What is the attribution - and what's wrong with it
- The theme designer
(Even though s/he only designed the structure, not the colour, font and gadget layout combination that you're using - and readers who aren't familiar with Blogger probably won't understand the distinction between your work and the theme-programmer)
- The copyright owner of the background photo you're using
(Even though s/he doesn't own any of the zillion other photos in your blog - and again, readers aren't going to understand what photographs are part of the theme and what aren't)
- Blogger for "powering" your blog
(Even though they're hosting it, and the real power may be provided by other tools: eg I have blogsites hosted by Blogger but whose real power comes from Google Maps, Google Custom Search, and Sites.)
The gadget also has a field "Copyright (optional)". Whatever you put into this is shown at the beginning of the attribution. It will accept some simple HTML commands, for example a line break (<br />) as shown in the picture. But I have a feeling that adding something more complex, eg an entire Creative Commons statement, won't work.
How to remove the Attribution Gadget
Removing this gadget has been troublesome since it was introduced. Several times, we found a method to remove it, which worked for a while. But then Blogger added a check for that method, and code to put the gadget back again each time the theme was saved - so we had to find another approach..For a while they stopped putting the gadget back and the earlier, simpler methods of removing the gadget were working. Then they stopped again. So the complete list of removal methods that I've found, with notes about their current status, is below.
WARNING:
I have not checked the Blogger Terms and Conditions to find out whether you are allowed to remove the Attribution. Even if they don't mention it today, a requirement to keep the statement could be added tomorrow. This advice does not mean that I, or Google/Blogger, are saying that you should/can/may/must remove the attribution statement.
Methods that currently work
- Changing your theme name to a non-standard value AND
removing the gadget by either unlocking and removing the gadget or commenting out the code.
As at 20 Sept 2010, these methods both work if the name-value has been changed.
- Adding a "not on mobile themes" command to the gadget code (only works on mobile themes, not required if you have been successful with removing or commenting out the code)
Techniques that used to work, but don't any more
- Unlocking and removing the gadget
This worked initially, then stopped. Most recently (Jan 2011), it was working again. If you try it, and it doesn't work, please leave a comment below, and try one of the other methods.
- Commenting out the code.
(I haven't tested this again lately - it may be that it works again too.)
Advantages and Disadvantages
I'm not keen on methods that involve hiding things, because it may make search-engines think you're being sneaky.But changing the theme-name may mean you don't get improvements that Google apply to the standard theme in future (eg support for new browser features, bug-fixes).
It may also mean that you get less-sympathetic responses to future question in the Blogger Help Forum: when people use 3rd party themes, and ask "how do I do XXXX to my theme" one regular reply is "ask your theme provider."
To avoid this, you should at very least remember what theme you were using, and possible even rename yours to something like "WHATEVER, based on Awesome".
Give credit where it's due
If you do remove the standard attribution gadget, it may be a good idea to replace it with a customised attribution that acknowledges any or all of your domain registrar, blog-host (Blogger, AKA Google), file host, theme designer and customiser, graphic designer, content writer(s) - in short anyone whose efforts have contributed to your blog.Related Articles
Giving your blog a customised attribution gadgetAdding a CSS rule to hide the attribution gadget
Changing your theme name or designer-name
Removing attribution from mobile-theme blogs
Deleting the attribution gadget by unlocking and removing it
Deleting the attribution gadget by commenting out the code.
How the data in your Blogger blog is organised
When I first tried this I was casual.
ReplyDeleteI used this #Attribution1 {display: none;}. But it caused a hidden link problem for SEO. So, I try to remove it in the way you did. But when I try to remove the widget from the "page element" it was not there.
So, I started to Google how to... I found your blog. You did it in the same way. Strange! where my widget gone?
Then I found I did not removed #Attribution1 {display: none;}.
Some times coding is tricky!
Indeed: it's often tempting to just try to hide things. But as you say, it can look like you're trying to fool the search engines. And (in some cases) the item gets downloaded to your reader's computer even though it's not displayed, and this causes the page to take longer than necessary to load.
ReplyDeleteIt's always better to fix the underlying problem.
Just tried this and it will let me remove the gadget after changing to 'false', but it won't let me save the template, blogger error bX-qr9qtc
ReplyDeleteAdditional information
blogID: 8067395556650969100
host: draft.blogger.com
uri: /rearrange
Any ideas??
Rich, it's best if specifc queries like this go to the Blogger Help Forum - you have access to a range of experts there.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.google.com/support/forum/p/blogger
You can't do this anymore, if you remove it blogger automatically re-adds it. If you move it around to a different location, they re-add it again to the bottom.
ReplyDeleteHi Shawn, thanks for letting me know.
ReplyDeleteFor other people's benefit:
I originally described how to unlock and remove the gadget, but this approach stopped working recently. I've just changed the article to describe a new approach, which I've tested and which does work (for now! I have a feeling we're going to be needing to come up with ever-more-clever approaches to this).
Is there a way to leave the credit to the designer and to Blogger, but take away the link? I don't want my visitors to be leaving my blog until they are ready.... especailly not clear to Zurick.
ReplyDeleteThe easiest way would probably be to:
ReplyDelete- copy the text you want to keep
- remove the attribution (as described)
- create a new text-gadget in the footer (Design > Page Elements > Add a Gadget) and paste or type the text you want to keep into it.
Thinking as I type: if you just use a text gadget, I'm not sure if you've got controls to centre the text, and it may look odd if it's left-aligned. It may be better to use a HTML/Javascript gadget, and put this code in:
* div style="text-align: center;">
PUT THE TEXT YOU WANT TO KEEP HERE
*/div>
BUT change the * to an open bracket (which I cannot show in this comment 'cos the tag isn't allowed!)
thank you, It worked charming :]
ReplyDeletetried it... didn't work
ReplyDeleteThankyou Nice
ReplyDeleteThank you! it worked.
ReplyDeleteThanks pal, worked like a champ!
ReplyDeleteI love you. *huggles* It annoyed the heck out of me that "Josh Peterson" HAD to get the credit even though I had pretty much torn his temp to pieces and rebuilt my blogs from practically scratch.
ReplyDelete~Ness
Here's another option. Go to where it says locked='true' and change it to locked='false' and then you can just delete it like any other gadget.
ReplyDeleteThis is the simplest way. I figured it out myself.
DeleteAngus, that's the approach that I suggested originally. But I found that when the Template Designer moved from Blogger-in-Draft to Blogger, it stopped working (well it appears to work at first, but it gets undone by Blogger when the changes are saved.
ReplyDeleteWorks great! Thanks:)
ReplyDeleteNone of this worked for me.....I had to paste this code into the "Add CSS" box in the template designer, advanced section: Bam, it was done....
ReplyDeletediv#navbar {display: none;}
div#Attribution1 {display: none;}
a.home-link {display: none;}
This fix no longer works. Is there a way to make the text color the same as the background color, Thereby effectively hiding it without removing it?
ReplyDeleteYou're right: this approach has stopped working. It seems that when you comment out the code, Blogger just automatically re-inserts it (currently in the sidebar, but I suspect that's a bug and they'll move it into the footer soon).
ReplyDelete#Attribution1 {display: none;} does work - but I still don't like it 'cos it's hiding something. Same for the approach of making the font the same colour as the background.
I'm currently pondering other options.
But I am aware of exactly how many people search for "remove attribution blogger" or similar every day. I am wondering about a big public campaign to convince Google to listen to us. I've said many times, I'm happy to say "Powered by Google" or even "Powered by Google, Hosted by Blogger" - but "Powered by Blogger" simply isn't true.
i somehow have managed to remove the attribution by using setting its lock setting to false, then deleting it. this worked probably because of the bug where the attribution ends up in the sidebar... because i don't have a sidebar on my blog (i put all the good gadgets beneath the blog.... although i'm thinking about shifting them atm)
ReplyDeletevery nice, thanks for the info. i customized my layout so that the images were no longer credited to the link listed... but had no idea how to change it. i wish they would change this! i don't mind crediting but customizing is a pain now...
ReplyDeleteTell me how to remove navbar. plz
ReplyDeleteFor hiding the navbar, see this post:
ReplyDeletehttp://blogger-hints-and-tips.blogspot.com/2010/04/removing-attribution-gadget-from.html
You can actually put your own name in like:
ReplyDeleteTemplate by Tina Chen and xheavenlyx. Powered by Blogger.
by changing the CDATA at the beginning of html template. Search for your original template designer's name and edit this part:
<![CDATA[/*
-----------------------------------------------
Blogger Template Style
Name: Awesome Inc. <---
Designer: Tina Chen and xheavenlyx <---
URL: varund.blogspot.com <---
----------------------------------------------- */
Even thought the above method seems wrong...something needs to be done.
Thanks xheavenlyx, your comment got me thinking about changing the name field - and doing that makes the old methods work again.
ReplyDeleteI've now revised this article, to show the current status.
As an FYI the "false" + remove action = no work. As soon as you save and reload the page - viola back again.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this it worked - adding the following to the CSS
ReplyDelete#Attribution1 {display: none;}
they dont have
ReplyDelete#attrubutaion1 {dispay: none;} its gone
Cityvillehelpers, that's the point: the code isn't there, you have to add it if you want to hide your blog's attribution.
ReplyDeleteI actually tried the "locked=false" method (didn't work) but then I went to edit my Attribution, and realized that I could just click on the new "remove" button =___= Is this something new? Or just a weird.. exception?
ReplyDeleteThanks for that - I looked last night, and there was a Remove button. I successfully used it on one of my blogs. But then I tried on another blog, and it wasn't there any more :-( So I'm not sure if it was a just a slight "bug" that Google introduced by accident, or if it's template specific.
ReplyDeleteThanks !! =)
ReplyDeletenone of them working :(
ReplyDeleteH Arunlal, I just tried the hide-using-a-CSS-rule method on a new blog of my own (made with the Etheral template), and it worked fine.
ReplyDeleteBut here's a theory: if you've tried several other methods first, your attributon gadget may have been removed and re-instated several times. If this has happened, the gadget will be called #Attribution2 or #Attribution3 or ... etc.
If that's the case, you need to change the CSS rule you add to
#Attribution2 {display: none;}
or
#Attribution3 {display: none;}
etc
not working in my blog :( help me please..
ReplyDeleteWow, its really a great information for newbies like me. Thanks nice blog
ReplyDelete@Tamisha Thanks it works like a charm!
ReplyDeletehttp://getyourcookies.blogspot.com :)
No more navbar & footer! :D
thnx dude
ReplyDeletethanks tamisha!
ReplyDeletethank u
ReplyDeleteHow to fix body height of blog-spot?
ReplyDeleteSorry, I'm not quite sure what you mean there. Maybe you should ask a question in the Blogger-Help-Forum, telling the helpers there your blog's URL and describing the problem a little more.
ReplyDelete#Attribution1 {display: none;} method worked but its still giving backlink to those sites. How to remove that ??
ReplyDelete@Tamisha thanks..its working.@Prateek no back link is there( in my blog), its working....
ReplyDeleteFor me, I'm contented with that on my blog. It's not important for me. What's more important for me is my content. I don't care even if my blog looks so simple and just an ordinary one, what more important for me and my readers is the content that I share. Thanks for sharing this, it would be helpful for those who want to remove it.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that worked for you: it was the first approach I tried, and in the months since the attribution gadget was introduced, it has sometimes worked and sometimes not worked.
ReplyDeleteThanks For The Information....
ReplyDeleteSTC Technologies
Thanks...
ReplyDeleteEarlier i could find my website on the first page but after i removed "powered by blogger", my page rank on google lowered. So i think you should not remove it.
ReplyDeletewww.techytk.blogspot.in
i do not think it is wise to remove the attribution...
ReplyDeleteThank you for the information
ReplyDeleteI am trying to use some custom theme and in that theme, the Attribution gadget has moved up and I want it to show at the bottom...Can anyone tell me how to do that?
ReplyDeleteJust go into the Layout tab, and drag-and-drop the gadget where you want it.
DeleteThank you so much, I was able to do it just by #Attribution1 {display: none;} in css
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! That 'Powered by Blogger' was so ugly, so I wanted to remove it but I
ReplyDeletecouldn't. Then I found this tutorial and it worked! Thanks! ♥
Thank you so much
ReplyDelete