If you have just created a Blogger blog, check its platform settings before changing the design or writing many more posts. The goal is not simply to see the dashboard: the blog should contain accurate information, be accessible to the right people, assign permissions at the appropriate level, display time consistently, and not be unintentionally hidden from search engines.
By the end of this article, you will have a checklist for reviewing a public blog and know how to open its URL in a window where you are not signed in. This lets you verify the actual result instead of relying only on the status shown in your administrator account.
The running example is SaibABC Blog, a practice blog planned for Blogger. This is a fictional name for illustration; the article does not claim that the blog has an actual address, readers, or real-world access results.
Prepare before opening Settings
You need:
- A Google Account with permission to manage the blog.
- The blog URL recorded after creation. If you do not yet have a real address, use a note
[địa chỉ Blogspot thực hành], not a link, as a placeholder. - A private window or a browser in which the administrator account is not signed in.
- A basic direction: the blog name, its topic, its readers, and how you want to receive comments.
These steps apply to Blogger on the web. Label names or locations may change with the language and interface updates; look for the equivalent groups of settings under Settings. Whenever you change a group of settings, select the Save button if the interface displays one before moving to the next group.
Check your blog’s basic information
In Blogger, select the correct blog in the upper-left corner, go to Settings > Basic and review the available fields. Blogger Help describes basic settings such as the title, description, language, and adult content under the settings manager (according to support.google.com).
| Item | How to check it | What to avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Title | Use a name that matches the topic and is consistent with how you introduce the blog. | Changing the name for each post or stuffing it with keywords. |
| Description | Write a brief description of whom the blog helps and what it covers. | Writing so generally that readers cannot tell what need the blog serves. |
| Blog language | Select the primary language of the content. | Choosing a language simply because the admin interface uses it. |
| Adult content | Enable this only when the content genuinely falls within a category that requires a warning; then check the blog in a window where you are not signed in. | Enabling it arbitrarily and treating the warning as an SEO setting. |
Illustrative example: The Title is “SaibABC Blog.” The Description could be: “Sharing Blogger knowledge and website-building techniques through step-by-step guides, practical examples, and easy-to-use checklists.” This is project guidance, not evidence that these fields have been entered into a real blog.
After saving, open the public blog page and compare its name and description. If the information has not changed, check that you opened the correct blog, selected Save, and did not confuse the admin page with the public URL.
Set reader access so the intended people can visit
Go to Settings > Permissions > Reader access. If your goal is a public blog, check the Public. Blogger also offers options that restrict access to authors or invited readers, so seeing the blog while signed in is not enough to conclude that everyone can view it (according to support.google.com).
- In the dashboard, copy the blog URL using the View blog function or from the public address.
- Open a private window or a different browser that is not signed in to the management account.
- Paste the URL and open the page.
- Check whether the blog opens without requiring you to sign in.
- Compare the blog name, description, and publicly visible posts.
If the private window asks you to sign in, return to Reader access and check the post status as well. The blog may be restricted, or the post you want to view may still be a draft. Do not move to another step until you know the cause.
If you are not ready to make the blog public, keeping restricted access is reasonable; in that case, do not mark “public blog” as complete on the checklist. Reverting to the previous option is a safe way to undo an accidental change.
Review administrator and author permissions
In Settings > Permissions, open the Blog admins and authorslist. Confirm that the primary Google Account still has administrator access, and review each invited person.
- Authors: suitable for people who need to write or edit content within the permissions granted to them.
- Administrators: grant this access only when someone genuinely needs to change settings, the design, or membership.
- Invited readers: intended for restricted blogs; this does not grant writing or administrative permissions.
The safety principle is to grant the lowest level of access that meets the task’s requirements. If someone only needs to submit posts, do not give them administrator access. When your blog has collaborators, you can consult the Blogger permissions guide.
If you do not yet have collaborators, a simpler permissions list is easier to review. Record the primary Google Account in a secure place, and do not share your password to manage collaboration. If you find that someone has more access than necessary, reduce their permissions or remove them, then review the important settings again.
Choose how to receive and moderate comments
Go to Settings > Comments. Check three groups of settings: comment location, who can comment, and moderation. Blogger supports different options for commenters and for reviewing comments before publication; label names may vary by interface (according to support.google.com).
| Goal | Option to consider | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Place the form directly below the post | Comment location: Embedded | Makes it easier to respond, but you still need to monitor spam. |
| Reduce anonymous comments | Who can comment: Users with Google Accounts | Some readers may not want to sign in. |
| Review comments before publication | Comment moderation: Always | You must regularly visit the Comments section to approve them. |
| No one is responsible for comments yet | Temporarily disable comments or enable moderation | Reduces the risk of inappropriate content but also reduces engagement. |
There is no single correct choice for every blog. For a beginner-focused tutorial blog such as the example SaibABC Blog, a cautious initial setup is to allow only users with Google Accounts to comment and to enable moderation. This is a practical suggestion, not a Blogger requirement.
To verify the setting, open a public post in a window where you are not signed in and view the comment form. If moderation is enabled, a valid test comment should enter a pending-review state rather than appear immediately; if comments are disabled, there should be no comment-submission box. Do not use another account for testing unless you control that account.
If you need a separate process for reducing spam, see the Blogger comment moderation guide.
Set the language and time zone in Formatting
In Settings > Formatting, check Time zone and the date and time formats. Choose a time zone that is consistent with your planning and publishing schedule. You do not need to change the time zone simply because your blog has readers in multiple countries.
An incorrect time zone can cause publishing times or scheduled posts to differ from what you expect. It does not guarantee search rankings; its main purpose is to display times consistently and prevent scheduling confusion.
- Record the current time zone and date and time formats before making changes.
- Choose the appropriate time zone and save it.
- Create a draft or test post with an easily recognizable time.
- Compare the time shown in the dashboard with the time shown at the public URL if the post has been published.
If the time is incorrect, restore the recorded time zone or select an appropriate time zone again, save it, and check the URL once more. When comparing times, distinguish the publication time from the update time because the two timestamps may differ.
Enable search-engine visibility without unrealistic expectations
Go to Settings > Privacy and check Visible to search engines. If enabled, this allows search engines to discover your blog; it does not mean that every post will be crawled, indexed, or achieve high rankings (according to support.google.com).
If the blog is intended to be public, enable this option, save it, and record the date of the change. Then check the following:
- The blog URL opens in a window where you are not signed in.
- A public post has its own URL and readable content.
- The setting remains saved when you reopen the Privacy section.
Not seeing the blog in search results immediately does not, by itself, prove that the setting has failed. Accessibility, crawling, indexing, and ranking are different processes. Do not repeatedly turn the option off and on simply because you have not seen a result yet.
For the purposes of this article, you do not need to enable custom robots.txt or custom robots header tags. These are advanced options that can affect how search engines process pages. Do not paste generic templates from the internet before you understand their purpose, effects, verification method, and rollback procedure. If you have already changed them, record the current configuration before restoring it according to the official documentation.
Checklist for recording and verification
| Category | What to record | How to verify |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | The name, description, language, and adult-content status, if applicable. | Compare the information with what appears at the public URL. |
| Reader access | Public if the goal is public access. | Open the URL in a window where you are not signed in. |
| Administrative access | The primary account and the author list. | Check Blog admins and authors. |
| Comments | The form location, who can comment, and the moderation setting. | Open a public post and check the comment form and moderation status. |
| Formatting | The time zone and date and time formats. | Compare them with a test post or a published post. |
| Privacy | The status of Visible to search engines and the date checked. | Reopen Settings; do not treat this as a guarantee of indexing. |
| Advanced | Custom robots settings remain unchanged if you do not understand their effects. | Check the switches; do not paste configurations arbitrarily. |
A successful check does not mean that the blog already has readers, rankings, or revenue. It only shows that the current platform choices fit the goal you defined and have been checked at an observable level.
Common errors and how to fix them
You can sign in, but other people cannot view the blog
Check Reader access, the post status, and the URL you are using. A private browsing window that asks you to sign in usually indicates that the blog or post is restricted, not public, or that you opened the wrong administrative URL.
Search visibility is enabled, but the blog still does not appear
Distinguish between allowing search engines to access the blog and having it crawled, indexed, and ranked. Check that the setting has been saved and that the public URL can be opened; do not treat the blog’s immediate absence from search results as evidence that the setting has failed.
A stranger is posting advertising comments
Switch to Comment moderation: Always, limit who can comment, or disable comments until someone is available to manage them. After saving, open a public post to check the comment field and moderation status.
The publication date is displayed incorrectly
Compare the Time zone, date and time formats, and the type of timestamp you are viewing. Record the current settings before making changes so you can restore them if the result is not appropriate.
Administrative access was granted by mistake
Reopen the Blog admins and authorslist, then downgrade or remove members who no longer need access. Afterward, check the blog name, reader access, comments, and Privacy, because someone with broad permissions may have changed these settings.
Exercise: complete the review checklist
Copy the table below into a separate document and fill it in with your blog’s actual settings:
| Item | Current setting | Reason | Verified externally? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Name and description | |||
| Language and adult content | |||
| Reader access | |||
| Administrative access | |||
| Comments | |||
| Time zone and formats | |||
| Search visibility |
Mark the checklist complete only when you can clearly answer: Who can access the blog publicly? Who can change its settings? How can readers comment? Which time zone determines how times are displayed? And does the blog allow search engines to find it?
Next step
Once the checklist is complete, you can move on to choosing a Blogger theme. Keep the completed checklist for comparison if you later change reader access, comments, or blog information. If a setting is unclear, record its current state instead of making several changes at once; this will help you identify which change produced the result.
Correct configuration does not guarantee that the blog will attract readers, be indexed, or generate revenue. It only helps the platform start in a state that matches your objectives.
Reference source
- Manage your blog’s settings — Blogger Help.
- Control access to your blog — Blogger Help.
- Manage your comments — Blogger Help.
- Help people find your blog on search engines — Blogger Help.
