Showing posts with label popular posts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label popular posts. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

5 Best Popular Posts Widgets for Blogger

If you're using Blogger as the platform for your personal or business blog, you're probably looking for ways to customize it and make it your own. This way, you'll make your webpages unique and eye-catching and ensure they'll stand out from the many other pages on the internet. You'll also grab the attention of your target market, encourage them to browse through your blog and become your loyal readers and followers.

Fortunately, there are lots of ways to personalize your Blogger blog, and one of these is to customize your Popular Posts widget. Haven't installed this yet? Don't worry since putting it in your blog easy.
popular posts widget for blogger

Adding the Popular Posts Widget for Blogger

Just click on your blog title, access the "Layout" menu, click "Add a Gadget" and choose "Popular Posts". A window will appear asking you to configure the widget by choosing which posts you'll feature (e.g. those that were most viewed in the past 7 days or 30 days or from the beginning of your blog). You'll also be asked to choose how many posts you'll feature in your Popular Posts section and select if you'll show the post title only or along with the image thumbnail and/or the snippet. (Remember that each widget style has different requirements, so follow the styles and instructions carefully to find out if you need the snippet and image thumbnail or not).

Configuring Popular Posts Widget for Blogger

Once you've followed these instructions, you'll get to see the basic version of the Popular Posts Widget for Blogger in your blog. You can stick with this if it matches your blog design but, if it sticks out like a sore thumb or doesn't suit your taste, there's no need to fret since you can personalize it. You can choose from the following styles - see the demo blog:

Popular Posts Style 1 - Box within a box

This is an interesting widget style since it uses your snippet and image thumbnail in a unique way. Your snippet is written in opaque text and placed in a small transparent box. This, in turn, is placed in a bigger rectangular box, wherein your image thumbnail is used as a background. Choosing this Popular Posts Widget for Blogger can be a great option if you want to brighten up your blog and grab the attention of readers with your colorful photos.

popular posts widget for blogger

CSS code:
<style type='text/css'>
.sidebar .PopularPosts ul{margin:0;padding:0;}.sidebar .PopularPosts ul li{list-style:none !important;padding:0 !important;margin-bottom:10px;}.sidebar .PopularPosts .item-thumbnail{height:190px;margin:0;overflow:hidden;width:100%;}.sidebar .PopularPosts .item-title{position: relative;}.sidebar .PopularPosts img{height:auto;width:100%;padding:0;}.sidebar .PopularPosts .item-title a{color: #FFFFFF;font:20px Oswald;text-transform:uppercase;padding:10px;position:absolute;right:0;left:0px;margin:0px auto;text-align:center;text-decoration:none;top:40px;width:60%;height:26px;overflow:hidden;z-index:2;}
.sidebar .PopularPosts .item-snippet{background:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.35);border-top:6px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1);border-bottom:6px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1);color:#FFFFFF;left:0px;right:0px;margin:0px auto;padding:65px 10px 10px;position:absolute;font:13px 'Times New Roman',Times,FreeSerif,serif;text-align:center;top:35px;width:60%;z-index:1;}.sidebar .PopularPosts .item-content{position:relative;}
</style>

Popular Posts Style 2 - Large thumbnails with small post titles underneath

This uses the same code as the basic Blogger Popular Posts Widget with a few tweaks. Popularized by well-known blogs, this style is eye-catching because it focuses on pictures, which don't only summarize the posts' content but also add visual drama to the entire page. This is particularly useful for blogs that focus on clothes, makeup, art and other topics that highly depend on visual presentation to better express ideas.
popular posts widget for blogger
CSS code:
<style type='text/css'>
.sidebar .PopularPosts ul{counter-reset:popularcount;margin:0;padding:0;}.sidebar .PopularPosts ul li{width:100%;list-style:none !important;padding:0 !important;margin-bottom:20px;position:relative;border:0;text-align:center;}.sidebar .PopularPosts .item-thumbnail a{clip: auto;display:block;height:auto;height:120px;}.sidebar .PopularPosts .item-thumbnail{width:100%;height:120px;overflow:hidden;position:relative;margin-bottom:15px;}.sidebar .PopularPosts .item-thumbnail::before{background:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);border-bottom:29px solid #fff;border-left:29px solid transparent;border-right:29px solid transparent;bottom:0px;content:&quot;&quot;;height:0;width:0px;left:0px;right:0px;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto;position:absolute;z-index:3;}.sidebar .PopularPosts .item-thumbnail:after{color:#000;content:counter(popularcount, decimal);counter-increment:popularcount;font:13px &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,Times,FreeSerif,serif;list-style-type:none;position:absolute;bottom:0;margin:0px auto;left:0px;right:0px;z-index:4;}.sidebar .PopularPosts .item-thumbnail img{position:relative;width:100%;height:auto;padding:0;}.sidebar .PopularPosts .item-title{font:15px &#39;Oswald&#39;, sans-serif;text-transform:uppercase;margin:0px auto;padding-bottom:10px;border-bottom:1px solid #000;}.sidebar .PopularPosts .item-title a{color:#000;text-decoration:none;}.sidebar .PopularPosts .item-snippet{padding:10px 15px;font:13px &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,Times,FreeSerif,serif;}
</style>

Popular Posts Style 3 - Colorful boxes

If your blog needs a pop of color, this is the right choice for you. This widget style presents your Popular Posts in several boxes that feature a thumbnail image and have bright, eye-catching shades like light green, ocher yellow and vivid orange. Each box has a different color, and you can add up to four boxes.

popular posts widget for blogger

CSS code:
<style type='text/css'>
.sidebar .PopularPosts ul{padding:0;margin:0;}.sidebar .PopularPosts .item-thumbnail a{clip:auto;display:block;height:auto;overflow:hidden;}.sidebar .PopularPosts .item-thumbnail{width:130px;height:130px;border-right:5px solid #fff;margin:0px 10px 0px 0px !important;position:relative;}.sidebar .PopularPosts .item-thumbnail img{position:relative;height:auto;width:100%;padding:0;}.sidebar .PopularPosts ul li{float:left;margin-bottom:5px;max-height:130px;min-width:250px;overflow:hidden;}.sidebar .PopularPosts ul li:first-child{background:#D9EDF7;}.sidebar .PopularPosts ul li:first-child + li{background:#F2DEDE;}.sidebar .PopularPosts ul li:first-child + li + li{background:#DFF0D8;}.sidebar .PopularPosts ul li:first-child + li + li + li{background:#FFEEBC;}.sidebar .PopularPosts ul li:first-child + li + li + li + li{background:#E0E0E0;}.sidebar .PopularPosts .item-title{font:13px &#39;Oswald&#39;, sans-serif;text-transform:uppercase;padding:10px 5px 10px;}.sidebar .PopularPosts .item-title a{color:#000;text-decoration:none;}.sidebar .PopularPosts .item-snippet{font:13px &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,Times,FreeSerif,serif;padding-right:5px;}.sidebar .PopularPosts .widget-content ul li{padding:0px 5px 0px 0px!important;}
</style>

Popular Posts Style 4 - Grid layout

Just like the large-picture widget style, the grid layout is an excellent option if you want to showcase your pictures or if your blog depends on visual information. However, the title of your posts won't be included in the layout, so readers will have to hover their mouses on the images to read the titles.

popular posts widget for blogger

CSS code:
<style type='text/css'>
.sidebar .PopularPosts ul{padding:0;}.sidebar .PopularPosts ul li:first-child{width:100%;max-height:100%;opacity:0.9;}.sidebar .PopularPosts ul li:nth-child(even){margin-right:2%;}.sidebar .PopularPosts ul li{-moz-box-sizing:border-box;-webkit-box-sizing:border-box;box-sizing:border-box;position:relative;padding:0px !important;width:49%;max-height:120px;opacity:0.4;overflow:hidden;float:left;margin-bottom:2%;-webkit-transition: all 0.5s ease 0s;-moz-transition:all 0.5s ease 0s;-ms-transition:all 0.5s ease 0s;-o-transition:all 0.5s ease 0s;transition:all 0.5s ease 0s;}.sidebar .PopularPosts ul li:hover{opacity:1;}.sidebar .PopularPosts .item-thumbnail{margin:0;width:100%;line-height:0;}.sidebar .PopularPosts ul li img {-moz-box-sizing:border-box;-webkit-box-sizing:border-box;box-sizing: border-box;width:100%;height:auto;padding:0;}.sidebar .PopularPosts .item-content:hover .item-title a,.sidebar .PopularPosts .item-thumbnail-only:hover .item-title a{visibility:visible;opacity:1;}.sidebar .PopularPosts .item-title a{color:#fff;background:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) linear-gradient(to bottom, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 0%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.93) 100%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.85) 100%);text-decoration:none;position:absolute;text-align:center;font:13px &#39;Oswald&#39;, sans-serif;left:0;right:0;bottom:0%;padding:100px 10px 10px;opacity:0;visibility:hidden;}.sidebar .PopularPosts .item-snippet{display:none;}
</style>

Popular Posts Style 5 - Numbered posts

If you love numbered lists, or if you'd like to make your blog more organized, this can be the perfect option. By using the code for this widget style, your Popular Posts will be automatically numbered and will feature clean, minimalistic boxes that include your snippet and image thumbnail.

popular posts widget for blogger

CSS code:
<style type='text/css'>
.sidebar .PopularPosts ul{counter-reset:popularcount;margin:0;padding:0;}.sidebar .PopularPosts ul li{float:left;max-height:130px;min-width:250px;position:relative;}.sidebar .PopularPosts .item-thumbnail::after{color:rgba(255,255,255, 0.63);content:counter(popularcount, decimal);counter-increment: popularcount;font:70px &#39;Oswald&#39;, sans-serif;list-style-type:none;position:absolute;left:5px;top:-5px;z-index:4;}.sidebar .PopularPosts .item-thumbnail::before{background:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.3);bottom:0px;content:&quot;&quot;;height:100px;width:100px;left:0px;right:0px;margin:0px auto;position:absolute;z-index:3;}.sidebar .PopularPosts .item-thumbnail a{clip:auto;display:block;height:auto;overflow:hidden;}.sidebar .PopularPosts .item-thumbnail{width:100px;height:100px;margin:0px 10px 0px 0px !important;position:relative;}.sidebar .PopularPosts .item-thumbnail:hover:before{display:none;}.sidebar .PopularPosts .item-thumbnail img{position:relative;padding-right:0px !important;height:auto;width:100%;}.sidebar .PopularPosts .item-title{font:13px &#39;Oswald&#39;, sans-serif;text-transform:uppercase;padding:0px 5px 10px;}.sidebar .PopularPosts .item-title a{color:#000;text-decoration:none;}.sidebar .PopularPosts .item-snippet{font:13px &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,Times,FreeSerif,serif;}.sidebar .PopularPosts .widget-content ul li{padding:0px 5px 0px 0px !important;}.sidebar .PopularPosts .item-content{padding:5px 0px;border-bottom:1px dotted #dedede;overflow:hidden;height:100px;position:relative;}
</style>
These are just some of the widget styles you can choose from. When you've picked a style you want, make sure to copy its CSS code. Once you do so, go to your blog, click "Theme" on the left side and select "Edit HTML" under the template preview.

These next codes need to be pasted above the "</head>" or "</body>" tags, so check the instruction to know exactly where you need to put the code.

Adding the CSS

When the template editor has opened, click anywhere inside the code area and hit CTRL + F or Command F to search the following tag:
</head>
Just ABOVE the </head> tag, copy-paste the CSS code of one of the styles above.


Important: If the Popular Posts widget is located in the footer of your blog, remove the .sidebar class found in the CSS code in order to make it work.

Please note that most of the styles are using the 'Oswald' font which you need to add to your template's code as well.

So, search for this tag:
<head>
... and just BELOW it, add this line:
<link href='https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Oswald:400,700' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css'/>

Adding the JavaScript

These styles also require using a script in order to resize the popular posts image / thumbnail and trim the post snippet and title. To add the JavaScript code, search the </body> tag and paste the following script just above it:
<script src='//ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.11.1/jquery.min.js'/>
<script type='text/javascript'>
//<![CDATA[
$(".popular-posts img").attr("src",function(t,s){return s.replace("/w72-h72-p-k-no-nu/","/s350-c/")}),$(".popular-posts ul li .item-snippet").each(function(){var t=$(this).text().substr(0,60),s=t.lastIndexOf(" ");s>10&&$(this).text(t.substr(0,s).replace(/[?,!\.-:;]*$/,"..."))}),$(".popular-posts ul li .item-content a").each(function(){var t=$(this).text().substr(0,60),s=t.lastIndexOf(" ");s>=6&&$(this).text(t.substr(0,s).replace(/[?,!\.-:;]*$/,"..."))});
//]]>
</script>
Note: if you have already the jQuery library in your template, remove the line in red.

After you have added all the codes in the right place, press the "Save theme" button to save the changes.

That's it!

The five Popular Posts widgets for Blogger featured today are all great solutions for adding a popular post section to your blog. They all have different appearance for determining what makes a post popular, but the end result is the same: visitors are always one click away from your best content. Try some of these styles, find your favorite, and see how it impacts the performance of your blog.

Sunday, February 2, 2014

How to Increase Thumbnail Resolution on Blogger

When we add a widget on Blogger, the thumbnails will maintain a default size of 72 x 72px which might not look good if we try to make them larger using only CSS. However, with a bit of JavaScript we'll be able to replace the thumbnail with the same image of higher resolution and this way, larger images will no longer appear blurry.

So this tutorial will show you how to increase the thumbnail resolution size of the popular posts Blogger widget, even though we can apply this trick on any of the blog widgets.


Changing the Thumbnail Size for the Popular Posts Widget

Step 1. First, let's add the Popular posts gadget by going to "Layout" > click on the "Add a gadget" link and select "Popular Posts" from the popup window.

adding popular posts gadget

Step 2. Next, go to "Template" > click on the "Edit HTML" button > click anywhere inside the code area to open the Blogger search box using the CTRL + F keys.

edit blogger template html

Step 3. Type or paste the following tag inside the search box then hit Enter to find it:
</head>
After you found the </head> tag, add this CSS above it:
<style type='text/css'>
.PopularPosts .item-thumbnail a {
clip: auto;
display: block;
height: 130px;
margin: 0 0px 5px;
overflow: hidden;
width: 210px;
border: 2px solid #EEEEEE;
border-radius: 20px;
}
.PopularPosts .item-thumbnail img {
position: relative;
top: -30px;
transition:all .2s linear;
 -o-transition:all .5s linear;
-moz-transition:all .2s linear;
-webkit-transition:all .2s linear;
}
.PopularPosts .item-thumbnail img:hover{
opacity:.6;
filter:alpha(opacity=60)
}
.PopularPosts .widget-content ul li {
background: #F9F9F9;
border: 2px solid #EEEEEE;
border-radius: 10px;
box-shadow: 0 4px 10px #EEEEEE;
color: #555555;
padding: 10px;
margin-bottom: 5px;
}
.PopularPosts .item-title {
clear: both
font: 14px Cambria,Georgia, sans-serif;
color: #2288BB;
font-weight: bold;
text-transform: uppercase;
text-align: center;
}
.PopularPosts .item-snippet {
display: none;
}
.widget .widget-item-control a img {
height: 18px;
width: 18px;
}
</style>
Step 4. Now search for this tag:
</body>
And just above it, add this script:
<script type='text/javascript'>                  
function changeThumbSize(id,size){
var blogGadget = document.getElementById(id);
var replacement = blogGadget.innerHTML;
blogGadget.innerHTML = replacement.replace(/w72-h72-p-k-no-nu/g,"s"+size+"-c");
var thumbnails = blogGadget.getElementsByTagName("img");
for(var i=0;i&lt;thumbnails.length;i++){
thumbnails[i].width = size;
thumbnails[i].height = size;
}
}
changeThumbSize("PopularPosts1",210);                  
</script>
Highlighted in red is the widget ID for the Popular Posts gadget. To change the thumbnail size for any of your blog widgets, find the gadget/widget ID and then add a line below this part:
changeThumbSize("PopularPosts1",210);
changeThumbSize("widget-ID-HERE",210);
Then replace widget-ID-HERE text with the ID of that widget/gadget.

Note: you won't see the changes if the widget has a class selector - for this you may need to change class with id and replace the dot ".>" symbol with "#" in the CSS code.

If you don't know how to find the id of a particular widget, please check out this tutorial on How to Use Firebug to Design a Blogger blog.

Step 5. Finally, press the "Save Template" to save the changes and this is how you can increase thumbnail resolution on Blogger. Enjoy!

Monday, December 23, 2013

Popular Posts Widget for Christmas

The Christmas countdown has begun and while homes are decorated with colorful lights and the sweet smell of pine trees, there's no reason why we wouldn't decorate our Blogspot blog with Christmas bells next to the Popular Posts widget for Blogger!

So, today I was playing around a bit with CSS and I was thinking that it would be cool to add some fresh styles to the Popular Posts widget in such a way to look just ready for the forthcoming Christmas holiday.

popular posts widget, blogger gadgets

To see a demo for the Popular Posts widget for Christmas, please visit the demo blog:


How to Add Popular Posts Widget with Christmas Bells in Blogger

Step 1. Log in to your Blogger Dashboard, then go to 'Template' and click the 'Edit HTML' button:


Step 2. Click anywhere inside the code area and press the CTRL + F keys, then search for this tag:
</head>
Step 3. Just above the </head> tag, add the following CSS code:
<style>
#PopularPosts1 .item-thumbnail:before{
display: block;
content: url('https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhehTAPYm6TdGLlgKidBITKrcDMoVLRXeoehPgkE_ui0mF9jxmKXQfUTYfCuFRaGzxVoKsJfrvgmXzhmQmwaxJon1ryU5qYCWrto3MqXrFa6up3iEU7pM0LHs_1ujwwn2SnEgLL-yPo2rqV/s1600/bells.png');
margin-left: -15px;
margin-top: -5px;
z-index: 2;
position: absolute;
}
#PopularPosts1 .item-thumbnail img{
float:left;
margin:5px;
padding: 2px;
border: 6px solid #FED74C;
height: 72px;
width: 92px;
position: relative;
background: #F11C25;
-webkit-box-shadow: 2px 2px 5px rgba(0,0,0,0.3);
-moz-box-shadow: 2px 2px 5px rgba(0,0,0,0.3);
box-shadow: 2px 2px 5px rgba(0,0,0,0.3);
transition: opacity 1s ease;
}
#PopularPosts1 ul li:nth-child(odd){
  -ms-transform:rotate(20deg); /* IE 9 */
  -moz-transform:rotate(20deg); /* Firefox */
  -webkit-transform:rotate(20deg); /* Safari and Chrome */
  -o-transform:rotate(20deg); /* Opera */
 -webkit-transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out;
-moz-transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out;
-o-transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out;
transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out;
}
#PopularPosts1 ul li:nth-child(even){
  -ms-transform:rotate(-40deg); /* IE 9 */
  -moz-transform:rotate(-40deg); /* Firefox */
  -webkit-transform:rotate(-40deg); /* Safari and Chrome */
  -o-transform:rotate(-40deg); /* Opera */
 -webkit-transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out;
-moz-transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out;
-o-transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out;
transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out;
}
#PopularPosts1 ul li:nth-child(odd):hover{
  -ms-transform:rotate(0deg); /* IE 9 */
  -moz-transform:rotate(0deg); /* Firefox */
  -webkit-transform:rotate(0deg); /* Safari and Chrome */
  -o-transform:rotate(0deg); /* Opera */
}
#PopularPosts1 ul li:nth-child(even):hover{
  -ms-transform:rotate(0deg); /* IE 9 */
  -moz-transform:rotate(0deg); /* Firefox */
  -webkit-transform:rotate(0deg); /* Safari and Chrome */
  -o-transform:rotate(0deg); /* Opera */
}
#PopularPosts1 ul li{
display: inline-block;
float: left;}
#PopularPosts1 .item-thumbnail{
width: 70px;
}
#PopularPosts1 li{
margin-right: 15px;
}
#PopularPosts1 .item-snippet, .item-title{
display: none;
} </style>
Step 4. Click the 'Save Template' button to save the changes and you're done. Enjoy!

Also, please check out this tutorial on how to add falling snowflakes in the background of a Blogger blog.

Friday, September 20, 2013

4 Different Styles For the Popular Posts Widget

Blogger allows us to easily add a "Popular Posts" widget, that we select from its list of gadgets, and we can do that by going to the "Layout" of our Blog.

This gadget, as the name implies, shows which are the most visited blog posts, and you can set it to display the info you want in four possible combinations: (1) only the title of the post, (2) a thumbnail of the image and the post title, (3) post title with a summary, and (4) post title with a thumbnail and a post snippet.

This is an element that you shouldn't miss in your blog because it encourages your visitors to navigate through your content and that can result in higher income if you're monetizing your blog because it would generate an increase in the number of pages visited, and in turn, can attract the users' interest to subscribe to the blog and to read interesting content.

Preliminary steps: Add the gadget, if you haven't done it yet.


1. Select the "Layout" tab and add the "Popular Posts" gadget in that part of your blog you want to appear, such as in your sidebar, by clicking on "Add a Gadget".

2. Configure the widget to show only the post titles. You can do this by clicking on the "image thumbnail" and "snippet" checkboxes, as shown in the following image.

3. After configuring the widget, save the changes by clicking on Save, and then Save arrangement.

How to add the CSS to create the style of the Popular Posts widget


1. Choose a style, then copy the CSS that appears below the image that shows the style.

2. Select the "Template" tab, then click on Customize > Advanced > Add CSS and then paste the CSS style that you like the most.

blogger tutorials
3. Once you add the CSS, Save changes by clicking on the "Apply to Blog" button.

Note: Some Blogger templates might not allow adding CSS in that location. In that case, for adding the CSS style you need to access the Template's HTML - from your Blogger Dashboard, go to Template > Edit HTML and paste the code just above the ]]></b:skin> tag (press the CTRL + F keys to find it - you might need to click on the arrow to expand the code and after that search it again)

And that's it! You've already customized the popular posts widget when it shows only post titles.

Styles

Here is the CSS of each style, just choose the one you like the best and put it on your blog. You can see each of these styles in action in the following demo blog:

http://demo-blog343.blogspot.com

Style 1:
blogger gadgets, blogger widgets, popular posts widget
#PopularPosts1 h2{
padding:7px 0 3px 0;
width:100%;
margin-bottom:10px;
font-size:1.3em;
text-indent:-12px;
font-size:18px;
text-align:center;
color: #757575; /* Color of the widget's title */
}
#PopularPosts1 ul{
list-style:none;
counter-reset:li;
padding:8px 0px 1px;
left:-7px;
width:290px;
}
#PopularPosts1 li{
position:relative;
margin:0 0 10px 0;
padding: 3px 2px 0 17px;
left:-5px;
width:285px;
}
#PopularPosts1 ul li{
background: #eee;
position: relative;
display: block;
padding: .4em .2em .4em 2em;
*padding: .2em;
margin: .5em 0;
background: #ddd;
text-decoration: none;
border-radius: .3em;
transition: all .3s ease-out;  
}
#PopularPosts1 ul li:before{
content: counter(li);
counter-increment: li;
position: absolute;
top: 50%;
margin: -1.3em;
height: 2em;
width: 2em;
line-height: 2em;
font-size: 15px;
color: #fff; /* text color of numbers */
background: #FB8835; /* background color of numbers */
border: .2em solid #fff; /* border color */
-webkit-box-shadow: 0 8px 5px -7px #888;
-moz-box-shadow: 0 8px 5px -7px #888;
box-shadow: 0 8px 5px -7px #888;
text-align: center;
font-weight: bold;
border-radius: 2em;
position: absolute;  
left: 0;
transition: all .3s ease-out;
}
#PopularPosts1 ul li:hover{
background: #eee;
}
#PopularPosts1 ul li:hover:before{
transform: rotate(360deg);  
}
#PopularPosts1 ul li a{
font: 14px Georgia, serif; /* font size of post titles */
text-shadow: 0 -1px 2px #fff;
color: #444;
display:block;
min-height:25px;
text-decoration:none;
text-transform: uppercase;
}
#PopularPosts1 ul li a:hover{
color: #444;
}

Style 2:
blogger gadgets, blogger widgets, popular posts widget
#PopularPosts1 h2{
position:relative;
padding:8px 10px 6px 10px;
width:100%;
margin-bottom: 5px;
font-size:17px;
color:#757575; /* Color of the widget's title */
text-align:left;
}
#PopularPosts1 ul{
list-style:none;
counter-reset:li;
padding:10px;
left:-8px;
width:100%;
}
#PopularPosts1 li{ /* Styles of each element */
width:100%;
position:relative;
left:0;
margin:0 0 1px 12px;
padding:4px 5px;
}
#PopularPosts1 ul li:before{
content: counter(li);
counter-increment: li;
position: absolute;
left: -30px;
top: 50%;
margin-top: -13px;
background: #8E8E8E; /* background color of the numbers */
height: 1.9em;
width: 2em;
line-height: 2em;
text-align: center;
font-weight: bold;
color: #fff;
font-size: 14px;
}
#PopularPosts1 ul li:after{
position: absolute;
content: '';
left: -2px;
margin-top: -.7em;
top: 50%;
width: 0;
height: 0;
border-top: 8px solid transparent;
border-bottom: 8px solid transparent;
border-left:10px solid #8E8E8E; /* background color of the right arrow*/
}
#PopularPosts1 ul li a{
color: #444;
text-decoration: none;  
font-size:15px;
}
#PopularPosts1 ul li {
position: relative;
display: block;
padding: .4em .4em .4em .8em;
*padding: .4em;
margin: .5em 0 .5em 0.4em;
background: #ddd;
transition: all .3s ease-out;
text-decoration:none;
transition: all .1s ease-in-out;
}
#PopularPosts1 ul li:hover{
background: #eee; /* Background color on mouseover */
}  
#PopularPosts1 ul li a:hover{
color:#444; /* Link color on mouseover */
margin-left:3px;
}

Style 3:
blogger gadgets, blogger widgets, popular posts
#PopularPosts1 h2{
position:relative;
right:-2px;
padding:8px 63px 6px 17px;
width:100%;
margin:0;
font-size:16px;
background:#4F4F4F; /* Background color */
color:#f2f2f2; /* Color of the widget's title */
text-align:left;
text-indent:18px;
}
#PopularPosts1 h2:before{
position:absolute;
content:"";
top:36px;
right:0px;
width: 0px;
height: 0px;
border-bottom:12px outset transparent;
border-left:12px solid #000000;
}
#PopularPosts1 h2:after{
position:absolute;
content:"";
top:-6px;
left:-5px;
width: 0px;
height: 0px;
border-bottom:24px outset transparent;
border-top:24px outset transparent;
border-left:24px solid #ffffff; /* Arrow background color on the left */
}
#PopularPosts1 ul{
list-style:none;
counter-reset:li;
padding:10px;
left:-8px;
width:100%;
}
#PopularPosts1 li{
width:100%;
position:relative;
left:0;
margin:7px 0 16px 12px;
padding:10px  4px 0 5px;
}
#PopularPosts1 ul li:before{
content:counter(li);
counter-increment:li;
position:absolute;
top:-2px;
left:-20px;
font-size:35px;
width:20px;
color:#888888;
}

#PopularPosts1 ul li a{
display:block;
font-size:16px; /* Font size of the links */
color: #666; /* Color of the links */
text-decoration:none;
transition: all .1s ease-in-out;font-weight: bold;
}
#PopularPosts1 ul li a:hover{
color:#3366FF;
margin-left:3px;
}

Style 4:
blogger gadgets, blogger widgets
#PopularPosts1 h2{
padding:8px 10px 3px 0;
width:100%;
margin:0;
font-size:16px;
position:relative;
left:-20px;
display:block;
border-bottom:2px solid #ccc;
}
#PopularPosts1 ul{
list-style:none;
counter-reset:li;
padding:10px;
width:100%;
}
#PopularPosts1 li{ /* Styles of each element */
width:100%;
position:relative;
left:0;
margin:0 0 6px 10px;
padding:4px 5px;
}
#PopularPosts1 ul li:before{ /* Style of the numbers */
content:counter(li);
counter-increment:li;
position:absolute;
top:3px;
left:-39px;
font-size:21px;
width:28px;
height:28px;
border-radius: 50%;
color:#777; /* Text color */
border: 2px solid #ddd; /* Rounded border color */
padding:0;
text-indent:9px;
}
#PopularPosts1 ul li a{
display:block;
position:relative;
left:-45px;
width:100%;
margin:0;
min-height:28px;
padding: 5px 3px 3px 39px;
color:#333; /* color of the links */
text-decoration:none;
font-size:14px; /* Font size of the links */
font-style: italic;

}
#PopularPosts1 ul li a:hover{
color:#3366ff;
margin-left:3px;
}

Final Notes

All the CSS is valid. I just have to mention that the numbering is not visible in Internet Explorer 7, since that version of the browser does not support properties that make the numbers appear. For example in the 4th style, the circles look squared in IE8 and earlier versions since, these versions do not support a property that makes them look as circles.