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Using Themes - Controlling the Appearance of My Blog


What is a Theme?
Fundamentally, the WordPress Theme system is a way to “skin” your weblog. Yet, it is more than just a “skin.” Skinning your site implies that only the design is changed. WordPress Themes can provide much more control over the look and presentation of the material on your website.

A WordPress Theme is a collection of files that work together to produce a graphical interface with an underlying unifying design for a weblog. These files are called template files. A theme modifies the way the site is displayed, without modifying the underlying software. Themes may include customized template files, image files (*.jpg, *.gif), style sheets (*.css), custom Pages, as well as any necessary code files (*.php). 

Get New Themes
FreeSwingersBlog.com is constantly working to provide more themes for it’s users.  Check under the “Design” tab in the “Dashboard” Administration panel for theme options.

Using Themes
WordPress supplies two themes in its distribution for your initial use. You can switch between these two themes using the admin panel. Themes that you add to that directory will appear in the Administration Panels > Design > Themes as additional selections.

Selecting the Active Theme
To select the active theme for your site:

  1. Log in to the WordPress Administration Panels.
  2. Select the Design subpanel, then Themes.
  3. From the Available Themes section, click on theme title (or theme screenshot) for the theme you wish to activate.
  4. A preview of the theme will be shown to activate theme click the Activate “Theme Name” link in the top right.
  5. Your selection should immediately become active.
  
  Click the image above for example

Setting Theme Options
Different themes may have special options available that can even customize your blog further, such as setting color schemes, changing appearance and sizes, and even adding custom images in the headers or background of the blog.

To explore your theme’s options simply go to Administration Panel>Design>Options (or Theme Options) and tweak the settings to your hearts content.  Don’t worry about breaking anything.  That is the beauty of using a theme, as they make it impossible to “break” your blog.  Should you find after changing a setting you are not happy with the change of the blog, simply change it back or try another option.

Messing around with themes is one of the fun parts of blogging.  Enjoy yourselves and happy Blogging!

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