Blogger Recent Posts Slider Widget

Blogger Recent Posts Slider Widget Today we will create a dynamic Recent Posts Slider using Blogger JSON Feed. We will display recent posts of your blog inside FlexSlider which is a free slider plugin provided by woothemes. The slider gives a feeling of a tab widget where you can switch from one slide to another using the tab buttons or navigational controls. WordPress users have already integrated recent posts inside flexslider but this is the first time blogspot users will be able to display automated list of recent posts inside a slider.

DEMO

Today's recent posts slider is coded using the same logic with which we coded our last JSON widget except for few design differences. Please check the last widget also:

READ: Display Recent Posts by label with Animated Thumbnails and Avatars.

Also read our json series to learn how to code these gadgets yourself!

READ: Introduction to Blogger JSON Feeds

Unique Features of Blogger Recent Posts Slider

Today's recent posts widget has some unique features introduced first time online :

Author Avatar - Unique!
Displays recent posts inside Dynamic Slider or as a Dynamic Flat list. - Unique!
Displays recent posts from a specific category/label.
Slider with two animations: Slide & Fade
Clickable Comments Count
Custom Date Format in ribbon fashion - Unique!
Clickable Animated Featured Thumbnails - Unique!
Option to increase or decrease thumbnail Resolution - Unique!
Support for Third-party Images and YouTube thumbnails - Unique!
Title Length is adjustable

Add Recent Posts Slider Widget in Blogger

Follow these easy steps to add recent posts slider to your blogspot blog:

Go To Blogger > Template
Backup your template
Click "Edit HTML"
Just below <head> tag paste the following JS and CSS source links:

<script src='http://ift.tt/LdcSO5jquery/1/jquery.min.js' type='text/javascript'/>
<link href='http://ift.tt/1bzG5BbFont-Awesome/assets/font-awesome/css/font-awesome.css' rel='stylesheet'/>
<link href='http://ift.tt/H5dhiOOswald' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css'/>
<link href='http://ift.tt/28TFb4k' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css'/>
<script src='http://ift.tt/28SIw4j' type='text/javascript'/>

Note: Do not add JQuery, FontAwesome or Oswald links in the code above to your template if you are already using them on your site.
Next search ]]></b:skin> and just above it paste the following code:

<style>

/*######### Recent Posts Slider Stylesheet #############*/

.mbtslides-title{font-family:oswald; font-weight:normal;font-size:18px!important; border-bottom:2px solid rgb(144, 241, 40); color:#242729; width:300px;}.flexslider{ width:300px; margin:0px; border:0;}
.flexslider .slides {list-style-type:none; margin:0px auto 10px auto;padding:0px;} .flexslider li {color:#666; font-family:helvetica; font-size:12px; overflow:hidden; position:relative; padding-top: 10px; line-height: 1.6em;} .flexslider .flex-control-nav{list-style:none outside none;position:absolute;top:-45px;right:5px;text-align:right;height:10px}
.flexslider .flex-control-nav li{display:inline-block;margin:0 2px}
.flexslider .flex-control-nav a{text-indent:9999px;display:block;width:10px;cursor:pointer;height:10px;background-color:#000;border:1px solid #000;border-radius:0!important}
.flexslider .flex-control-nav a.flex-active{background-color:rgb(132, 219, 6);border:1px solid rgb(144, 241, 40)} .flexslider .flex-div{margin:0px auto 20px auto; display:block; border-bottom:1px solid #eee; padding-bottom:20px!important; position:relative;} .flexslider li a { color:#0080ff; text-decoration:none; } .flexslider i{color:#999; padding-right:5px; } .flexslider .iline{line-height:2em; margin-top:3px;} .flexslider .icontent{line-height:1.5em; margin-top:5px;} .flexslider div span{margin:0 5px 0 0; display:inline-block;font-weight: normal; } .flexslider .mbttitle {font-family:oswald; font-size:13px; color:#666; font-weight:normal; text-decoration:none;} .flexslider .mbttitle:hover, .flexslider .itotal a:hover {color:#333; text-decoration:none;}
.flexslider .iedit a{text-decoration:none; color:#999; cursor:pointer}
.flexslider .iedit:before, .flexslider .iauthor:before, .flexslider .itag:before, .flexslider .icomments:before, .flexslider .idate:before, .flexslider .itotal span:before{font-family:fontAwesome; position:relative; padding-right:8px; color:#999;} .flexslider .iauthorpic{width: 17px!important;height: 17px!important;border-radius: 50%; float: none; display: inline-block!important; margin:0px 0px 0px 0px; padding-right:3px; position:relative; top:3px;}
.flexslider .iFeatured{overflow:hidden;position:relative;float:left;margin:0 5px 10px 0;padding:0;} .flexslider .iFeatured a {background: none; padding:0px; display: block;border:1px solid #eee;} .flexslider .iFeatured img{width:110px!important;height:65px!important;-moz-transition:all .3s;-webkit-transition:all .3s;transition:all .3s; border-radius: 2px;} .flexslider .iFeatured:hover img{ opacity:1; -moz-transform:scale(1.4);-webkit-transform:scale(1.4);transform:scale(1.4)} .flexslider .icomments a{color:#0080ff; font-family: arial;font-size:12px;} .flexslider .icomments a:hover{text-decoration:underline} .flexslider .icomments:before {content:'\f086'; padding:0px 3px 0px 7px; color:#84DB06;} .flexslider .idate {position: absolute;left: 0px;top: -7px; background: rgb(132, 219, 6);color: #fff;padding: 3px 4px;font-family: oswald;font-size: 11px;border: 1px solid rgb(144, 241, 40);} .flexslider .idate div{width:18px; line-height:1.6em; text-align:center;}
.flexslider .idate:after {content: ' ';position: absolute;z-index:-9999px;width: 0;height: 0;left: 25px;top: -1px;border-width: 4px 6px;border-style: solid;border-color: transparent transparent rgb(125, 208, 4) rgb(125, 208, 4);}

</style>

Make these changes
- To change the green color theme of the slider simply replace the green highlighted color codes with color of your choice. The color can be in rgb or #hexadecimal, both work. Use our Color Code Generator.
Save your template.
Now go to Blogger > Layout
Select "Add a Gadget"
Choose "HTML/JavaScript" gadget
Keep the title field empty and then paste the following code inside it:

<script type="text/javascript">
$(window).load(function() {
    $('.flexslider').flexslider({
   animation: "slide",
        directionNav: false,
       touch: true,
       slideshowSpeed: 2500,
      pauseOnHover: true,
     animationSpeed: 700,
    });
});
</script>
<h2 class="mbtslides-title">Recent Posts Slider</h2>
<div class="flexslider">
<ul class="slides">

<script type="text/javascript">
//################### Defaults
var ListBlogLink = "http://ift.tt/11T3dCw";
var ListCount = 6;
var ListLabel = "SEO";
var TitleCount = 66;
var ImageSize = 150;
//################### Function Start
function mbtslider(json) {
for (var i = 0; i < ListCount; i++)
{
//################### Variables Declared
var listing= ListImage = ListUrl = ListTitle = ListImage = ListContent = ListConten = ListAuthor = ListTag = ListDate = ListUpdate = ListComments = thumbUrl = TotalPosts = sk = AuthorPic= ListMonth = Y = D = M = m = YY = DD = MM = mm = TT = "";

//################### Category
if (json.feed.entry[i].category != null)
{
for (var k = 0; k < json.feed.entry[i].category.length; k++) {
ListTag += "<a href='"+ListBlogLink+"/search/label/"+json.feed.entry[i].category[k].term+"'>"+json.feed.entry[i].category[k].term+"</a>";
if(k < json.feed.entry[i].category.length-1)
{ ListTag += " ";}
}
}

//################### URL
for (var j = 0; j < json.feed.entry[i].link.length; j++) {
      if (json.feed.entry[i].link[j].rel == 'alternate') {
        break;
      }
    }
ListUrl= "'" + json.feed.entry[i].link[j].href + "'";

//################### Info
TotalPosts = json.feed.openSearch$totalResults.$t;
if (json.feed.entry[i].title!= null)
{
ListTitle= json.feed.entry[i].title.$t.substr(0, TitleCount);
}
if (json.feed.entry[i].thr$total)
{
ListComments= "<a href='"+json.feed.entry[i].link[j].href+"#comment-form'>"+json.feed.entry[i].thr$total.$t+"</a>";
}
ListAuthor= json.feed.entry[i].author[0].name.$t.split(" ");
ListAuthor=ListAuthor.slice(0, 1).join(" ");

AuthorPic = json.feed.entry[i].author[0].gd$image.src;

//################### Content Check

ListConten = json.feed.entry[i].content.$t;
ListContent= ListConten.replace(/(<([^>]+)>)/ig,"").substring(0, ChrCount);

//################### Date Format

ListMonth= ["Jan", "Feb", "Mar", "Apr", "May", "Jun", "Jul", "Aug", "Sep", "Oct", "Nov", "Dec"];

ListDate= json.feed.entry[i].published.$t.substring(0,10);

                         Y = ListDate.substring(0, 4);
                        m = ListDate.substring(5, 7);
                         D = ListDate.substring(8, 10);
                         M = ListMonth[parseInt(m - 1)];

ListUpdate= json.feed.entry[i].updated.$t.substring(0, 16);

                         YY = ListUpdate.substring(0, 4);
                        mm = ListUpdate.substring(5, 7);
                         DD = ListUpdate.substring(8, 10);
                         TT = ListUpdate.substring(11, 16);
                         MM = ListMonth[parseInt(mm - 1)];

//################### Thumbnail Check
// YouTube scan

if (json.feed.entry[i].content.$t.match(/youtube\.com.*(\?v=|\/embed\/)(.{11})/) != null)
{

    var youtube_id = json.feed.entry[i].content.$t.match(/youtube\.com.*(\?v=|\/embed\/)(.{11})/).pop();

    if (youtube_id.length == 11) {
        var ListImage = "'//img.youtube.com/vi/"+youtube_id+"/0.jpg'";
        }
}

else if (json.feed.entry[i].media$thumbnail)
{
thumbUrl = json.feed.entry[i].media$thumbnail.url;
sk= thumbUrl.replace("/s72-c/","/s"+ImageSize+"/");
ListImage= "'" + sk.replace("?imgmax=800","") + "'";
}

else if (json.feed.entry[i].content.$t.match(/src=(.+?[\.jpg|\.gif|\.png]")/) != null)
{
// Support For 3rd Party Images
ListImage = json.feed.entry[i].content.$t.match(/src=(.+?[\.jpg|\.gif|\.png]")/)[1];
}

else
{
ListImage= "'http://ift.tt/1Mxh7SU'";
}

//################### Printing List
var listing = "<div class='flex-div'><div class='iFeatured'><a href="
+ ListUrl+
"><img src="
+ListImage+
"/></a></div><a class='mbttitle' href="
+ListUrl+
"target='_blank'>"
+ListTitle+
"</a><div class='iline'><span class='iauthor'><img class='iauthorpic' src='"+AuthorPic+"'/>"
+ListAuthor+
"</span><span class='icomments'>"
+ListComments +
"</span> <span class='idate'><div>"
+ D +
"</div><div> "
+ M +
"</div></span></div></div>";
if (i == 0)
document.write('<li>');
if (i < ListCount/2)
document.write(listing);
if (i == ListCount/2)
document.write('</li><li>');
if (i >= ListCount/2)
document.write(listing);
if (i == ListCount)
document.write('</li>');
} }



document.write("<script src='"+ListBlogLink+"/feeds/posts/default/-/"+ListLabel+"?alt=json-in-script&callback=mbtslider'></"+"script>");
</script>
</ul></div>

The following control options will help you modify the widget:
- animation: Select your animation type, "fade" or "slide"
- slideshowSpeed: You can set the speed of the slideshow cycling, in milliseconds
- animationSpeed: You can also set the speed of animations, in milliseconds
- pauseOnHover: Pause the slideshow when hovering over slider, then resume when no longer hovering
- You can edit the widget title by editing: Recent Posts Slider
- If you don't want to use the title then delete the yellow highlighted code.
- ListBlogLink : Insert your Blog link here
- ListCount : Decide how many posts do you wish to display. Choose even integer only like 2,4,6,8,10 etc.
- ListLabel : Insert your blog label/category here. Remember that labels are case sensitive. Therefore type it exactly as it is shown in your browser address bar. If your label is "blogging tips" and if you type it as "Blogging Tips" then it wont work. You must make sure that all letters are written in correct cases.
- TitleCount : Choose how many characters to display in post title.
- ImageSize : You can control the resolution or aspect ratio of thumbnails by editing ImageSize = 150; where the value 150 means that you want your images to be within 150 x 150 pixels in size. Keep this value close to the thumbnail size to ensure website load time is not effected a lot. Since our thumbnail images have a width of about 110px, therefore I have kept the resolution as 150, slightly higher to display images in slightly good quality.
- If you want to show recent posts published on your blog but don't wish to display posts from a specific label then simply remove /-/"+ListLabel+" from the code above.
Click Save and you are all done!

Display Dynamic Slider or Just a Flat List!

Fortunately I have setup the logic such that you can choose whether to display your posts inside animated FlexSlider or display them as simple flat list similar to my earlier recent posts widget. In other words you can choose to enable or disable the FlexSlider.

How to enable or disable the flex slider?

The logic is extremely simple.

If you want to display and enable FlexSlider then insert even integer value next to ListCount , such as 2,4,6,8,10,12 etc. The JavaScript logic above will divide your inserted value into two sections and will display posts in each slide accordingly.

Output will be such: