Design and Layout

Header

Your website header is one of the most important design elements of your website. It is often the first area that your visitors notice and it is important for branding. We recommend that you incorporate your logo and/or company name in your header. On many themes, you can go to the Appearance > Header menu to change your header image.

Footer

The footer is typically where you include information such as copyright information, your company name, a link to your terms of service, and a link to your privacy policy. Note: some themes have footer widgets, which actually appear above the rest of the footer content on your site.

Background

Some themes, such as Prose, P2, and Twenty Ten, allow you to easily change your website background. If you go to the Appearance > Background menu, you can change the background color and/or upload a background image.

Navigation Menu

Your navigation menu allows your visitors to reach the pages on your website. It automatically contains all of your published pages. You should give your pages meaningful, concise titles and organize them in a logical manner.

Widgets

Widgets refer to features that can be placed in designated widgetized areas of your website. (They can also refer to dashboard widgets, which appear in your dashboard administration menu and are not visible to your visitors.) The most common place for widgets is the sidebar. Depending on your theme, you might also be able to add widgets to your header, footer, secondary sidebar, parts of your home page, or other areas.

Widgets can be added, removed, and configured by going to the Appearance > Widgets menu.

We recommend using the Prose theme, because you will be able to change certain design elements without having to write code. If you are using the Prose theme, you should look at the following articles: