Need help changing header image. PLEASE!

Depending on how your theme works, you may be able to change the header image in your Dashboard. Something like Dashboard –> Appearance –> Header.

If not, and assuming your theme follows normal conventions you may have to modify the header.php file.

Try the Dashboard options first and let us know

Cheers

PAE

I have searched far and wide in my available options in dashboard and the appearance options. How do I go about modifying the header.php file?

Thank you for the reply!

Cheers

You can edit the header.php file in Dashboard –> Appearance –> Editor.

When you’re in the editor, click on the ‘Header’ link on the right hand side and the code for header.php will be displayed.

This is the code that currently displays the header:

<?php
if ( is_front_page() ) { ?>
	<div id="top-image">
		<div id="top-image-wrap">
			<?php if(function_exists('wp_cycle')) { wp_cycle();} else { ?>
			<img src="<?php echo get_template_directory_uri(); ?>/img/top-image-1.jpg" />
			<?php } ?>
		</div>
	</div>
<?php } else { ?>
	<div id="second-image">
		<div id="breadcrumb">
		<?php if(function_exists('bcn_display')) { bcn_display(); } ?>
		</div>
	</div>
<?php } ?>

What this code does is to display an image (possibly a random one) on the front (home) page. It does not display an image on other pages.

What do you want to do with this code? Do you want to display a single image and display it on all pages? Or do you want something else?

Cheers

PAE

Thank you. The website is such that there is only one page that is on display. So You could say that the header will display on all pages. Currently, on the site, there is one page. I want an image that is the exact same to replace the one that currently exists.
https://www.vivelacasaverde.com

Firstly, I would recommend that you make your changes in a Child Theme. It’s the only recommended way of modifying a WordPress theme and takes about five minutes to do.

Once you have a minimal child theme activated, you can copy your parent theme’s header.php file into your child theme’s directory and WordPress will automatically use it in preference to the version in the parent theme’s directory.

Regardless of whether you have a child theme or not, you need to access the header.php code from the Dashboard (Appearance –> Editor).

Once in the code editor, you need to delete all the code above except for the following lines:

<div id="top-image">
  <div id="top-image-wrap">
    <img src="<?php echo get_template_directory_uri(); ?>/img/top-image-1.jpg" />
  </div>
</div>

You may not actually need both those divs, but hey, let’s not tempt fate, eh?

??

This also demonstrates one of the advantages of using a child theme. You are only altering the child theme’s version of the file. The parent theme’s version remains unaltered. So you can always get back to square one, either by copying the parent theme’s version back over the child theme version, or by reactivating the parent theme.

Then you need to edit the src attribute to point to the image you want to use. Let’s suppose you’ve created a child theme. The easiest thing to do would be to create a new directory in your child theme’s folder (let’s call it ‘images’) and copy your header image into it. Let’s assume you’ve called the image “logo.jpeg”.

Now you can reference the image as follows:

<img src="<?php bloginfo('stylesheet_directory'); ?>/images/logo.jpeg" />

When you have your image showing on your page, we may need to do some tidying up of its size and position, but let’s get it showing first!

Good luck.

Cheers

PAE

Yeah, so I really think I am lost now. I don’t understand how to get this child theme, where to upload the images…
One cursory question that might help is can I do this stuff on any computer? Do I need to be working on a particular ‘host’ computer? Inserting files, creating sub-directory…lost.
I have a blog that I didn’t start but now need to edit and change the header image. I can edit the text and some of the elementary things but I need to replace the giant header at the top with one that has fresh dates. I have the image ready, I just need to replace it. There is only one page to the blog. https://www.vivelacasaverde.com
I understand HTML a little so I get the editor function but what I don’t get is where is it pulling the current header image from? It isn’t in the blog’s media library visible online. So it makes me wonder where it is coming from. Solving that, I think I could replace that one with the new one and be gold.
Please.
Cheers

can I do this stuff on any computer?

Certainly. See installing WordPress locally.

So I HAVE to do that to replace this image?

See peredur’s last post.

cellaridge, you don’t absolutely have to create a child theme, but you’ll be taking a risk if you don’t. For people who are not old hands at this sort of thing, I think it’s the safest thing to do. Just read the Codex article I linked to and follow the instructions. It takes about five minutes.

The only thing you need to know is how to create a directory (folder) for your child theme and how to upload a valid style.css file to it. You would create a folder for your images in much the same way. Or you could just upload your image to your child theme folder if you don’t want to use a sub-directory (but if you do you’ll need to alter the path I gave you). You use an FTP client like FileZilla to do these things. So you’ll need to know your FTP account details from your web host.

Having said that, you can go right ahead and alter your existing theme’s header.php file: but if you do you’ll be taking a risk.

As for HAVING to do something to replace the image, yes, it appears that your chosen theme does not allow you to do this from the Dashboard. It’s a pity, but it is the case. It is something that most themes do allow via configuration rather than having to mess with the HTML/PHP/CSS code.

HTH

PAE

If I chose to take the risk and alter the existing .php file, how do I do that. Advanced apologies if it is stated above.

Dashboard –> Appearance –> Editor

Then select the ‘Header (header.php)’ link on the right hand side (by default the contents of style.css are displayed for editing.

Once you have selected the link, the PHP code will appear in the editor.

Note that whether you use a child theme or not, you still have to upload your image. So you’ll probably have to use an FTP client anyway.

Cheers

PAE

I downloaded the FTP filezilla but now don’t know how to upload.

This is the text at the end of my header code:

END ORIG CODE-->
<div id="top-image">
		<div id="top-image-wrap">
			<?php if(function_exists('wp_cycle')) { wp_cycle();} else { ?>
			<img src="<?php echo get_template_directory_uri(); ?>/img/top-image-1.jpg" />
			<?php } ?>
		</div>
	</div>
<?php } ?>  

<div id="wrap">

Is there a way to change the image source or directory?

For using Filezilla, please google “filezilla help”.

I know that’s the code in your header.php file because I posted it here a few posts back along with instructions as to how it should be modified. See my earlier post.

You put the image wherever you want, but you have to insert the correct code into the <img> tag’s src attribute. So you have to:

• Upload it to some location on your site
• Note down the absolute URL for that location
• Modify the header.php code as described earlier
• Modify the HTML/PHP for the image location in the src attribute

If you do the first two things and then post the location, we can tell you how to construct the src attribute value.

One thing it might be useful for me to clarify. In one of my earlier posts when I said to, “Delete all the code above”, I was referring to all the code listed in my previous post and not all the code above that which I was talking about, in the file. Just thought I’d make that clear since it’s a bit ambiguous as it stands.

HTH

PAE