I’ve spent a LOT of time these past few days trying to figure out how to understand the CSS in my template here at WordPress.
WordPress frustrates me (shhh! Don’t tell anyone!) because you just can’t change anything without going into your template files and doing it manually. Want a different color for your post titles? Tough! Good luck finding which bit of code corresponds to that! Want the post title to be a larger size but the post text to be smaller and in a different font? Want the sidebar text to be smaller? Want the titles to be in a different font too? HA! Just go out and try something easier, like nailing jello to a tree.
As you can see, above, I was able to find (through trial and error) which code corresponded to the blog title. Thus the word “Jantics” is no longer black. However, I doubt if I could go back and find that exact same spot again. It’s buried in there somewhere, hidden away in some secret spot I may never find again, camouflaged with some meaningless nonsense code to disguise what it actually means.
It’s like going on a safari. You travel for hours in an uncomfortable jeep, delving into the darkest recesses of unexplored territory. After you’re hot and tired and miserable, and are starting to wish you stayed home, suddenly THERE IT IS! You see a zebra!
Or a monkey. Or a lion or giraffe or starfish or squid or poodle….
(Pick something. Work with me here.)
Then, you turn to get your camera, but when you look back, it’s gone.
You will never see it again.
I’m not stupid. Really I’m not. That’s why this is so frustrating. I should be able to understand this. Other people can apparently understand it; why cant I? Other people have blogs FULL of zebras and starfish and amoebas and kangaroos and tofu. Is there some secret initiation ceremony I must attend? Do I have to send someone a vial of my blood?
.
Comments 3
I would say, start with some HTML tutorials. Then look at some CSS tutorials online. Maybe get some CSS books. CSS is a beast of a language and takes some getting used to. You need to learn the basics and syntax before you can really understand how to modify what you are looking for and how they all integrate together.
Your not dumb, it just takes time
)
Posted 14 Sep 2008 at 7:22 pm ¶See, this is my take on it. Don’t learn that stuff, whatever you do because when you know too much the aliens start to notice.
These things are called languages for a reason and the reason is that they are the native tongues of people from some place out beyond the second star to the right.
Posted 14 Sep 2008 at 11:45 pm ¶Steve: My secret fear is that I would not be able to understand the CSS books/sites either.
I’ll try to find something online which is written for a preschool level. Something like “Dick and Jane learn where to insert their hexadecimal codes.”
Marilyn: You are wise. After the Earth is attacked and we’re all in some big alien meat locker, I’ll wish I’d listened to you.
Posted 16 Sep 2008 at 4:20 pm ¶Post a Comment