WordPress Theme Customization Next Steps

Every now and then you come a cross a WordPress site that looks amazing. You think to yourself, how did they do that? Well, those sites are either run by someone who is an excellent programmer and/or coder, or run by someone who has a person maintaining the site. This is where WordPress loses its zest, they have come out with some pretty nice themes, but the ability to change and personalize certain aspects of a WordPress theme is still fairly limited. Here are some suggestions.

Pre-Set Background Sets

Both Custom Headers and Custom Backgrounds were introduced with WordPress Version 2.1. Custom header is an image that is chosen as the representative image in the theme top header section. Currently, many WordPress themes (including the default WP 3.x Twenty Ten one) allow you to personalize the theme header by choosing one from the pre-set list of images or by uploading your own header image.

Standard WordPress Custom Header Page Look

But Custom Backgrounds page still offers ability to change a background color and upload your own background image. But there is no any possibility for developers to pre-set a list of available backgrounds using this standard interface in the way it’s done with headers.

Standard WordPress Custom Background Page Look

So, even a pre-set background list would be a nice start to develop this feature further.

Complex Backgrounds and Headers for a Theme

Some themes are designed in the way that allows you to have a set of backgrounds, rather than just a single one. They may allow, for example, a top background and a bottom one. A WordPress standard panel does not allow implementing such things, which is where they lose a lot in the creative and functionality department. The same rule applies for Headers. And what about pre-designed SETS of complex backgrounds and headers? It seems to be another step forward.

Chess Background for Headers and… Backgrounds

As a background image to display any header or background in the panel, we would recommend using this chess background the most of us have been used to while working with image editors:

The reason is obvious, as half transparent white graphics are invisible on the current WordPress white background. TheTheFly discovered this during our own designing process. We were in the process of designing our theme”TheThe Promotion.”We discovered that during the process all of our pre-designed headers are … wait for it, half transparent PNG files, which are completely invisible in the Header’s admin panel. Below is the design screenshot and a header to illustrate this point:

TheThe Promotion WordPress Premium Theme Screenshot

Adding these types of functions would allow WordPress users and developers to create more functionality and personalization within their sites. This would allow more creative freedom, while at the same time continuing to utilize the amazing WordPress format.