WordPress® All-in-One For Dummies®

Customizing Theme Frameworks

You may find that you are changing the same elements every time you set up a Web site using a theme framework. Here is a list of where to start when customizing a theme framework for a Web site:

• Add a custom header or logo image. Adding a nice header graphic to a site makes it look unique from the beginning. If graphics aren't your specialty, use a good designer for your header graphic. This crucial element will catch your visitors' eyes as soon as they hit the page.
• Change the colors of the background and links to match the header and branding of the site. Many frameworks provide a simple interface to do this; others require you to open the style.css file to change the color. Either way, changing the background and link colors to match the site adds cohesiveness throughout the branding of the site.
• Consider the home page layout: This is based on what the site is trying to achieve. If you want the site to focus on the blog, you might place it on the front page with a left or right sidebar. If your site is more static, you might create a layout with many widget areas on the home page that display things from around the site. The home page is the landing point for many of your site's visitors, so it's important to consider its layout early in the process.
• Decide how to lay out the inside pages and blog post pages. The pages are just as important as the home page. The form and function of the page and blog post layouts needs to be well planned to accommodate ...