How to add a Categories or Labels widget to your blog (tutorial with pictures)

I like Categories widgets. They look pretty but are also very useful. Categories make it easier for your readers to find related posts from your blog. For example, if Chelsey loves crochet and finds the Categories widget that you can see below, she can click on crochet and find all of your posts that relate to crochet. This makes Chelsey one happy reader.

Every time you add a new label to your posts they will appear in the Categories/Labels section on your blog. An organised blog should not have too many Labels, it can be quite daunting for your readers to find a huge list trailing down the page. Perhaps try to stick to just a few clear and concise labels. Such as 'Pets', instead of cat, dog, rabbit, horse, fish, guinea pig, kitten, giraffe, ferret, mouse, rat....you get the idea!

Ok, now onto the important stuff. This is how to add a Categories/Labels widget to your Blogspot.

1. On the right hand side of your Blogger Dashboard click on the downward facing arrow (if you hover your mouse over this arrow it will say 'More options').

2. Select Layout.

3. Click on the Add a Gadget box.

4. Scroll down until you see Labels.
5. Click on the plus button.

6. The Title is what the widget will be displayed as on your blog. I changed the title of mine to Categories. I'll leave this up to you.
7. For Display you can select List or Cloud. The Categories section in the first picture of this post is the Cloud setting.
8. De-select the Show number of posts per label box unless you want lots of little numbers in your Categories section.
9. Click Save.

10. Click on Save arrangement.
11. View blog and have a look at your brand new, fabulous Categories section on your blog!

When I wanted to add a Categories section to my blog there was a lot of fiddling and fussing before I finally figured out how to do it! I searched the net but couldn't find anything straightforward. I'm a visual learner and like lots of pictures to show me how to do things. I hope that you will find this tutorial helpful.

If you have any questions leave a comment below.

Happy Categorising!