Yesterday I decided to put a new header on my template. I do this regularly and there doesn’t need to be a special reason. I just feel like it. I used to put up a new one daily, but that got old after a while, so now it happens when the spirit moves me.

Notice that where that they are all shown as “purchased” now

In the beginning of January, I re-upped my “customization package” with WordPress. This package gives me more space for photographs (I need it!), my own domain, no advertisements  and recently, unbeknownst to me, access to all the templates. This was not true in the past, so I was delighted to discover it.

It didn’t change anything for me because I’m always looking for the same basic shape and format, mainly because the material I’ve created fits easily into that format. I don’t have to start reformatting the entire template. But you never know. I might decide I want to try something really different. Anything is possible.

New Header Image formatting

Little did I know that much more change was on the way. This time, when I went to change the Header Image, the design format for my template had changed. Big time.

All my previously embedded headers were gone.  What had been my header image (including my site information) had transformed into a logo which seemed etched in virtual stone and was part of the format of the theme.

New fonts!

I couldn’t find any way to remove it. If I put in another pictures in the header image area, my old image was glued in the middle of it — not what I was trying to accomplish. But I was sure there had to be a way to dislodge the old image and I stuck to messing around with it. I am nothing if not tenacious.

Finally, I tried a different (not very different) format, but it had the same problem. Next I returned to “Plane,” my previous format. Having move to different theme in the middle, then coming back, I hoped that might have dislodged the old header image.

It hadn’t. But I kept messing around with it until finally, hosanna, the old image went away. I’m not sure exactly what I did that was different. It seemed I was just repeating the same stuff, but this time, it worked.

Phew.

This was my  existing theme, called “Plane” and no, I have no idea why they name them what they name them. Even though it’s the same theme, it looks quite different.

On  my computer, it is wider. The pictures are wider too. Both important pluses for me where how a pictures displays on-screen is a big deal.

As far as typeface issues go, WordPress added some new fonts. Oh yay! Excellent! The site’s title now appears on top of the picture, so I don’t have to keep creating special headers and can use any picture and my site name with tagline will appear above (on top of) it.

Aside from that glitch where it didn’t want to say good-bye to the old image, this is an excellent set of improvements for those of us who with a customization package. It would have been a nice touch had someone mentioned to me that this was going to happen, however.

What is it with WordPress that they can’t bother to tell you anything before they do it? For a company deep in communications, they really don’t communicate well.

I’m happy with the changes. Very happy. I can only imagine what less computer savvy customers are making of the changes, though. I hope they’ve put some explanations online for us to read.

I don’t know what they did or why they did it, but it’s a major improvement and one for which I’ve hoped for a while. They’ve been removing pieces of the customization package for years. This is the first time they have ever expanded it and done it well. The wider stretch on the computer screen is a major improvement for photography. The text is also a slightly bigger and my eyes are saying “thank you.”

I like the new fonts, one of which I’m using for my headings and a different new typeface for writing.

Well done, WordPress. Next time, you think you might consider sending a notification? Please?

Categories: #Work, #Writing, Communications, Computers, Editing, social media, WordPress

Tags: Design, Editing, header image, themes and templates, Typeface, WordPress customization