New Blogger Widget: Contact form - Change Style & Install in a Static Page

Just a few days ago, Blogger introduced a new widget. It is about a contact form that you can add to your blog easily. It is very basic, because - at least for now, does not permit incorporating files or send anything other than plain text.

The contact form for Blogger has the following features:
  • Field for the user name
  • Field for email
  • Field for the message (textarea)
  • Submit Button
Screenshot
contact form, blogger gadgets, static page
 The design is simple and the text colors inherit the section where you add it. At the moment, this widget has no configuration options and is not available for dynamic views.

How to Add Contact Form to Blogger

To add it to your blog, just select the Layout tab, then click on Add a gadget in the section you want to show, for example, in the sidebar. Then, select the More gadgets tab and add the Contact Form gadget.


blogger gadgets, blogger widgets, contact form

Styling Contact Form


As the background is transparent, the form will integrate well, aesthetically speaking, but nevertheless it is easy to modify using Style Sheets (CSS) to the appropriate selectors. Here's an example:

/* Contact Form Container */
.contact-form-widget {
width: 500px;
max-width: 100%;
margin: 0 auto;
padding: 10px;
background: #F8F8F8;
color: #000;
border: 1px solid #C1C1C1;
box-shadow: 0 1px 4px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25);
border-radius: 10px;
}

/* Fields and submit button */
.contact-form-name, .contact-form-email, .contact-form-email-message {
width: 100%;
max-width: 100%;
margin-bottom: 10px;
}

/* Submit button style */
.contact-form-button-submit {
border-color: #C1C1C1;
background: #E3E3E3;
color: #585858;
width: 20%;
max-width: 20%;
margin-bottom: 10px;
}

/* Submit button on mouseover */
.contact-form-button-submit:hover{
background: #4C8EF9;
color: #ffffff;
border: 1px solid #FAFAFA;
}

This is how it will look like after applying the style:
contact form, blogger gadgets, contact form for blogger

To add this style, go to Template > Edit HTML, click on the sideways arrow next to <b:skin>...</b:skin> and paste the code just above ]]></b:skin> (press CTRL + F to find it):


How To Add Contact Form In A Static Page


First step is to add the Contact Form gadget (Layout) and second, to edit the template (Template > Edit HTML) to remove most of the gadget. You have to search for the id "ContactForm", expand the widget by clicking on the black arrow on the left (same with the includable) and then delete the part that I have colored in red (see below):

Part to be removed:

  <b:widget id='ContactForm1' locked='false' title='Contact Form' type='ContactForm'>
    <b:includable id='main'>
  <b:if cond='data:title != &quot;&quot;'>
    <h2 class='title'><data:title/></h2>
  </b:if>
  <div class='contact-form-widget'>
    <div class='form'>
      <form name='contact-form'>
        <p/>
        <data:contactFormNameMsg/>
        <br/>
        <input class='contact-form-name' expr:id='data:widget.instanceId + &quot;_contact-form-name&quot;' name='name' size='30' type='text' value=''/>
        <p/>
        <data:contactFormEmailMsg/> <span style='font-weight: bolder;'>*</span>
        <br/>
        <input class='contact-form-email' expr:id='data:widget.instanceId + &quot;_contact-form-email&quot;' name='email' size='30' type='text' value=''/>
        <p/>
        <data:contactFormMessageMsg/> <span style='font-weight: bolder;'>*</span>
        <br/>
        <textarea class='contact-form-email-message' cols='25' expr:id='data:widget.instanceId + &quot;_contact-form-email-message&quot;' name='email-message' rows='5'/>
        <p/>
        <input class='contact-form-button contact-form-button-submit' expr:id='data:widget.instanceId + &quot;_contact-form-submit&quot;' expr:value='data:contactFormSendMsg' type='button'/>
        <p/>
        <div style='text-align: center; max-width: 222px; width: 100%'>
          <p class='contact-form-error-message' expr:id='data:widget.instanceId + &quot;_contact-form-error-message&quot;'/>
          <p class='contact-form-success-message' expr:id='data:widget.instanceId + &quot;_contact-form-success-message&quot;'/>
        </div>
      </form>
    </div>
  </div>
  <b:include name='quickedit'/>

</b:includable>
  </b:widget>

After you have saved the template, go to Pages and paste the following code into a new blank page with the title you want:

 <div class='widget ContactForm' id='ContactForm1'>
  <div class='contact-form-widget'>
    <div class='form'>
      <form name='contact-form'>
        <p>Name<p>
        <input class='contact-form-name' id='ContactForm1_contact-form-name' name='name' size='30' type='text' value=''/>
        <p>E-mail *</p>
        <input class='contact-form-email' id='ContactForm1_contact-form-email' name='email' size='30' type='text' value=''/>
        <p>Message *</p>
        <textarea class='contact-form-email-message' cols='25' id='ContactForm1_contact-form-email-message' name='email-message' rows='5'></textarea>
        <input class='contact-form-button contact-form-button-submit' id='ContactForm1_contact-form-submit' type='button' value='Submit'/>
        <p class='contact-form-error-message' id='ContactForm1_contact-form-error-message'></p>
        <p class='contact-form-success-message' id='ContactForm1_contact-form-success-message'></p>
      </form>
    </div>
  </div>
</div>

Messages will be sent to the same email that you have registered in Blogger.

Here's a demo page where you can test it (it is an account that I don't use, so don't expect reply).


That's it! If you have any questions or comments please post below.

How To Add A Tabbed Navigation Widget to Blogger

The tabviews are elements that allow us to group in a single container various gadgets and these can be selected via tabs.
Its main function is to save space on the blog to avoid scattered gadgets in the same category so you can group multiple gadgets into one. There are several methods for creating tabviews, some require jQuery, other MooTools, or any other script.
To add this widget to your blog, just follow the steps below:

Step 1. From your Blogger Dashboard, go to Template and click on the Edit HTML button

Step 2. Expand the style of the template, by clicking on the sideways arrow before <b:skin> ... </b:skin>


Step 3. Search using CTRL + F for the following tag:

]]></b:skin>




Step 4. Just above it, add the following code:

/* Tabview for Blogger
----------------------------------------------- */
.tabviewcont{
margin:15px 0;
padding:0;
clear:both;
}

.tabviewnav {
margin: 0 0 0 14px;
padding:3px 0; /* If you are using a Blogger Template change 0 with 15px */
font-size:12px; /* Font size of text inside tabs */
font-weight:bold;
}
.tabviewnav li {
list-style:none;
margin:0;
display:inline;
}
.tabviewnav li a {
padding:3px 6px;
margin-right:1px;
background:#F6F6F6; /* The background color of the tabs */
border-radius:5px 5px 0 0;
-moz-border-radius:5px 5px 0 0;
-webkit-border-radius:5px 5px 0 0;
text-decoration:none;
color:#222222;
}
.tabviewnav li a:hover {
color:#222222;
background:#EBEBEB; /* Background color of the tab on mouseover */
text-decoration:none;
}
.tabviewnav li.tabviewactive a,
.tabviewnav li.tabviewactive a:hover {
background:#EBEBEB; /* Background color of the active tab */
color:#222222;
}
.tabviewcont .tabviewtab {
padding:5px;
border:1px solid #EEEEEE; /* Border around the container */
background:#fff; /* The background color of the gadget */
}
.tabviewcont .tabviewtab h2,
.tabviewcont .tabviewtabhide {
display:none;
}
.tabviewtab .widget-content ul{
list-style:none;
margin:0 0 10px 0;
padding:0;
}
.tabviewtab .widget-content li {
border-bottom:1px solid #ccc;
margin:0 5px;
padding:2px 0 5px 0;
}

Step 5. Find the </head> tag and just above it, paste this script:

<script type='text/javascript'>
// Tabview for grouping gadgets

//<![CDATA[
document.write('<style type="text/css">.tabview{display:none;}<\/style>');function tabviewObj(argsObj){var arg;this.div=null;this.classMain="tabview";this.classMainLive="tabviewcont";this.classTab="tabviewtab";this.classTabDefault="tabviewtabdefault";this.classNav="tabviewnav";this.classTabHide="tabviewtabhide";this.classNavActive="tabviewactive";this.titleElements=['h2','h3','h4','h5','h6'];this.titleElementsStripHTML=true;this.removeTitle=true;this.addLinkId=false;this.linkIdFormat='<tabviewid>nav<tabnumberone>';for(arg in argsObj){this[arg]=argsObj[arg]}this.REclassMain=new RegExp('\\b'+this.classMain+'\\b','gi');this.REclassMainLive=new RegExp('\\b'+this.classMainLive+'\\b','gi');this.REclassTab=new RegExp('\\b'+this.classTab+'\\b','gi');this.REclassTabDefault=new RegExp('\\b'+this.classTabDefault+'\\b','gi');this.REclassTabHide=new RegExp('\\b'+this.classTabHide+'\\b','gi');this.tabs=new Array();if(this.div){this.init(this.div);this.div=null}}tabviewObj.prototype.init=function(e){var childNodes,i,i2,t,defaultTab=0,DOM_ul,DOM_li,DOM_a,aId,headingElement;if(!document.getElementsByTagName){return false}if(e.id){this.id=e.id}this.tabs.length=0;childNodes=e.childNodes;for(i=0;i<childNodes.length;i++){if(childNodes[i].className&&childNodes[i].className.match(this.REclassTab)){t=new Object();t.div=childNodes[i];this.tabs[this.tabs.length]=t;if(childNodes[i].className.match(this.REclassTabDefault)){defaultTab=this.tabs.length-1}}}DOM_ul=document.createElement("ul");DOM_ul.className=this.classNav;for(i=0;i<this.tabs.length;i++){t=this.tabs[i];t.headingText=t.div.title;if(this.removeTitle){t.div.title=''}if(!t.headingText){for(i2=0;i2<this.titleElements.length;i2++){headingElement=t.div.getElementsByTagName(this.titleElements[i2])[0];if(headingElement){t.headingText=headingElement.innerHTML;if(this.titleElementsStripHTML){t.headingText.replace(/<br>/gi," ");t.headingText=t.headingText.replace(/<[^>]+>/g,"")}break}}}if(!t.headingText){t.headingText=i+1}DOM_li=document.createElement("li");t.li=DOM_li;DOM_a=document.createElement("a");DOM_a.appendChild(document.createTextNode(t.headingText));DOM_a.href="javascript:void(null);";DOM_a.title=t.headingText;DOM_a.onclick=this.navClick;DOM_a.tabview=this;DOM_a.tabviewIndex=i;if(this.addLinkId&&this.linkIdFormat){aId=this.linkIdFormat;aId=aId.replace(/<tabviewid>/gi,this.id);aId=aId.replace(/<tabnumberzero>/gi,i);aId=aId.replace(/<tabnumberone>/gi,i+1);aId=aId.replace(/<tabtitle>/gi,t.headingText.replace(/[^a-zA-Z0-9\-]/gi,''));DOM_a.id=aId}DOM_li.appendChild(DOM_a);DOM_ul.appendChild(DOM_li)}e.insertBefore(DOM_ul,e.firstChild);e.className=e.className.replace(this.REclassMain,this.classMainLive);this.tabShow(defaultTab);if(typeof this.onLoad=='function'){this.onLoad({tabview:this})}return this};tabviewObj.prototype.navClick=function(event){var rVal,a,self,tabviewIndex,onClickArgs;a=this;if(!a.tabview){return false}self=a.tabview;tabviewIndex=a.tabviewIndex;a.blur();if(typeof self.onClick=='function'){onClickArgs={'tabview':self,'index':tabviewIndex,'event':event};if(!event){onClickArgs.event=window.event}rVal=self.onClick(onClickArgs);if(rVal===false){return false}}self.tabShow(tabviewIndex);return false};tabviewObj.prototype.tabHideAll=function(){var i;for(i=0;i<this.tabs.length;i++){this.tabHide(i)}};tabviewObj.prototype.tabHide=function(tabviewIndex){var div;if(!this.tabs[tabviewIndex]){return false}div=this.tabs[tabviewIndex].div;if(!div.className.match(this.REclassTabHide)){div.className+=' '+this.classTabHide}this.navClearActive(tabviewIndex);return this};tabviewObj.prototype.tabShow=function(tabviewIndex){var div;if(!this.tabs[tabviewIndex]){return false}this.tabHideAll();div=this.tabs[tabviewIndex].div;div.className=div.className.replace(this.REclassTabHide,'');this.navSetActive(tabviewIndex);if(typeof this.onTabDisplay=='function'){this.onTabDisplay({'tabview':this,'index':tabviewIndex})}return this};tabviewObj.prototype.navSetActive=function(tabviewIndex){this.tabs[tabviewIndex].li.className=this.classNavActive;return this};tabviewObj.prototype.navClearActive=function(tabviewIndex){this.tabs[tabviewIndex].li.className='';return this};function tabviewAutomatic(tabviewArgs){var tempObj,divs,i;if(!tabviewArgs){tabviewArgs={}}tempObj=new tabviewObj(tabviewArgs);divs=document.getElementsByTagName("div");for(i=0;i<divs.length;i++){if(divs[i].className&&divs[i].className.match(tempObj.REclassMain)){tabviewArgs.div=divs[i];divs[i].tabview=new tabviewObj(tabviewArgs)}}return this}function tabviewAutomaticOnLoad(tabviewArgs){var oldOnLoad;if(!tabviewArgs){tabviewArgs={}}oldOnLoad=window.onload;if(typeof window.onload!='function'){window.onload=function(){tabviewAutomatic(tabviewArgs)}}else{window.onload=function(){oldOnLoad();tabviewAutomatic(tabviewArgs)}}}if(typeof tabviewOptions=='undefined'){tabviewAutomaticOnLoad()}else{if(!tabviewOptions['manualStartup']){tabviewAutomaticOnLoad(tabviewOptions)}}
//]]>
</script>

Step 6. Finally, look for this line:

<div class='column-right-inner'>

Or if you use an old template of Blogger, search this line:

<div id='sidebar-wrapper'>

Step 7. Paste below one of these two lines, this code:

<div class='tabview'>
<b:section class='tabviewtab' id='Tab1' maxwidgets='1'/>
<b:section class='tabviewtab' id='Tab2' maxwidgets='1'/>
<b:section class='tabviewtab' id='Tab3' maxwidgets='1'/>
</div>

Step 8. Save changes, and go to Layout and there you will see the new areas to add gadgets.


You just have to click on Add a Gadget to add the gadget to the tab that corresponds, or drag a gadget you already have to that section.

If you want to add more tabs, then just add before the last </div> a line like this:

<b:section class='tabviewtab' id='Tab4' maxwidgets='1'/>

Note that each line you add should have a different ID, for example Tab5, Tab6, etc..

You can add multiple tabs, just repeat the last step and likewise remember to change the name of the IDs.

Remember that if your sidebar is too narrow, then you should not put a lot of tabs, or tab titles that are very long.

You should also note that this gadget does not speed up the loading speed of the blog, is only to group gadgets into one, even, depending on the blog-may take a while to load the tabview.