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Thread: Web Design With Wordpress. Newcomer

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    Default Web Design With Wordpress. Newcomer

    Hi all, I am a newby to this forum and I don't know how things work 100% yet but I am seeking some information. I am a WordPress blogger and I am learning very quickly and Google is my best resource. Unfortunately I am having an issue with three things. I came across an excerpt plugin called Thumbnail for Excerpts which is quite great but on some of the themes I use from smthemes.com, the thumbnail image and the excerpt text are joined together directly without any spacing.
    I think it's a great plugin but I am looking for an alternative plugin that does the same job but may have additional features to this plugin which hasn't been updated since about 2009. This plugin may or may not still be supported. If anyone knows an excerpt plugin alternative that does the same job as this and would give me some space between the text and image let me know.
    Secondly, does anyone know of a plugin that can change the color of the background on my theme?
    Thirdly, does anyone know a plugin that can change the colors of menu items on a menu bar like Fourteen colors does for the wordpress default theme, TwentyFourteen? I have Googled everywhere but so far the options are somewhat vague and complex especially the premium ones. Looking for something simple and free.
    Fourteen Colors does a great job but I am open to learning so if anyone has a suggestion for any of these plugins let me know, okay?
    Looking forward to contributing to this forum and working with everyone. By the way, is anyone here of the view that large screen tablets (10 to 12 inches) are the future, especially those with keyboards that can replace a laptop. I would love that. A tablet and laptop in one but not as huge as a laptop and with a screen and experience that's not as small as a 7 inch or 15 inch laptop or even desktop monitor.

    Peace and love, forever.

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    you asked alot of questions but I will try to accomadate you.

    1. Wordpress themes are tricky to customize. You might have to setup a test wordpress website and edit the html template files until you get the desired results. BUt remember that if you break it, you bought it.

    2. you just have to keep searching until you find something. wordpress themes are a black hole. SOme are good, some are bad, and others are inbetween. You will never be satisfied.

    3. No one knows what the future will hold. Some people believe smartphones are the future and some people believe that all people do on smartphones is watch youtube. If you look at what people do on tablets and compare it to what people have done on laptops you will notice that one can never truly replace the other. Samsung has released like 20 different sized tablets so far this year.

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    Hey Owen, thanks for the quick response man! 'Preciate it!!! I haven't found the perfect theme. But I am not a coder yet. I am starting school in the fall and will be learning web design as part of a programme I'm doing. Not sure how far along in the course that will be. So right now I don't know code or html or even css or php.
    Know nothing about coding, just wysiwyg. That's the main reason I tried my luck here with plugins suggestions. Umm, some friends of mine referred me to Google and I finally ended up here. Google actually directed me to Techja in the end. I guess it's fate. Just need a couple plugins to get the job done until I learn how to code and customize and build my own themes. but that may be a while and take a while.
    I have tested a few plugins the other day but after being a tad bit frustrated I stopped and I deleted the test blog I created while testing them out. It was a free blog with a free host. Someone set it up for me. In fact he is on the same level as i am but he tried his luck and I tried mine until we joined forces. but you know us newbies. We are still learning. This is for fun but I want the best for my blogs and I have a couple great themes I saw and tried but I know there are plugins that can help. It's just to sift through to get the best ones.
    I really don't want you to think I'm lazy because I am really trying. I have searched through at least fifty pages of Google to find these plugins but I am overwhelmed so I beseech anyone familiar with wordpress plugins and not necessarily code to help me out.

    By the way, I just looked at your blog and I love it. Will recommend it to all my links!

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    ok, good luck. You can search techj for "wordpress". Or you can search google for "best free wordpress plugins". Take note of the age of any articles you read so that you do not waste time trying things that may be out of date or incompatible with your version of wordpress.

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    Quote Originally Posted by saintchace14 View Post
    Hi all, I am a newby to this forum and I don't know how things work 100% yet but I am seeking some information. I am a WordPress blogger and I am learning very quickly and Google is my best resource. Unfortunately I am having an issue with three things. I came across an excerpt plugin called Thumbnail for Excerpts which is quite great but on some of the themes I use from smthemes.com, the thumbnail image and the excerpt text are joined together directly without any spacing.
    I think it's a great plugin but I am looking for an alternative plugin that does the same job but may have additional features to this plugin which hasn't been updated since about 2009. This plugin may or may not still be supported. If anyone knows an excerpt plugin alternative that does the same job as this and would give me some space between the text and image let me know.
    Secondly, does anyone know of a plugin that can change the color of the background on my theme?
    Thirdly, does anyone know a plugin that can change the colors of menu items on a menu bar like Fourteen colors does for the wordpress default theme, TwentyFourteen? I have Googled everywhere but so far the options are somewhat vague and complex especially the premium ones. Looking for something simple and free.
    Fourteen Colors does a great job but I am open to learning so if anyone has a suggestion for any of these plugins let me know, okay?
    Looking forward to contributing to this forum and working with everyone. By the way, is anyone here of the view that large screen tablets (10 to 12 inches) are the future, especially those with keyboards that can replace a laptop. I would love that. A tablet and laptop in one but not as huge as a laptop and with a screen and experience that's not as small as a 7 inch or 15 inch laptop or even desktop monitor.

    Peace and love, forever.
    For all the issues you mentioned, they can be fixed via CSS adjustments. A plugin wouldn't be necessary for style/layout issues.
    If you had posted a link i could have provided you with necessary fixes
    1.8 Ghz Pentium 4 (OC'd.) / Intel P4 (478) Motherboard / 800MHz DDR / 256 Mb DDR RAM / 40GB Seagate / RIVA TNT2 Pro 32MB / 24X12X24 Sony CDRW+ / 18" View Sonic CRT / Windows ME Yes it will play Doom... i plan on trying Crysis 3 one of these days.

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    gW33Zy, thanks for the tip man, Really glad I'm getting feedback and help here. Glad I joined this forum. I will be doing I.T. when i go back to school in September but as i said to Owen, I am no coder. Will be learning web design in my programme but from what i was told it wouldn't be early in the course so I don't know or won't learn code for now.
    Have looked at some YouTube videos on how to do web design and creating a site from scratch using html but so far the people in the video don't speak English as their native tongue and others are joking around so these videos are not condusive to learning. I don't learn that well by reading but I have been trying that with an open mind.
    I have seen some plugins for these online but they seem as if they may not do what I want although I have tried a few on my test blog but it's a hassle to upload and configure. It's tedious. But I know there are many wordpress gurus out there who love plugins. Any suggestions via plugins are welcomed. Not a coder yet. Looking for something more plugins oriented.

  7. #7
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    Here is the plugin to change the color of TwentyFourteen https://wordpress.org/plugins/fourteen-colors/
    Differently, try to keep the use of plugins on a WP site to a minimum, they can significantly increase the page generation time. The plugins that are a must are:
    Contact Form 7
    Limit Login Attempts
    JetPack(disable unused modules e.g. Math, Search)
    Query Monitor(disabled when not needed)
    P3 Plugin Profiler ()
    BackWPUp (MUST USE)


    BTW... if your are impressed with the default TwentyFourteen theme you should look at the Simone theme
    Last edited by gW33Zy; Jul 9, 2014 at 10:20 AM.
    1.8 Ghz Pentium 4 (OC'd.) / Intel P4 (478) Motherboard / 800MHz DDR / 256 Mb DDR RAM / 40GB Seagate / RIVA TNT2 Pro 32MB / 24X12X24 Sony CDRW+ / 18" View Sonic CRT / Windows ME Yes it will play Doom... i plan on trying Crysis 3 one of these days.

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    I used wordpress for a website I had a couple years ago.

    To make certain changes I had to go into php programming.

    Why are you watching videos? Why not read a tutorial?
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