Change the Header in a WordPress Blog
WordPress is one of the most popular template blogging platforms. You can program WordPress software and make changes to the code yourself, or you can go to WordPress.com and sign up for a free, hosted blog. In 2011, over 32 million people have created their own blogs. The advantage of using WordPress to blog is that it offers a wide variety of customizable templates, called "themes." After choosing your theme, you can make changes to its appearance. Each theme has different options, so it is a good idea to learn to navigate your blog before changing icons, headers and other elements. This article will tell you how to change the header in a WordPress blog.
Steps
- Sign into your WordPress blog account.
- To create a WordPress blog, go to the WordPress.com homepage. Click on the button that says, "Get Started Here." Put in your details, such as a username and password to create the account. Choose your theme.
- Click on your blog's icon in the upper right corner. This will take you to your blog. You will find your "Dashboard" on the left hand side, which controls all of your blog's options.
- Find the "Appearance" section of your Dashboard. The options for changes of your blog's appearance will differ from theme to theme. Drag your cursor over the appearance tab and find the list of your theme's options.
- Click on the "Header" option. This should take you to the page where all your theme's header options are listed.
- Decide if you would like to use an image of your own or 1 of the image options that are available with your theme. Most people customize their WordPress header in 1 of the following 3 ways:
- Go to your theme's settings and choose from a variety of header options. This is only available with some themes. You can find out if you have a number of header images to choose from by finding where it says "Header Background Image" and seeing if there is a drop down menu. If there is, click "View graphic choices" to see your options and then go back and choose a header image from the drop down menu. Click "Save Changes" and your new header will appear on your blog.
- Create a custom WordPress banner in a program such as Adobe Illustrator or InDesign. Find the section of the Header settings page that says the height and width of the header image. For example, it may be 400 pixels across and 120 pixels high. Create a new document that is this size and place images or text in the box. Save it as a jpg file. Find the option that says "Upload Custom Header," and upload your newly made banner.
- Edit a photo or image you already have to use as your new header. Find an image. Change the dimension to reflect the current header image as listed in your Header Settings page. If you do not do this, your image will be distorted or cropped when it is uploaded. Save the file on your computer as a jpg. Click "Upload Custom Header" to upload your new image. Click "Save Changes," and the new image will appear on your blog.
- Click on your blog name in the upper left hand corner to see your blog's new header image. Return to the Appearances tab and Header page to make further changes.
Tips
- If your WordPress blog is programmed into your website, rather than hosted at WordPress.com, you will need to get a Web Programmer to enter new lines of code in order to change your WordPress header image.
- You can easily crop and make changes to your photos using Photoshop, iPhoto, Google's Picasa,or a number of free online programs, like Photobucket. Once you know the size of your banner, you can choose the dimensions in this program.
Warnings
- Beware that custom images should be short and wide in order to work well as header images. You should choose your image based on this general guideline, and then make changes in a photo editing program.
Things You'll Need
- WordPress blog
- Image
- Adobe Illustrator or InDesign (optional)
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