Michael Janzen

I got an email from a fellow named Matt who is using Basic Simplicity, my WordPress Theme. He asked how he could use his own custom image in the header. The only caveat is that any edits made to any theme will need to be duplicated when you upload an update to the theme; so be sure to keep some notes for yourself when making changes to files. Actually that’s why I built the admin control screen for Basic Simplicity… I wanted to store the most commonly customized items in the database instead of the php files. This will make future theme updates more seemless. Here’s his question and my response.

Hi Michael

Great theme.
I would like to change the header to my own custom design. How do i do this and can it be done so the image/header is a link to my site url?

I’m no coder so i hope you will go easy on me. I did look around however can’t find the answer before emailing you?

Thanks for all your help.

Matt

The admin control panel lets you swap images. Normally you’d just upload a new image to the images folder via FTP and then enter that file name into the field on the admin screen. File names should not have spaces or special characters ideally. Best to name them things like my-custom-header.jpg. The trouble is… this will make it a background image which is not click-able.

Here’s one way to make a click-able header you’ll need to edit the header.php file (appearance > editor).

Find this <div id=”header”> (you’ll see some code here) </div>

Replace the code between the <div id=”header”> and </div> with your image. Here’s some html that should work:

<a href=”<?php echo get_settings(’home’); ?>”><img src=”<?php echo bloginfo(’template_url’); ?>/images/my-custom-header.jpg” width=”980″ height=”120″ border=”0″ alt=”<?php bloginfo(’name’); ?>” /></a>

Then go to the admin control panel for basic simplicity and enter the following in the custom css field at the bottom:

#header { padding: 0; }

The width of the image should be 980 pixels, the height can be whatever you want.

• RT @thegoodhuman: Tick Tock – Can you spare 10 Dimes for our Buck for Charity program? http://is.gd/1lv4H #BuckForCharity #
• RT @unclewilco: RT @shedworking Who's your favourite shed celebrity? Shedworking votes for… George Bernard Shaw #shedweek #
• RT @thegoodhuman: New blog post: Does Recycling Give Us An Excuse To Over-Consume? http://bit.ly/uqkFr …yes it does, IMHO #
• RT @RowdyKittens: New blog post: Small Living Journal: Bureaucracy, Regulations & Small Living http://bit.ly/3yPpik #
• handmade micro-hydro project with raw materials and spoons… you have to see this… http://bit.ly/1AcLfB #
• Shed Cluster by Architect Joseph Sandy http://tinyurl.com/mk7ac7 #
• RT @RowdyKittens: RT @nprnews: Hundreds Of CA Homeless March For Land Rights http://tinyurl.com/myezda #
• RT @thegoodhuman: RT @Habitweets: A Housing Design Competition where the designs are easy on the eyes and the pocket. http://pitch.pe/17143 #
• @cakeorpie LOL… has it been a long day Gene? in reply to cakeorpie #

Powered by Twitter Tools.

• Tiny House Design , Archive » Vodafone Mobile Solar Home http://tinyurl.com/lbz4cc (via @tweetmeme) #
• http://lnkr.us/45vD Check out: The Passive Solar House, Revised and Expanded Edition by James Kachadorian via @chelseagreen #book #green #
• Vermont Tiny House Workshop http://tinyurl.com/ltm9dg #
• new blog bookmark: Pedal Powered Innovations by Bart Orlando http://bit.ly/19Al7A #
• RT @RowdyKittens: RT @kentgriswold: New blog post: Tiny House Living #13 http://bit.ly/ut6oF #
• RT @unm00red: New blog post: Cob Homes – An Ancient Building Technique That is Very Green http://bit.ly/HbObj #
• new blog bookmark: Bicycle Tutor – Learn to repair your post peak oil wheels http://bit.ly/imEcw #

Powered by Twitter Tools.

• Watching : Music Video: Punks Not Dad – In Me Shed http://bit.ly/10vZV9 #
• RT @thegoodhuman: RT @GreenLivingIdea White House About-Face on Mountaintop Removal – http://ow.ly/gdMM – Evidence Obama preps for Peak Oil #
• Watching : Ultra Modern Lightweight Tiny House – La Casa Móvil http://bit.ly/1aeUAw #
• I just published Issue 13 of Tiny House Living… my online weekly newsletter. http://www.tinyhouseliving.com/ #
• @thegoodhuman: RE: Big road trip coming up, New Mexico To Boston, MA, in July. — Are you giving @Technomadia a little competition? jk #
• RT @unclewilco: #shedweek: Shed of the year 2009 : The Finalists announced http://bit.ly/VyrT9 #

Powered by Twitter Tools.

• new blog bookmark: Solar Powered and Wireless Weather Stations http://bit.ly/lhwZZ #
• Watching : Tiny Tubular Microlodge Hobbit House http://bit.ly/oaWhD #

Powered by Twitter Tools.

• new blog bookmark: Solar Powered and Wireless Weather Stations http://bit.ly/lhwZZ #
• Watching : Tiny Tubular Microlodge Hobbit House http://bit.ly/oaWhD #

Powered by Twitter Tools.

I spent the better part of last week traveling to Los Angeles on business. Julia and Katie came with me so we decided to drive and turn it into a mini vacation. As we drove down I-5 and then onto the 405 in Los Angeles I could not help but think about what that place would be like after we run out of gas. I really try not to dwell in negative stuff like this but I think it’s important to understand the issue and then turn to positive actions.

I found this great documentary on YouTube produced by ABC Science. Most of the Peak Oil stuff you’ll find online is heavily biased with survivalism and end of the world fear mongering. The net effect of this fear-based communication strategy is that the general public turns a blind eye to the issue. This is a problem if Peak Oil is upon us because too many people will be caught off guard.

I’m not going to blab on about my personal take on Peak Oil. Instead I’m going to encourage you to watch this documentary. Below are all the segments.

• RT @unm00red: Shed Dwellers via @shedworking http://bit.ly/10Vio2 Wondering if shed music become its own genre. #
• RT @RowdyKittens: New blog post: Neat = Biking with the GoPro Hero Cam http://bit.ly/24mchw #
• RT @thegoodhuman: New blog post: Why Oil Shale Extraction Is A Very Bad Idea. http://bit.ly/wnYCt #
• Listening to Breakfast with the Beatles from Sacramento on KOZT @TheCoastKOZT #
• reading "How to Start Living in a Tiny House" http://bit.ly/Tv60e #

Powered by Twitter Tools.

• new blog bookmark: DIY Solar Website http://bit.ly/Y5qM5 #
• new blog bookmark: Composting Toilet that generates Methane http://bit.ly/2lcAq7 #
• RT @thegoodhuman: Sundance just wrote about our #Buckforcharity drive w/ links 2 all our blogs: http://bit.ly/laMA9 #
• Back from the better part of a week in LA. Nice to be back up north. #
• RT @thegoodhuman: I hate when Obama pushes clean coal like he did yesterday w/response to climate bill. Ugh. (must be prepping for peak oil) #
• RT @thegoodhuman: New blog post: Chainsaw Biofuel – Saturday Morning Cartoon. http://bit.ly/KNL8t #
• RT @thegoodhuman: modern prefab cabin in west virginia – http://is.gd/1g6St #
• new blog bookmark: Ultralight Backpacking Equipment Website and Info http://bit.ly/11Dlq3 #
• new blog bookmark: How to build a rainwater collection barrel http://bit.ly/ux2ls #

Powered by Twitter Tools.

• watching Life Inc. Dispatch 05: Markets Love Selfish People http://bit.ly/4jrOQi #

Powered by Twitter Tools.