How to Upload to Static Tumblr
By Jesse Adams
Tumblr is a free blogging platform that is inherently social. In addition to hosting blogs on its servers, Tumblr also syndicates content from those blogs to other Tumblr users via the Dashboard. The service allows virtually any kind of Web content to be published on user blogs. The blogs themselves are also highly customizable, so Web designers can create custom themes for their Tumblr blogs, just as they can with other blogging platforms such as Wordpress or Drupal. Tumblr even allows designers to upload static design files such as CSS documents, javascripts and images directly to the Tumblr servers.
Instructions
Open your browser, navigate to the Tumblr.com homepage and log in with your email address and password.
Click the "Preferences" gear icon at the top of the Dashboard, scroll to the bottom of the Preferences page and click the "Themes" link.
Click the "Submit a theme" button near the top of the page.
Click the "static file uploader" link in the "Requirements" box on the right side of the page.
Click the "Choose File" button and select the document you want to upload to the Tumblr servers.
Click the "Upload File" button.
Copy the direct URL to the file to use it in your Tumblr theme.
Tips
- Note that once you upload a file to the Tumblr servers, it can never be edited or deleted, so if you need to make a change to your CSS file, for example, you will have to upload an entirely new file.
- It is also your responsibility to keep track of the links to the your uploaded files, as Tumblr does not currently provide a list of user-uploaded files.
- While you must access the theme submission form to access the static file uploader tool, you do not have to submit a theme into the Tumblr database.
- Tumblr only allows users to use the static upload feature for theme documents. If caught abusing the feature, your account may be closed by the Tumblr administrators.
- The static upload feature has very specific file size requirements: files can be no larger than five megabytes and individual users are only allowed to upload 15 megabytes per day.
Writer Bio
Jesse Adams has written professionally since 2008. He writes tutorials for technology products and websites. His work has been featured by the "International Business Times," GeekBeat.tv and other publications. Adams holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from Indiana University, and is currently working on his PhD in Literature.