Tumblr is a social blogging platform that allows users to upload multimedia posts, follow other users with similar interests and be part of a community. It is an effective tool for bloggers who are into visual aids rather than lengthy text posts.

As of November 27, 2013, the number of blogs hosted on Tumblr has broken the 151.2 million mark, adding up to 68.2 billion posts. With such staggering figures, it’s not difficult to see that one would need some specific know-how in order to really stand out from the Tumblr crowd.

To that end, we have got for you today 20 tips, tricks and tools to help you get the most out of your Tumblr blogging experience. Whether you are new to or familiar with Tumblr, these tips and tools should come in handy for you in growing your Tumblr blog.

Recommended Reading: 20 Tumblr Blogs For Inspiration

Tips & Tricks

Avoid Reblogging Long Posts As Links

Tumblr is programmed to reblog long posts as links. But some of your followers may want to read the entire post on the dashboard without being redirected to another page. The solution is simple: just reblog the post as Text instead of Link. The drop-down menu gives you the option to change the format of the post. Choose Reblog As Text to reblog the entire post.

Use Keyboard Shortcuts On The Dashboard

There is an efficient way of going through your dashboard that would save you both time and effort. Below are shortcuts you can use for browsing on your dashboard.

Shortcut	Action
J	Scroll forward
K	Scroll backward
L	Like the current post
N	See the number of notes
Shift + E	Add post to your queue
Shift + R	Fast reblog
Z + Tab	Quickly switch between dashboard and blog
Z + C	Quickly compose a post
Space	View photoset in a lightbox or start playing a video post

Allow Users To Reply To Your Posts From The Dashboard

Sometimes you may want your followers to reply to your post. To do that, just add a ? at the end of your post and an option of Let People Answer This will appear at the bottom (see screenshot). Enable that option by checking the box and your followers will be able to reply to your post.

Customize Follow & Share Buttons

Make it easier for your readers to share your Tumblr content just by adding a Share button. Go to Buttons to view the options for customizing the Follow and Share buttons. Once you have chosen a design, a code will be displayed. Now, open Tumblr on a new tab and go to Settings and click on Customize Theme. You will be redirected to a page that allows you to Edit HTML. Copy the code for the Follow and Share Buttons and paste it in your Tumblr Theme code.

Send Asks To Other Users From The Dashboard

Previously on Tumblr, to ask a user a question, you would have to go to their blog to do so. Now you can do it from the dashboard simply by hovering your mouse cursor over the user’s icon. Click on the gray figure and you’ll see 3 options – Ask a question, Send fan mail, Ignore. Choose the "Ask a question" option and a text box will appear for you to do exactly that.

Recover Old Themes

Just click on this link to revert to any of the themes you have used in the past. Click on Revert and your blog’s theme will go back to how it was previously. You may have to spend some time playing around with the settings to get it right though.

Mass Edit Posts And Tags

By providing the option to Mass Edit Posts, Tumblr has made it easy for its users to add a certain tag to all their posts. When you’re on your dashboard, look over to the right side of the page and click on Posts. Under Customize, a link that says Mass Post Editor will appear. Click on the link and you can edit/add tags and delete posts all in one go.

Queue Your Posts

Tumblr allows you to schedule your posts over a period of hours or days. It is an easy way to keep your blog active and consistent. Under Settings, you can edit the number of posts you want published from your Queue as well as the time settings.

When you want to add a post to your Queue, click on the arrow next to Reblog Post. A drop-down menu will give you the option to Add To Queue. This post is saved to your Queue list and will be published later.

Delay Your Reply To Asks

There may come a time when your followers bombard your Askbox and you will be replying to them one by one. As a result, instead of having colourful posts on your blog, you will have a ton of gray boxes with your replies. So, what can you do? You can stop the replies from being posted one after another by delaying them. When you are answering a question, just press and hold down the Alt key for options to: Queue or Save As Draft. Choose Queue for your reply to be published at a later time.

Play Around With Tumblr’s Logo

Ever wanted to use Tumblr’s logo on images, collages or as your icon, but searching for Tumblr’s logo on Google never seems to give you the right size or color? Tumblr is kind enough to provide its users with its logo. Click here to look at the different designs. You can now download the logo and use it on images, as part of your Tumblr theme, as your Tumblr icon, etc.

Bonus: 10 Must-have Tumblr Extensions

Missing E

Tweak your dashboard, sidebar, shortcuts, mass editor, etc. with this add-on for Chrome, Firefox and Safari.

XKit

An extension package that includes various add-ons that can easily be added and removed from your blog. It is available for Chrome, Safari, Opera and Firefox.

Add A View Count

Curious to know how much traffic your blog is generating? Keep track of the number of people visiting your blog by using TotallyLayouts. Choose the "Tumblr" option and click on Create Counter to get the code.

Add A Music Player

Add a music player from SCM Music Player to make your blog more lively and interesting. Choose a skin and proceed to Edit Playlist. You can add songs in 3 formats: MP3 links, SoundCloud tracks and YouTube addresses.

Get A Dashboard Theme

Bored of your default blue dashboard theme? Download the Stylish extension for Chrome or Firefox and then visit UserStyles to view available themes.

Endless Scrolling

It is always easier to browse through a blog and not have to press Next Page after every 10 posts or so! There is a way for your blog to automatically scroll non-stop. Visit Customize My Tumblr to get the code.

Add A Twitter Follow Badge On Your Blog

Visit Go2Web20 to link your Twitter account to your Tumblr blog.

Share Content Via Bookmarklet

Sometimes you may come across something you find elsewhere that you want to share on Tumblr but not exactly sure how to go about it. Just click on Apps (bottom right of your dashboard). Then, click and drag the Share on Tumblr oval up to your bookmark bar. Now whenever you would like to share content on Tumblr, you can just click on Share on Tumblr (which can be found on your bookmark bar), and the post will be displayed. Click on Publish and the post will be published on your blog.

Customize Your Mouse Cursor

Why go for the default mouse cursor when it can be any item you want! Browse for mouse cursors at TotallyLayouts and choose a design.

Customize your Scroll Bar

Make your blog even more appealing to your followers by customizing your blog’s scroll bar at TotallyLayouts.

Editor’s note: This is a contributed post by Renée Klein, a designer and WordPress geek who loves dark chocolate (passionately), reading, shopping and tennis. Her latest website is weddingthemes101.com, a unique collection of wedding website themes and templates. Contact her on Google+ and Twitter.

We’re in the last month of the year, near a time when bells, snowflakes and Santa take center stage. To welcome the Christmas spirit into your online business, blog or website, I have here a list of 20 free WordPress plugins to help lift spirits and prepare your site for the Christmas atmosphere.

Some of these plugins let you display a countdown widget, others add Christmas-decor to your site, some snowfall effect, a Santa that runs around spreading cheer and you can even schedule holiday messages for your readers. Make your website look festive, let it snow, let it sparkle and let everyone have fun browsing through it with these friendly plugins.

Recommended Reading: Christmas Design Resources: Santa Claus

Skip ahead to the section you want:

• Christmas Advent Calendar Plugins
• Christmas Countdown
• Christmas Wishes
• Christmas Animation
• Schedule Styles/Themes

Christmas Advent Calendar Plugins

Christmas Advent Calendar. This plugin lets you get a random selection out of many different Christmas calendar designs, and you can place it on any page or post. The calendars get activated in December and it supports English, Norwegian, Swedish and Danish. [Demo]

My Christmas Calendar. With a simple shortcode, you can display a beautiful calendar on any WordPress post. With the ability of adjusting width, height, border and border color, you can make the calendar fit your layout perfectly.

Christmas Countdown Plugins

Countdown Clock. You can display a lovely flash countdown clock customizable for any event including Christmas on your sidebar. A variety of designs, colors and sizes are available, and you will be able to set the text, date, time and time zone as you wish. [Demo]

Christmas Countdown Clock. This sassy plugin is going to let you display a countdown clock that counts down to Christmas Day. Several designs, sizes, animations and backgrounds are available and installation is super easy. [Demo]

Christmas Countdown Widget. With this widget, an adorable Santa is going to show on your sidebar, counting down to Christmas day and displaying a Merry Christmas greeting to your visitors. The background is transparent so it fits any theme perfectly. It also updates automatically each year so you can leave it there all year long if you want to. [Demo]

Christmas Wishes Plugins

Holiday Message. Holiday Message adds a pop-up message and a holiday graphic at the top or bottom of your website. You can choose the colors and graphics, add your own message and countdown (optional), or even add a cute snowfall effect. [Demo]

Artiss Timed Content. This amazing tool lets you set the content of a post or page to appear and disappear on a specific date, day and/or time. After installation, a simple shortcode can be placed on any possible post or page.

Ninja Announcements Lite. This plugin displays announcements on your website that can be scheduled for exact dates. You can setup a nice Christmas greeting and set it to appear from Dec 20-25. Your visitors will see it only between these dates and the best thing is you can add your own photos or even media from YouTube. [Demo]

Christmas Animation Plugins

Christmas Ball on Branch. This is a very simple plugin that adds an adorable "Christmas bauble on a branch" animated image to a corner of your website. [Demo]

Christmas Lights. With this tool pretty, colorful Christmas lights will be added to the top of your website, giving it the festive and joyful feel. [Demo]

Improved Let It Snow. If you want your website to look Christmas-sy this plugin will add a beautiful snowfall effect to your page. The plugin admin area is very easy to manage. [Demo]

Merry Christmas Everyone. You have to check out this one if you want your website to turn into a fun, joyful place everyone is going to love. Choose between two super cute Santa, and he will be falling, sliding, flying all over your page along with colorful balloons, following the cursors of your visitors and landing on random titles on your page. [Demo]

Snow, balloons and more. Do you want the effect of falling snowflakes in your blog? Apart from snowflakes, there are also leaves, and colorful balloons as alternatives. You can even add your own graphics and have them fall all over; it’s all up to you! [Demo]

Snow Storm. A nice, romantic snowstorm appears on your website and brings a cozy touch of the festive spirit to your page. [Demo]

WP Snowfall. Snow falling effects will be added to your website, creating an interesting effect. The setup is very fast and easy. [Demo]

Xmas Lights. These colorful, joyful Christmas lights at the top of your page are going to warm every visitor’s heart. You’ll get a wonderful effect with an easy installation. [Demo]

Xmas Snow. If you want to add snow to your website, but you don’t want it all over the page, this is the right plugin for you. It adds nice snowing effects to the top of your website only. [Demo]

Schedule Styles or Themes

WP Christmas Class. With this plugin you can easily add a custom class to your body tag and setup the date on which it will appear and disappear, changing your entire website’s look and feel during the Christmas season. [Demo]

WP Scheduled Styles. Awesome for setting a Christmas theme, this plugin lets you schedule an additional CSS file to display on your website during the holidays.

WP Scheduled Themes. If you want to schedule a different theme on your website to appear on Christmas day, this plugin will let you do it easily.

While we don’t suggest that you use your smartphone while you are driving in your car, there are plenty of apps that can actually help you handle your vehicle. In this list, we’ve got for you a collection of 20 mobile apps to help you get the most out of traveling with your vehicle.

From displaying traffic conditions to finding parking spots, locating the cheapest gas stations near you or remembering where you park your car, there is bound to be an app on this list that will meet your driving or travelling needs.

We tried our best to locate the many different platforms the apps below are available on but do take note that a lot of them only work within the United States. If you are looking for a navigation app that works offline though, you can try out OsmAnd or find other apps in this list of 60 mobile apps to take with you on a road trip. Know of more handy apps? Let us know in the comments!

Recommended Reading: Automatic Link – The Smart Monitoring App For Your Car

GasBuddy

This is a handy app for smartphone users who reside in the US or Canada. GasBuddy can help you locate the cheapest gas stations near you. Just key in your city, state or zipcode and you’ll be provided with a list of gas prices for your area. The prices are submitted by GasBuddy users. When you post gas prices you come across, you stand a chance to win prizes. [Free]

Platform: iOS

Trapster

Hate those pesky speed traps? With this app, you will get alerts about speed traps, traffic accidents, traffic jams, construction work, red light cameras, and other information that would help you make decisions about your driving routes and speeds. [Free]

Platform: iOS | BlackBerry | Android

RepairPal

RepairPal is an award-winning app that will help you keep track of your car repair history, generate estimates for repair costs, get recommendations on the best repair shops in your area, acquire roadside assistance, and synchronize all your repair-related information via an online account. This app only works in the US though. [Free]

Platform: iOS | Android

TripAlyizer

This is a cool app that will basically let you know how efficient a driver you are. In a nutshell, TripAlyizer gives you an efficiency rating based on your driving habits, determines your miles per gallon (MPG), note your carbon dioxide emissions, and records how much gas you refill. [$5.99]

Platform: iOS

Waze

With a community of 50 million users, Waze is a must-have to stay on top of what is happening on the road. With this app, you will get access to things like up-to-date traffic conditions, live-routing and maps, comprehensive voice-assisted navigation, alerts about road hazards, and even notifications when a Facebook friend is heading towards the same destination. [Free]

Platform: iOS

INRIX Traffic

INRIX Traffic is one handy app for maximizing your chances of arriving at your destination in time. With this app, you can see traffic conditions of more than 6.4 million kilometers of road, get all the relevant traffic news, find out the quickest route to get to your destination, and much more. [Free]

Platform: iOS | Android

Dynolicious

Dynolicious is an app that will help you get a better understanding of your car’s performance by measuring a range of performance metrics that include acceleration time, horsepower and others. You can also keep a record of all the test results with this app. [$8.99]

Platform: iOS

TomTom USA & Canada

TomTom USA & Canada is a navigation app that works with and without Internet access. Boasting a user base of 70 million, this app comes with features such as comprehensive voice-assisted navigation, up-to-date traffic conditions, robust search functions and free up-to-date maps for life. [$59.99 | $67.90]

Platform: iOS | Android

Find My Car

Find My Car is a simple but useful app that makes use of GPS services and Internet connectivity to help you find your way back to your parked car. The latest version of the app also comes with a feature that enables you to look for your car with augmented reality technology. [Free]

Platform: iOS | Android

Craftsman Garage Door

Craftsman Garage Door Openers allows you to you can control your garage door with an app and AssureLink Connectivity. With that set up, you can open or close your garage door anytime, anywhere, even if you are not home. You can also set it to alert you if the door is opened or closed by someone else. A separate plugin allows you to turn the garage door light on and off. [Free]

Platform: iOS | Android

Honk

Can’t seem to remember when your parking meter is about to expire? Honk is an app that not only shows you the way back to your parked car, but also lets you know how much time you’ve got left before the time on the parking meter runs out. [$0.99 | Free]

Platform: iOS | Android

GoPoint App

GoPoint App is a simple but convenient car maintenance app. It allows you to quickly see how efficient your car is by providing you with measurements on things like engine RPM, engine load value, engine coolant temperature, fuel economy, and other performance metrics. [Free]

Platform: iOS

iOnRoad

iOnRoad is an award-winning app that will give you some peace of mind while you’re driving by utilizing your phone’s camera to constantly keep track of surrounding vehicles and alert you if there are potential hazards. The app comes with features such as collision warning, speeding and tailgating alert and driving analytics. [$4.99]

Platform: iOS

GasHog

GasHog is a simple yet handy app for keeping track of your car’s fuel economy. Besides that, it also provides advice on how to improve your car’s fuel economy. The app is usable without Internet access too. [$0.99]

Platform: iOS

DriveScribe

This is an app made specifically for beginner drivers who are still learning the ropes. Besides being your virtual driving instructor, DriveScribe also comes with the handy feature of keeping track of any shortcomings in your driving. You can even earn points for gift card redemptions if you drive safely. [Free]

Platform: iOS | Android

FYI Mileage

FYI Mileage is a user-friendly app that makes keeping track of both your personal and business mileage a much simpler task. It comes with features such as exporting reports through email/Wi-Fi and support for more than one driver or car. [$2.99]

Platform: iOS

iWrecked

Nobody would want to get involved in an accident, but the fact remains that accidents do occur every single day. If you are ever caught in an accident, you would want an app like iWrecked to key in and keep a history of all the relevant details, previewand forward accident reports, and search for towing services. [Free]

Platform: iOS | Android

Parkopedia

An encyclopedia for parking spots, Parkopedia has coverage of more than 25 million parking spaces in close to 30 different countries. Definitely a handy app for making sure you don’t overlook any available parking space in the area you are in. [$1.99]

Platform: iOS

Taxmileage

If you’re looking for an easier way to keep track of your mileage for tax return or reimbursement purposes, Taxmileage is an app that should meet your needs. It has a long list of features that include generating reports, automatic backups, real-time tracking with GPS, and support for more than one user. [Free]

Platform: iOS | Android

Speedometer Speed Box

In Speedometer Speed Box, you have a quick and easy way to check if your car’s speedometer is indeed working properly. The app also has other features such as calculating average/max speeds, giving speeding alerts, GPS functionality, and calculating distance traveled. [Free]

Platform: iOS | Android

If you use your iPhone to take photos, you’ve probably been frustrated by the iPhone’s poor low light capabilities before. Despite having a flash it is not very strong and tends to produce pretty unflattering images if used up close. Just ask anyone who’s tried to snap a photograph using their iPhone outdoors at night or in a dimly lit bar.

Help is at hand, though, in the form of an iPhone case from Brick & Pixel. Brick & Pixel’s new iPhone case, the Lightstrap, doubles as a flash and video light for the iPhone 5 and 5s.

It’s 10 times brighter than the standard iPhone 5 flash, but also provides softer, more flattering light for low-light photography. And the best part? You don’t even have to trigger it separately, as it detects when your iPhone’s built in flash lights up.

Recommended Reading: 20 Fantastic Camera-Inspired Cases For IPhone

What Is Lightstrap?

Lightstrap has a diffused array of LED lights that are arranged to mimic the ring flashes used by studio and fashion photographers. Ring flashes distribute light more evenly and softly, resulting in more natural flash photography, but without the harsh shadows and red eyes commonly associated with on-camera flash.

Lightstrap offers you control over the brightness and color temperature of the LEDs, offering 7 levels of brightness and 6 different color temperatures, making it perfect for almost any situation you might find yourself in.

Lightstrap has its own built-in 1000mAh battery, so it won’t drain your iPhone’s battery. The manufacturer claims that the battery is good for over 500 flashes or 30 minutes of video lighting, and will hold its charge for months if unused. The battery charges via a micro USB adapter.

Here are a couple more examples of the difference Lightstrap will make for your low-light photography:

Lightstrap is currently being funded via Kickstarter. An $87 pledge will get you a Lightstrap in the United States, although this is only for the first 450 backers. After this early adopter tier has been depleted, you’ll have to pledge $97 to get your Lightstrap.

If you’re outside of the United States, you’ll just need to add $20 for shipping. If it’s funded, you should receive your Lightstrap before or by April 2014.