bsflarva

arcater, I have many hours of content to add yet. The info you’re referring to is currently contained in the thread that is the topic of one of my pages. For the past year I used that thread like a blog essentially, and now I’m playing catch up to bring my blog up to date. The “black soldier fly info” links answer all of your questions, but of course I want to answer them in my own way on my blog.

Just this morning I got the site to validate so I can get to the work of adding content.

Thanks.

Thanks for commenting.

rgallacher, I originally intended to color the header and play with text color but I’m not sure where to find the code. I looked but I didn’t see the 6 digit html codes or text size code I’m familiar with. I started this blog a few weeks ago at Blogger but decided I wanted a unique url. One thing I like about Blogger is that I could easily change the base color of various fields and text types.

You can see the direction I was going by looking at my original (Blogger) blog: blacksoldierflyproject.blogspot.com/

I’ll consider your suggestions, thank you.

My plan has been to learn how to widen the sidebar and to include my photos/videos there also.

Don’t be sorry, what you say is 100% accurate. It’s a science oriented hobby and I wanted it to very minimal visually so that the focus would be on information without too much distraction. It’s not that I don’t want to be entertaining, it’s just that I want to do so via content more than through graphics.

Part of my goal is to make my images, which are mostly originals, stand out as much as possible. Every post will have one of my photos or videos positioned high enough in the post so that it will be visible before scrolling down. When I shoot photos I’m trying to include colorful backgrounds and interesting textures.

Do you think people would be less inclined to read my blog because of the vanilla quality?

Why not stick with something that’s unique? I love the way the columns float.

I just checked you site again and I see that you changed the background. I liked the first one better. The texture of it made the columns pop out for a very dramatic effect.

I say be cautious about how you apply suggestions, if you try to please everyone you’ll end up with a product that looks common.

Hey detoam, I don’t know how to write code but I can say that your theme is pretty cool looking.

The first thing I noticed is that you made the sidebar wider than usual. I just set up my first website using someone else’s theme, and the only thing I’m not happy with is the fact that I can’t figure out how to widen the sidebar. If you search the support forum for “sidebar width” you’ll find literally hundreds of threads asking for help making sidebars wider.

Enough ranting… good job on your theme.

So only the author of the theme has the magic formula?

I’ll pay $10 US to anyone who can guide me through the process of widening the sidebar of my Blog.txt theme to 325 pixels.

I have PayPal. And $10.

Thanks Ivovic. Let me continue with your analogy, but first let me say that with my little knowledge it seems to like it should be fairly easy to change the width of a sidebar. Please correct me if I’m wrong.

Your car analogy is perfect because I understand auto mechanics about as well as I do webdesign. I’m not afraid to get a service manual and swap out the alternator if it needs it. I don’t have the process memorized, and I might reverse a few parts until everything lines up, but I’ll get it with the help of the manual or a more experienced friend.

I don’t know code well, but I know what it is and where to find it. I’m also not afraid to make some changes with the help of an experienced friend or a manual.

Is widening the sidebar more complex than changing the alternator on my car? Obviously many people want this functionality. Is it so complicated to do this that it is beyond the scope of the doc section? Do you need to rebuild the entire “engine” to effect the width of the sidebar?

I honestly thought I would just have to find a value for sidebar width and change that value.

Fine. I gave up on the Blog.txt theme. In one of the 200+ threads about this issue I found a link to some free themes that deal with the issue. The themes aren’t as attractive to me as Blog.txt, but I’m not good with code and given all of the unresolved threads I’m not alone in this.

Here’s that link: https://www.easywebtutorials.com/blogging-tutorial/wordpress-themes.php

I understand how great it is that wp is free, and I don’t wish to seem ungrateful. Still, with so many people expressing the same difficulty why isn’t this addressed in the doc section? What could be more basic than wanting more space in a particular section, even if it isn’t used that way in a traditional blog.

Perhaps this is only a problem for noobs, like me. That begs the question; what is the purpose of wp? Is it a tool for people who already know how to write code or is it a vehicle to ease people into web design? I agree if you say that people with websites should learn code, but this particular problem comes up too early in the process I think. Many complex functions are programmed to be very user friendly in wp, but what seems like a simple matter is not.

I’m very appreciative of wp the support community and I hope that this post is taken as constructive criticism.

Serenity now.

https://blacksoldierflyblog.com/

Dang!

Site:

Thanks Dalton, I just installed Blog.txt and I’m getting a little more comfortable. I think I’ll take your advice and check out Tarsky too.

Thanks jonimueller, I appreciate your patience.

I’m comfortable with Blogger, but I worry about investing much into it because I assume it’s more limiting in the long run. I’m just getting started with this blog and I would rather struggle a little to use something with more future potential than settle with what I’m comfortable with. My site will essentially be a blog but will also serve to market a product, that’s why I want a unique url and more flexibility. If the product was due to be released any day I wouldn’t be looking for shortcuts.

Are there no WP themes that are designed so that a person with very limited knowledge of code can modify the layout and functionality?