Create a Google toolbar for your blog

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Creating a Google toolbar Button for your Blog is very easy and useful. It gives your readers an opportunity to read Your post titles from Google toolbar

A Google toolbar Button can be Used as a promotional Item for your blog. Visitors and readers of your Blog can Check your Blog Updates from The Google toolbar Itself.(See example)

So If You want a Similar Button For Your Blog read On.

What You Will need To create Your Google toolbar Button

1.A 64 bit representation code of your Favicon. This Code Will show the Button in Google toolbar.

2. An Xml file That Will show Your latest Posts from Google toolbar.

Create The 64 Bit Representation code for your Favicon

1. At first Download Your Favicon File In your Computer.If You don’t Have any Favicon You can Use any .ico file that You want.You can also create a favicon for your Blog.

2. Go here and Upload the favicon.ico File That You just downloaded. Then Click Convert Source Data

xml description2

3.Copy the Base 64 representation data that You get. You will need this Code in your XML File so that your Favicon appears as a button icon In google toolbar.

base 64 representation

Save this Code in a Notepad File. You will need this code in the Next Step

Create The Xml File For Google Toolbar

You will need an XML file to create your Google Toolbar Button. You can Download a Sample XML file here and Start editing it as described Below.

4.Open the Xml file with Notepad Or any HTML editor.It would be better if you Use any HTML editor as We have described this Tutorial Using Line Numbers.

5.Right at the Top You will find 6 Fields : Title,Description,Feed,Site Update and Search.See the following screenshot.

xml description1

6.In line Number 4 and 5 You will find a Title tag and A description Tag. Edit them and Fill In your Blog’s Title and Description.

7.In Line Number 6 you will find a <feed> Tag. Edit and Enter Your Blog’s Feed address there.Proceed to line Number 7 and Enter Your Blog’s Address within the <site> tag.

8.In Line Numbers 8 you will see an <update> Tag. This tag Tells The Button where your XML File is stored. So if you would be Uploading Your XML File to yoursite.com/downloads/toolbar.xml then add the same address there.

9.Next proceed to line Number 9 and You will find a <search > tag. Edit that tag and Enter your Blog’s Homepage URL.

10.Now go to Line Number11 and Enter The favicon Code that You copied from Step 3.

Okay The hard Step is over. Now you need to Just upload your XMl file and Add your Button In the Toolbar gallery.

Activate Your Button

To activate Your Button follow these simple steps

1. Upload the Modified XML File In your Web Server.Remember to upload The file In the same Location as specified In your XML file (See Step 8 )

2. Go to Google Toolbar Button Gallery and Submit Your Google Toolbar Button.

3. Now you can add the Button using the following link :

http://toolbar.google.com/buttons/add?url=URL of your XML File

That Concludes the Tutorial for creating your Blog’s Button for Google toolbar. You can Include a link In your template and Encourage Visitors to add The Button In their Google toolbar.Do You have any Better method or idea to create a Similar Button ? Please share with Us In comments

This is a Guest post from Amit Banerjee, Who writes on computing and web2.0 at Ampercent. You can follow him on twitter @hsoumen