All websites have a front end and a back end. The front end is what is viewed by visitors, where we see the results of what happens on the back end. The back end is hidden from visitors, and only viewable to those who can either log into the site (as in WordPress and other content-management systems) or have access to the files used for building the site. Login Page In order to login to your WordPress site, you must navigate to the login page. To get to that page, you can usually add /login or … [Read more...] about Logging into WordPress and Viewing the Back End
Web Design
Changing Image Opacity in Photoshop
There are times when you need to ghost back an image so that text can be read when placed on top of it or perhaps even another image can be seen below it. Reducing the opacity moves the image in a 2-dimensional space to the middle-ground or background. It also increases the transparency and enables us to see what lies underneath. There are a couple of simple ways to reduce opacity in Photoshop and the steps are outlined below. Option #1 - Opacity Setting Open the file in Photoshop. Make … [Read more...] about Changing Image Opacity in Photoshop
Placing a Logo in a Genesis WordPress Header
I use the Genesis framework for the bulk of websites I build in WordPress. The reasons are many, but quite simply Genesis rocks! Fundamentally solid with clean code, it's highly customizable and it has a generous, active, knowledgeable support community. In some cases, depending on the theme, uploading an logo to a Genesis header can be a really simple process. In other cases, it's still simple, but a few additional steps are required. I'll show you both scenarios. NOTE: Be sure to back up … [Read more...] about Placing a Logo in a Genesis WordPress Header
Saving a File From JPG to PNG
JPGs and PNGs are both compressed file formats. I tend to use each of them exclusively for the web. But there are occasions when you might need to send a high-resolution JPG to a someone who will convert it to a TIFF, PDF, or PSD format for print purposes. Digital cameras, for instance, save the file in JPG format. JPGs are terrific for continuous tone images, such as photographs of people, places, and things, as well as scans of artwork. The images have a full range of color or shades of … [Read more...] about Saving a File From JPG to PNG
WordPress.org vs. WordPress.com: Compare and Choose
What the heck is WordPress? WordPress is one of the most popular web applications for content management and blogging available today. There's a lot of hype about WordPress and it's well-deserved. Started in 2003 Began as a blogging platform Has evolved into a full-fledged Content Management System (CMS) Currently the most prominent CMS in the world 74.6 million sites depend on WordPress 50% of these 74.6 million sites on WordPress.com 18% of self-hosted sites use … [Read more...] about WordPress.org vs. WordPress.com: Compare and Choose
Adding Images to a WordPress Sidebar
As a follow-up to my previous blog post (Adding Images to WordPress Pages and Posts), I have created a video tutorial to walk you through the process of adding images to a WordPress sidebar: VIEW VIDEO! TUTORIAL SUMMARY There are a couple of ways to add images to a WordPress sidebar: manually or via a plug-in. The manual method takes longer, but once you know the steps you should be all set. If you are uncomfortable with HTML code, go with one of the many plug-ins that will add an image … [Read more...] about Adding Images to a WordPress Sidebar
Adding Images to WordPress Pages and Posts
I have created a video tutorial to walk you through the process for adding images in WordPress: VIEW VIDEO! TUTORIAL SUMMARY Adding images in WordPress is very simple. You can add them directly to pages and posts (and there are a couple of ways to do this), or you can first upload them to the Media Library and then insert them into a page or post. Upload to Media Library Hover over the MEDIA navigation link in the left sidebar and you'll see 2 options: Media Library and Add New. … [Read more...] about Adding Images to WordPress Pages and Posts
How to Create a Navigation Menu in WordPress
I have created a video tutorial to walk you through the 3 simple steps for creating a navigation menu in WordPress: Add New Page Create New Menu Add the new pages to the menu VIEW VIDEO! Here is a summary of the tutorial: STEP 1 - Add New Page A navigation menu is usually composed with the pages of a website, but it can also include blog posts, links (internal and external), and categories. You will see all of these options in the Menus area. But first, let's create a new … [Read more...] about How to Create a Navigation Menu in WordPress
Best Alternatives to Photoshop
I recently had the pleasure of presenting a hands-on workshop to a friendly group of artists at the South Shore Art Center (SSAC) in Cohasset. We covered a lot of technical territory concerning the types of images you use for web and print and the software tools available on computers and iPads. The gold standard tool is still Photoshop, which is part of the Adobe Creative Cloud subscription plan. That's a pricey option because it includes all of the Adobe products. If you don't need or want … [Read more...] about Best Alternatives to Photoshop
How to Create and Edit WordPress Galleries
Create Gallery One pretty slick feature of WordPress is the ability to create a gallery of images for any page or post. All it takes is a few basic steps. Create a new page or post ("ADD NEW"). Click the "ADD MEDIA" button (above the default editor menu options). Click "CREATE GALLERY" (in the left sidebar). You are now given two options: (a) Select images in your media library (you've already uploaded these). OR (b) Upload new images. Check to make sure that the newly uploaded … [Read more...] about How to Create and Edit WordPress Galleries
How to Prepare Images for the Web
One of the most common problems I see on websites is the use of images that are not optimized. Two telltale signs are (1) images that are too large and require the user to scroll and (2) resolution is too high and the images load slowly. Optimizing means: resizing the physical dimensions to fit the maximum width for the content area on your website; reducing the resolution to 72 ppi; compressing the image by saving it as a JPG, PNG, or GIF. Your website will load faster with optimized … [Read more...] about How to Prepare Images for the Web
The Blank Page
The blank page stares at me when I begin a new design project. I always experience some level of anxiety with this challenge of transforming emptiness into an attractive piece that communicates a clear message. You can't just put ANYTHING into the empty space. The design has to have a concept, an idea, a plan. When I was first in school learning graphic design, I wanted to hurry through the planning stage and get to the implementation phase as soon as I could. Why? Because I was comfortable … [Read more...] about The Blank Page
8 Awesome Responsive Web Design Emulators
Here's my definition of responsive web design: adjusting the design of a website to fit the size of the device it will be viewed on. I start with a desktop-sized design (1140 x 900 pixels) and scale things down to fit smaller screens. But some designers begin with the smallest screen of an Android as their base and scale up to fit larger screens. Either way, the design is, in a sense, responding to the device size and adjusting accordingly. Once upon a time, we designed just for desktop and … [Read more...] about 8 Awesome Responsive Web Design Emulators
How to Resize an Image in WordPress
Preparing Images Before Uploading to WordPress Before uploading an image to WordPress, it's best to optimize it. Optimizing means reducing the resolution to 72ppi, resizing to be compatible with the maximum column widths on your website, and compressing the image by saving it as a JPG, PNG, or GIF. Your website will load faster with optimized images. How do you figure out the maximum sizes? On most websites that I design, the maximum width of the site container is 1140 pixels. But there is … [Read more...] about How to Resize an Image in WordPress