Hi,


I just downloaded Wordpress 3.1.3.

I read that you can change the appearance of the blog through CSS.

How does this work? There are no HTML files, just php files.

I couldn't see any classes or divs or anything else...

I would like to change the column width, the font, create dotted lines betwen the posts, control line height and the width between characters.

On an HTML site I have divs and classes to apply CSS selectively.

How do I do that in WordPress files?

Do I really have to know php?

The CSS should all be located in your theme's directory.

Originally Posted by World

Do I really have to know php?

It helps, but you should be able to get by without it if you're just making minor changes. It might make things easier to look at the HTML source rather than the PHP source (ie the html code sent to the browser). From there you can determine where in the PHP source you need to make changes. Only edit files in your theme directory.

Originally Posted by NullPointer

It might make things easier to look at the HTML source rather than the PHP source

That's exactly the problem I'm experiencing: I can't find the HTML source. There are only php files in the downloaded WordPress software.

How do I get to see the HTML source?

Is it part of the php documents? There isn't even one single document for the whole layout. There's a header.php, footer.php, sidebar.php, etc.

How do I get to see the HTML source?

The HTML source is the output of the PHP code. It is the data sent to the browser.

Originally Posted by World

How do I get to see the HTML source?

You'll need to learn a bit of PHP before editing your wordpress theme.

For a beginner, you should look at both the PHP code found in your control panel of WP and the data sent to the browser, by viewing the actual page's source code ( HTML ) to see how you're going to make your next edit.

WordPress was simply put together and it's user friendly, so you'll start understanding how to edit certain files to reach certain results quickly. ( WP Dashboard => Appearance => Editor )

Examples :

• header.php - You know that you're editing the header of the page.
• footer.php - You know that you're editing the footer of the page.
• sidebar.php - You know that you're editing the side-bar of the page.
• style.css - You know this is where you edit your CSS to style the page.

When you compare both codes, you will quickly notice similarities. Some PHP replaces the HTML in the control panel of a template, but when you view it on your browser, view the source code and you'll notice the HTML.

Something that can help you is HTML comment tags. You can insert them when editing the templates to see what is where on the actual page, when viewing the page source.

But, before wasting another second, review the basics of PHP : http://www.w3schools.com/php/

I am taking a look at php right now.

(I also just installed MAMP and installed a local test copy of wordpress on my local machine)

So, basically, the dynamic scripting language php outputs the static code html.

I'll get some basics down so I will know how this will work.

That will be nice, If you know how to do CSS then you can design your own blog.

The simple (no absolutely, however) way is to find the theme and template for wordpress that would have suitable parameters.

Using template is good but it is an advantage if you know how to do the codes.

One of my blogs allows many modifications directly from the control site...
click and it changes...

Knowing code allows making a thin adjustment, while templates are always limited. But agree this is a simple way for the one who has not enough php skills.