Tutorials on Basic Customization (beyond what’s already available within Themes)

  • Greetings all,

    I’m pretty much brand-new to the WordPress universe, though have gotten as far as setting up and customizing a couple of blog sites using free Themes and the customization tools come already built into each of those themes. I’m ready to get more advanced and start tinkering with my themes by way of editing the source files, though I can’t seem to find the right tutorial(s) to begin the process.

    A few things I’d like to do:
    – change the fonts to ones which aren’t available in the Theme’s default package
    – adjust some of the formatting (column/margin width, default font size for header text, etc.)
    – add child Themes and grids to certain pages
    – adjust background colors per page

    The way I understand it is that all of these things can be accomplished by editing or overwriting certain files wherever my source files are hosted, and this is generally done by accessing the folder structure where those files live via FTP. What’s not clear to me is whether these files would be hosted officially by WordPress, or would they be hosted by my domain provider (in this case, GoDaddy). If I want to access my site files, who’s server am I logging into?

    Hoping someone can clarify this, and also point me to any good tutorial that would show me how to access my site files via FTP and maybe say something about be practices for doing this (for example, is it recommended to install an offline version of WP, do all editing there, then overwrite online version, by uploading offline files? etc.)

    Many thanks ahead of time to anyone who can enlighten me!

Viewing 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)

  • Hi There!

    Welcome To WordPress! Let the Obsession Begin! ;D

    My advice for someone in your position is to learn a “FrameWork”!

    Here is a nice article about them:https://www.wpbeginner.com/beginners-guide/what-is-a-theme-framework/

    I Really enjoy using the Themify Frame work and Ultra theme!

    You can do virtually anything with their framework.

    Here is the link to a video guide that tells you what it can do.
    https://themify.me/docs/ultra-documentation

    Here is a link to download a free Non Supported copy from Hogan Chua on You tube. (He has a series of free tutorials, too.)

    [tentatively removed link]

    Remember… In My Humble Opinion.

    Good Luck & I Hope This Helps You!

    ~Josh

    • This reply was modified 7 years, 11 months ago by stephencottontail. Reason: tentatively removing link

    @cothen: Can you tell me more about this “free Non Supported copy” of the Themify framework that you’ve linked to? When you describe it in those terms, it sets off some possible red flags in my head.

    @stephencottontail

    I am sorry if my wording has raised any flags. Everything is offered as a free non supported version… meaning you can use it but because of the lovey GPL v.2 (General Public License)that it has but you don’t get any support.

    In the GPL it states in section 4

    4. Conveying Verbatim Copies.

    You may convey verbatim copies of the Program’s source code as you receive it, in any medium, provided that you conspicuously and appropriately publish on each copy an appropriate copyright notice; keep intact all notices stating that this License and any non-permissive terms added in accord with section 7 apply to the code; keep intact all notices of the absence of any warranty; and give all recipients a copy of this License along with the Program.

    You may charge any price or no price for each copy that you convey, and you may offer support or warranty protection for a fee.

    I hope that this sets you mind at ease. If you need anymore information let me know.

    Cheers!

    ~Josh

    Thread Starter pfistar

    (@pfistar)

    Hi Josh ~

    Many thanks for the reply and insights. I gave the article about frameworks a spin. While it gives me an idea of what might be on the horizon for me in terms of customization tools and methods, the topic is still above my head since I haven’t ever done much coding. I’m certain I’ll dive into this and it will all make more sense once I get my feet wet by doing a few little tweaks to my prescribed theme. However, what I was looking for initially was more of a simple step-by-step guide on how to access and make simple tweaks to the files that already define my theme/site. That said, I’m using one of the free themes WordPress offers. The idea that WordPress would even permit editing to one of their free themes (beyond what their GUI allows) is a presumption of mine, and if my presumption is incorrect, please disabuse me of it! Otherwise, I’m hoping someone can point me to how I would access my site’s files (using FTP, or some other protocol).

    Many thanks again,
    ~Nik

Viewing 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)
  • The topic ‘Tutorials on Basic Customization (beyond what’s already available within Themes)’ is closed to new replies.