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Mine Wasn’t Broke – Just Limping A Bit

Posted on January 9, 2015 by Elle Knowles
Mine Wasn’t Broke – Just Limping A Bit

 

So…You want a new theme for your blog? Is it time to spruce it up, re-design, and re-invent? It’s not as hard as you think it is. It is scary though to start fixing something you didn’t think was broke. I didn’t think mine was broke. However, over at Blogging 101, apparently these little tidbits need to be taken care of for today’s assignment.

I’ve been reading gobs of info on the subject of themes, how to customize and what is best for your needs. I have stalked lots – and I mean maybe a gazillion blogs today to take a peek at what other bloggers are using as their signature theme. I made a list, chose my top five, and started the process.

It was a little easier than I thought. Did you know that you can preview each theme you choose according to how your blog is already set up? Just hit that appearance button on the left of your dashboard. There it is – pretty close to the bottom. Then hit themes and a window pops up with multiple themes to choose from. Your current theme is the first one on the list. There is a search bar at the top if you know the name of the theme you want to look at. When it pops up, click preview and there you go! Your current blog in a new theme. How easy was that? Pretty easy I’d say.

There were so many options. Some didn’t have enough header space or no header at all. Others had no side bar or had a bar on the bottom. No featured picture for my post option – or at least not one I could find made me pitch that one out. After running through my list and then adding some more interesting ones to it I finally came to the conclusion that I think I wasn’t broke after all – just limping a little.

I loved my theme. By-the-way it is Liquorice. It was the third one I tried out when I first started WordPress and it has grown on me. It’s nice and fuzzy and warm like my favorite bathrobe. We connected and are attached at the hip…errr….maybe attached at the computer?

“But the assignment”, you say. “You have to do the assignment!”

My answer? “Fiddlesticks to that assignment! I’ll do one better and fix my limp.”

So I tweaked and I deleted and I added on. Background colors were changed numerous times. I’m seeing spots before my eyes! ( I did read once that lighter color backgrounds were easier to read, especially for old folks with old eyes!) Headers were changed and changed again and again. until I came up with the end result. I’ll probably change that header scene as the seasons change. Right now it is cold and dreary. Brrrrrr. Yes, it gets cold in Florida too. 😦 I have the perfect beach scene for the summer though! 😉

My site was looking better and better! I even added that Blogging 101 badge from the commons page on the Blooging Blogging 101 course. You would think I could spell that word right after this week huh? I think I deserve this badge after the week I have had.

Alas, I have a problem with that badge! But I have faith and as soon as MichelleW or  some other kind person gets back to me I am sure the problem will be resolved. For now you will have to look at this instead. So sorry. (see malfunctioning badge below)

Blogging 101

Please configure the Image

widget in your widget settings.

After all those countless hours working on this I fixed my limp (except for my badge) and I’m pleased with the results. I’m also glad I took the time to investigate other options.

What do you think? Did you get your WordPress theme changed today or were you as overwhelmed as I first was?

Elle

 

 

 

 

27 Comments

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About Elle Knowles

Elle Knowles lives in the Florida Panhandle with her husband and off-at-college-most-of-the-time son. She has four daughters, one son, and eleven beautiful grandchildren. 'Crossing the Line' is her first novel. The sequel 'What Line' is a work in progress. Recently published is Coffee-Drunk Or Blind - a nonfiction story of homesteading in the Alaska wilderness with her parents and four siblings, told through letters by her mother and remembered accounts from the family.

27 responses »

  1. suzjones | January 19, 2015 at 9:10 pm

    I enjoyed changing the look of my blog. The new theme I have is readable and I love the font. Of course, I made my own background using some of my digital designs and then uploaded that. I’m a little upset that I can’t adjust my header too much but it works with the clean look I was going for.

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  2. feathersanddimes | January 11, 2015 at 7:17 am

    I had trouble with that badge too! I thought I was the only one…

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  3. Loretta | January 10, 2015 at 1:57 pm

    Ha ha love it, I like your title. I felt the same way as you. I did not even participate or look at the community board on Friday perhaps for those same reasons? If it’s not broken, then why fix it? Another reason, perhaps I was afraid that too much tinkering around might just mess up my entire site? I was happy with the colors, I was happy with the layout, so I did not bother. What exactly happens to your badge when you try to attach it? I too had some difficulty, but then I managed, with some help from another blogger.

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  4. Ummesalmah | January 9, 2015 at 7:19 pm

    I like the theme you’re using. It makes your content easily accessible and hard to miss. So far, from what I’ve read, I absolutely adore your blog. Congratulations on your book! My young self has always wanted to write a book, but maybe someday. Who knows, maybe you’ll be my inspiration! I can’t wait to read more posts. If you’d like, check out my blog as well. 🙂

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  5. bee love | January 9, 2015 at 5:34 pm

    I really like your blog and your writing style! I think you would get a gold star on today’s assignment 🙂 I need to work on the widget and badge thing too!

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    • Elle Knowles | January 9, 2015 at 5:38 pm

      Gold Star? Maybe I’ll win a prize! LOL Thanks for your input. It’s hard to know what people like. I just keep tweaking and hopefully that kind person is going to get back to me about that badge widget problem!

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  6. sknicholls | January 9, 2015 at 4:26 pm

    This is much more readable Elle. I like it.

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  7. dianaroggenbuckebrown | January 9, 2015 at 4:09 pm

    It looks really good Elle, I’m scared that if I mess around with it I’ll just mess it all up. 🙂

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  8. Robin | January 9, 2015 at 3:21 pm

    Hi Elle. I played around with different themes. I activated them, took a look and then I returned to the theme I was using in the first place. I might actually decide to try one of the other themes, even though I love mine. It’s flaw is that it doesn’t have a header.

    I don’t know your theme, so I can’t tell you about putting the badge in your sidebar. You’ll need HTML to do that. But, I think I can help you with your post. There are two ways to view your post. In the upper right corner, there are two tabs – Visual and Text. Use the Text tab. You’ll see your post in code. Just insert the HTML code for the badge where you would like it placed. Then you can click back over to Visual and hopefully, you will see the badge.

    Hope that helped. If not, my apologies. I like your theme.

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  9. ordinary life of an ordinary wife | January 9, 2015 at 3:20 pm

    I like the look of your blog. I don’t know what a badge or a widget is but I bet if I had that on my blog it would make my life much easier…I’ll keep trying I should eventually get somewhere by trial and error

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