Style Your Site Print

Change Your Theme

WordPress allows you to apply any theme to your blog. All themes include a CSS stylesheet that defines the design and layout (the colors, arrangement, and shape) of your site. In WordPress, the content is completely separate from the format, so you can change themes at any time without having to alter your content.

 

In the past, WordPress attempted to create a central theme repository called the WordPress Theme Viewer. However, due to numerous issues with the repository, themes for WordPress are now scattered all across the web. Weblogtoolscollection often features newly released themes. The footer of most blogs identifies the theme the user has applied. You can search for "WordPress themes" and find a good variety of them. You can also buy a well-designed theme usually for $100 or less (search for "designer WordPress themes" or "premium WordPress themes"). In general, when choosing a theme, find one that's simple and focuses your eye on your the content. You can always change it when you get tired of it.

 

To apply a new theme to your site:

1. Download the theme to your computer.
2. Right-click the zipped file and unzip it using a tool such as 7-zip or Winzip.
3. Open your FTP program (such as Filezilla), connect to your web host, and upload the entire theme folder to wp-content/themes.
4. Log in to your blog's admin panel and go to Manage > Themes. The theme you uploaded should appear there.
5. Select the theme. Now check out how it looks on your site.
   
   

After selecting a new theme, you may need to configure the sidebar, page navigation, and header. Always make sure it looks good in both Firefox and IE. If you have a question about a theme, try visiting the author's site first.

 

Modify Your Sidebar

Themes usually have at least 1 or 2 sidebars. Sidebars are the narrow columns to the left or right of your blog posts. Each section in the sidebar is known as a "widget" that you can move up or down. Sidebars commonly list your pages, contact information, top posts, RSS feed, some about text, links, and ads.

 

To configure your sidebar:

1. Go to Design > Widgets. The Widgets subtab has two columns: Available Widgets and Current Widgets.
2. In the Current Widgets section, select the sidebar you want to configure, and then click the Add button next to a widget in the Available Widgets column. The widget is added to your current widgets.
3. Click the Edit link on the widget to set any additional details, such as the title and number of items displayed. Most of the widgets are self-explanatory, except for the RSS widget. The RSS widget doesn't display your RSS feed, but rather allows you to display the latest items from an RSS feed somewhere else.
4. In the Current Widgets section, drag and drop the widgets into the order you want.
5. Click the Save button.
6. Select another sidebar, if your theme has one, and configure the widgets for that sidebar as well.

Customize Your Header Image or Background

One of the most common ways you'll want to customize your theme is by changing the banner image. Exactly how you do this depends on the theme you're using. But in general, here's how you alter the banner image:

 

1. Find out the exact size of the banner image. In your theme's folder, the banner image is usually stored in an images or img subfolder.
2. Note the name, file type, and dimensions of the file.
3. Using a graphics program such as Photoshop or SnagIt, create your custom replacement image with the exact same dimensions and save it as the same file type and name.
4. Use FTP to upload the new image file to the same folder where the original banner image is stored (usually wp-content/themes/themename/images).
5. When prompted, select to overwrite the original.
6. Refresh your blog's page to view the new image.