How to Add Popular Posts with Thumbnails in Blogger Sidebar (2025 Stylish Layout)

How to Add Popular Posts with Thumbnails in Blogger Sidebar (2025 Stylish Layout)

Attract more clicks with a stylish Popular Posts widget featuring thumbnails in your Blogger sidebar. This 2025 tutorial helps you add it with zero coding skills!

Why Use a Popular Posts Widget with Thumbnails?

Adding a Popular Posts section with images:

Increases pageviews
Engages readers with visual cues
Highlights your best content
Boosts internal SEO and reduces bounce rate

How to Add Popular Posts with Thumbnails in Blogger

Step 1: Go to Blogger → Layout

1. In your Blogger dashboard, click Layout
2. Choose the Sidebar section (or any widget area)
3. Click “Add a Gadget”
4. Select “Popular Posts”

Step 2: Configure the Gadget Settings

1. Title: Popular Posts (or use emoji for flair)

2. Check these options:

   • ☑ Show post thumbnail
   • ☑ Show post snippet (optional)
   • ☑ Show how many days to count as "popular" (e.g., last 7 or 30 days)

3. Click Save

This will auto-display the most-viewed posts from recent weeks, with thumbnails.

 

Step 3: Add Custom CSS to Style the Widget (Optional)

To make your widget more stylish, add the following to your theme:

Go to Theme → Customize → Advanced → Add CSS (or Edit HTML before </head>):

<style>
.PopularPosts .item-thumbnail {
  float: left;
  margin-right: 10px;
  width: 80px;
  height: 80px;
  border-radius: 8px;
  object-fit: cover;
}
.PopularPosts .item-title {
  font-weight: bold;
  font-size: 14px;
  line-height: 1.3;
}
.PopularPosts .widget-content ul {
  padding-left: 0;
}
.PopularPosts .widget-content li {
  list-style: none;
  border-bottom: 1px solid #eee;
  margin-bottom: 10px;
  overflow: hidden;
}
</style>

Benefits for Your Blog

Feature	Why It Matters
Highlights top content	Gets more clicks on your best-performing posts
Improves bounce rate	Encourages longer browsing
SEO internal linking boost	Google sees stronger interlinking
Improves aesthetics	Makes your blog visually dynamic

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Pro Tips

Tip	Why It Helps
Use high-quality thumbnails	Increases click-through
Update regularly	Reflects recent popular posts
Combine with post labels	Show "Popular Tech Posts", "Popular Tips", etc.

---

Common Issues and Fixes

Issue	Fix
❌ No thumbnails showing	✅ Ensure posts have featured images
❌ Poor layout or alignment	✅ Use the custom CSS provided
❌ All posts are old	✅ Set it to show posts from last 7–30 days

---

Displaying Popular Posts with Thumbnails:

• Grabs attention
• Boosts engagement
• Keeps readers exploring your blog
• Helps highlight your best-performing content

It’s a small tweak with big user experience and SEO impact.

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Suleiman Inuwa

https://www.androidpols.com.ng/

I am a professional website developer and also an SEO expert.