme in blogger Selecting the XML file from file manager
      6. Wait for the process to complete.

    After you are done, visit your blog to confirm if everything is fine. If elements are merging upload the blank theme first then upload your theme again

    Important: Blogger only allows .xml files when uploading themes. If you download the custom theme as a .zip file, you need to extract it first then locate a .xml file and upload that file to Blogger.

    That's all I have covered about the benefits of using Custom Blogger themes, where you can find them and how to back up and upload them.

    If you have any questions on how to upload a custom Blogger theme, share them in the comment section below.

    How to restore the default Blogger theme?

    To restore the default Blogger theme, go to the Theme section in your Blogger Dashboard, click the ▼ icon next to the Customize button, and then select Restore. From there, you can choose to restore the default theme or upload another one.

    Can I upload a theme from another blogging platform?

    No, Blogger themes are specifically designed for the Blogger platform. You can only upload themes that are in XML format and designed for Blogger. Themes from other platforms such as WordPress or Tumblr are not compatible.

    Will my posts and settings be affected by changing the theme?

    No, changing the theme will not affect your blog posts, pages, or settings. However, some widgets and layout elements may need to be reconfigured to match the new theme's design.

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