1. Blogger is a Turnkey solution. Once you sign up, you simply choose a blog name and a template, and you’re good to go! You can even rename your blog, giving it a new website address, if you decide you like a different name better without having to create a new account.

2. There are 16 preset templates to choose from, including some that have multiple variations bringing the template choice up to 38! This includes only what Blogger provides, but you can find plenty of other templates in a variety of locations. Plus, you can change anything you want with the template, and use a pre-existing one as a skeleton from which to build. Let me explain…

3. Want to change the color scheme of your template without messing with the code? You can point and click your way through a color makeover, and preview your changes as you make them without making any commitments. Easy changes without knowing a lick of HTML!

4. If hands-on code is what you want, you can do that too!  Change how much or how little you like, even change from two columns to three! Click Preview to load the page in a new tab or window so you can see exactly what things will look before saving. Don’t like the changes? No problem – nothing will change until you hit “Save Template.”

The HTML and CSS are together in the same file, so all the code you need to make a fantastic looking site is all there, in one place. If you’re under the impression that you can’t make a great look site with Blogger, take a look at The Blog of Doug Cloud. Doug’s site is a wonderful example of just how much you can customize your Blogger Blog. Go ahead, drool on his site a bit, he won’t mind.

5. Now let’s say you want to add some interactive features to your site. MyBlogLog is a great example.

You can hop on over to MyBlogLog, create an account, and gather the appropriate code to copy/paste into Blogger. Once you have the code copied, head back to your Blogger Dashboard and go to Layout, then Page Elements and click Add a Gadget. Simply choose the HTML/JavaScript gadget and paste the code from MyBlogLog into the Content box and Save. That’s it! No scripts, downloads, or plugins required.

6. Want to add other elements to your Blog? Take a look through the Add a Gadget options as there are plenty from which to choose. You can add Link Lists, Blogrolls, Pictures, RSS feeds, Adsense, HTML/JavaScript (for MyBlogLog, Google Reader, and others), etc. The options are practically endless. Once the item is on your Dashboard you can reposition it with ease, as all the elements on your Dashboard move by way of “Click and Drag.” Below is an example what my Dashboard looks like on a test site (click to see a larger version of the image). The entire page layout is there for you to re-arrange at ease, and allow you to keep the overall site structure in mind.

7. Now that you have your Blog up and running with all the gadgets you could possibly want, you may find yourself bored with your current layout. After all, change can be fun. One quick and easy way to spice up your site is to change your template. One of my favorite resources for Blogger templates is http://www.ourblogtemplates.com/. Their templates look good and work as expected. You can also take a look at http://btemplates.com/ or http://blogger-templates.blogspot.com/ or simply search on Google for more Blogger Templates. There are hundreds of free designs to choose from, you just need to go out and find them. You can upload the template directly to your site or create a test blog hidden from everyone but you so you can play around with templates and changes without worries until you know exactly which design you want to use.

8. You can of course do all of your writing directly in Blogger, but you can also use software that may make the job a little easier. Windows Live Writer is what I prefer, and it’s such a fantastic tool, I can’t believe it’s free. The best feature of this software is being able to edit images (add borders, drop shadows, etc.) as you go – no need to switch to a different software application. Windows Live Writer will also upload the pictures along with the post, so all in all, it’s a very handy tool.

9. Automatic Software Updates! This could be a negative depending on your philosophy, but I see it as a positive. Blogger makes updates seamless so you don’t have worry about staying on top of patches and updates.

10. The Blogger community. There are MANY Blogger sites out there, but there are two that stand above the rest. Blogger Buster and Tips for New Bloggers will keep you busy tweaking your site as you continue to learn all the cool and wonderful things you can do with Blogger. These sites are definite “must bookmark/subscribe”. I wish I could highlight all the wonderful things these two sites provide, but there is just too much there and not enough time.

So there you have it. 10 Things You May Not Know About Blogger – in a nutshell.