Getting Started with Custom CSS

  • andy · Member ·

    You’ve just purchased the Custom CSS upgrade. Your theme looks exactly the same as before and you now have an empty box in the CSS Editor. What next?

    The CSS Editor does not let you edit any particular theme stylesheet; rather, it keeps the theme intact and lets you edit a brand new stylesheet. Because your custom CSS is loaded after the theme’s CSS, your style rules can override or augment the existing rules.

    You can use CSS to improve on any existing theme; you can define your own classes for use in posts; you can select the Sandbox theme and build on one of the Minimalist layouts or opt for no stylesheet and do it all yourself.

    CSS is not hard to learn and there is a lot you can do with it at any level of skill.

  • timethief · Member ·

    @andy
    So you download sandbox to either your own server or a webhost like the ones here http://wordpress.org/hosting/. Then you purchase the Custom CSS upgrade. Then you aren’t relying on this forum on wordpress.com for support, right? Instead you’re over here http://wordpress.org/support/, right?

    Having read wank’s sposting and your own here http://wordpress.com/forums/topic.php?id=3230&replies=17
    I take it that any wordpress.com blogger who wants to continue to use the theme they already have now at wordpress.com can choose to move over to wordpress.org and and customize the theme there. Is that right?

  • sunburntkamel · Member ·

    @timethief
    no, the sandbox isn’t available for download. yet.
    with a CSS upgrade you can customize any theme
    _on wordpress.com_

  • drmike · Member ·

    Sandbox home page in case you’re interested.

  • podz · Member ·

    There is no support from myself for CSS issues.

    Any feedbacks / support requests will be directed to the forum.

    This is not because I do not want to help but because the issue is huge and to do so would adversely affect the support I do give already.
    There are many many resources for CSS and very soon people will start to showcase their efforts and hopefully share their code here. Answers are also better given in a public arena where more people can benefit.

    Additional support is not part of the upgrade.

  • drmike · Member ·

    /drmike looks around.

    Oh oh.

    And you folks know I feel about newbies whacking away at CSS. :)

  • timethief · Member ·

    @drmike
    Are they kidding?
    Podz is not providing support … “the issue is HUGE.”

    Do they think that you are going to provide voluntary unpaid support for fumbling newbies like moi to muck about with CSS right HERE on this forum.

    The issue is HUGE and yet they expect it to be dealt with among the already substantial number of support requests coming in that have nothing to do with CSS.

    GOB bless us all, if that’s the case, because I’m gonna become everyone’s worst CSS whacking nightmare. Where do I sign up?

  • sunburntkamel · Member ·

    there are more than a few people who know their way around CSS in here.

    more importantly, you should take a look at what happens around communities that allow CSS modification (blogger, livejournal, myspace). very, very quickly, there will be websites peddling ‘custom wordpress.com styles’ popping up. fortunately, the community has the jump on them:
    http://www.alexking.org/index.php?content=software/wordpress/styles.php

    every one of those styles can be implemented in a heartbeat.

  • wank · Member ·

    every one of those styles can be implemented in a heartbeat.

    Well, there have been a couple of changes to the sidebar structure since 1.2 so they may require a little tweaking to look good, and then of course you’d have to upload the images separately and update all the urls in the stylesheet to reflect that (note that I am not advocating people hotlink them from alexking.org ;) )

    So yes, the Classic stylesheets are a great resource, but I wouldn’t recommend them to complete newbies.

  • timethief · Member ·

    I read the tutorial/instructions and knew immediately this wasn’t for me. This is aimed at a different user group than the one I’m in.
    Edit: And I suspect it’s a user group that up to now we haven’t frequently seen on the forum either asking for support or offering to provide it to others.

  • sdrane · Member ·

    I think that, rather than beginning from scratch with the Sandbox themes, I will take a gentler approach: I use the Default Kubrick, which seems to have the right dimensions and layout for me. I just want to change minute things like the font size in the sidebar, background color of the sidebar, type of font and font colors, stuff like that. I’m going to use the CSS customization upgrade for this purpose. This is easy and takes no time at all, since it just involves taking CSS from the installed theme and modifying it slightly.

    It is clear to me that, if I begin with one of the Sandbox skins, I’ll probably spend hours customizing them since they are bare-bones layouts (as they should be). Since I am more concerned with my content and have too much work at present, I can’t afford to touch the Sandbox. But man, I wish I had the time for that! It looks like endless fun.

  • sunburntkamel · Member ·

    sdrane – good on you!

    in a short while when scott releases the full version of the sandbox, you’ll be able to grab CSS that recreates the default kubrick theme on top of Sandbox.

  • andy · Member ·

    Actually, I have posted the Sandbox/Kubrick CSS here: http://wordpress.com/forums/topic.php?id=3248

  • drmike · Member ·

    You can also pull up CSS files for specific themes from looking at the page source within your browser. Just look for a line near the top that looks like this:

    <link rel=”stylesheet” href=”http://wordpress.com/forum-theme/forum.css” type=”text/css” media=”screen” />

    Copy and paste the URL into your browser and it will either ask you want you want to do with it (IE) or display the file in your browser window. (Netscape. Not sure what the others will do with it.)

  • lizwaldner · Member ·

    Is a newbie ready to whack away at her CSS. hehehe
    Yep..just bought my credits and hit purchase…impulse shopper you bet.
    Now i have this pretty blank little box that I scratch my head at say ‘hmm’

    But alas..anything worthwhile is work whackin away and learning. :)
    cheers,
    Liz Waldner
    Web Site Super Surfer…cough* cough* armed with blank CSS box :)

  • lorelle · Member ·

    Good luck, Liz. This isn’t for the timid.

    There will be some sample stylesheets coming soon. I think there is one or two already posted in this section of the forum. And I’ll be writing more about this. Expect everyone to be writing more about this. Wait patiently while staring at your blank CSS box. ;-)

  • featsp · Member ·

    Hello,

    Well, I have been lurking around for some time. I have created a custom template-with help-over at “blogger” and for various reasons I am thinking about coming over here. I just purchased my upgrade so I could start working on the CSS, paid through paypal with check but still do not have a blank sheet. Am I missing something or is it a time delay issue.

    Thanks, great info here.

    Sheri

  • wank · Member ·

    Best place for technical problems like this is the feedback link in your admin pages; they can fix it up quicker from there. This forum is more for CSS issues, since wordpress.com official support doesn’t handle those.

  • featsp · Member ·

    Thank you, I was just checking if it was an editor-meaning me- boo boo. I will be back once I get my sheet up.

    See you soon,

    Sheri

  • dwege · Member ·

    ich suche mein stylesheet zum theme: contempt.
    brauche nur eine farbe zu ändern.
    habe das gead-bild bereits angepasst.

    I search my stylesheet for contempt theme.
    It´s easy for me, to change it.

    diewege

    on my local-server are other themes, all with complete folders,
    but into my webspace wordpress is nothing for my contempt-folder.
    can I change CSS for contempt into my-admin?

    sorry, my english is minimal

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