8 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}
8 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}

Can you make design changes to a wordpress theme?

by GSMarketing
7 replies
  • WEB DESIGN
    • |
Hi,

Firstly apologies if this is a dumb question but I have limited technological knowledge.

I'm currently following a marketing course which comes with its own wordpress theme. Now the theme seems great for it's technical aspects, but it's rather ugly (to me) and I want to jazz things up a little.

I know marketers say appearance does not matter, but it matters a lot to me.

Is it possible to keep the theme but add design elements to it? Or do I need to have a customised design done?

Any advice/assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

G
#design #make #theme #wordpress
  • Profile picture of the author BillyW
    You can most definitely edit themes. You would need to know HTML, CSS, and a little PHP in order to do so, or hire someone like me. If you need help with this you can shoot me a PM or add me on Skype.
    Signature
    Qosso.com - Exceptional Branding At Affordable Prices
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6920925].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author RichKent
    A WordPress theme is basically an HTML/CSS website with a few added database calls. You can change literally anything you want with a little knowhow.

    CSS is the best and easiest way to make the vast majority of changes. Use a browser plugin like firebug to identify the class of the items you want to change, then change them in the CSS file in Appearance -> Editor from the WordPress dashboard.
    Signature
    Learn more about Wordpress and SEO
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6922185].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author ronc0011
      You can learn a lot about this by Googling "how to build custom Wordpress theme".
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6922230].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author joliefleur
        With this "I have limited technological knowledge" I assume you don't know HTML/CSS most certainly PHP.

        If my understanding is correct then possible solutions to your less than appealing theme problem:
        • use other theme (assuming you're willing to spend some additional money on top of your marketing course), the one with better design e.g StudioPress, ElegantThemes, WooThemes etc (no affiliate links). This option is a lot easier and quicker to implement than to learn how to customize WP theme
        • use advanced theme such as Headway or Catalyst (no affiliate links). These themes have some really cool features that makes creating custom WP theme a lot easier. But you do still have put some works to make your site looks good using these themes. You also have to have some design flair
        I hope that helps
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6922592].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author GSMarketing
    Thanks for all your help guys and gals.

    Jolie, yes you are right, I don't know HTML/CSS.

    However, I am willing to outsource the project to get the result I desire, I just wanted to make sure it was possible before I go looking for someone to do a job that cannot or should not be done.

    As it seems this is not the case, I will begin my search for someone to carry out the work.

    Is this something I can take to 99designs? Is that site any good?

    Cheers

    G
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6925566].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Roxana45
    I didn't knew so many thing about this subject. Thanks
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6933468].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Jeraldarnold
    Off course you can! Within the theme folder you see a lot of files. Look for the style.css and start editing

    If you need any help with it, you can off course contact me I got lots of experience with editing worpress templates.

    Cheers,
    Jerald
    Signature
    NEWBIE FRIENDLY SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION: AFFORDABLE SEO PACKAGES << CLICK IT!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6933554].message }}

Trending Topics