Changing the Appearance of Your Site
From the Appearance screen you can control how the content of your blog is displayed. WordPress allows you to easily style your site by choosing from a list of available Themes.
To change the appearance of your site:
- Log in to https://sites.miamioh.edu/wp-admin. Select the site that you want to edit by hovering over the “My Sites” menu at the top left corner of your screen.
- Click Appearance. Additional menu options appear.
- Adjust settings as needed. Click Save Changes to apply settings.
Appearance Setting Descriptions
- Themes: A theme establishes a common look and feel for WordPress sites without modifying the underlying software. Several themes are available for your use, including a Miami theme. Click Preview to review any theme. Click Activate to apply a theme to your site.
- You can use any theme available but make sure you include the Miami logo on your blog and it is recommended to use Miami branded colors.
- Note: You will need to request Miami Brand training (coming soon) before you can use the new logos.
- Widgets: A widget allows you to place independent sections of content into any widgetized sidebar provided by your theme. The Available Widgets section contains all the widgets you can choose from. Drag and drop the widget title bars into the desired area.
- Menus: If your theme supports customized menus, you may access this option. Menus may contain links to pages, categories, custom links or other content types.
- Theme Options: Some themes provide customization options that are grouped together on a Theme Options screen. If you change themes, options may change or disappear, as they are theme-specific.
- Background: If allowed by your current theme, you can customize the background of your theme by uploading an image or selecting a color to represent the background.
- Header: If allowed by your current theme, you can customize the header of your theme by uploading and configuring an image. Also, some themes come with additional header images bundled. If you see multiple images displayed, select the one you’d like and click Save Changes.
Request a New Theme
All new theme requests will be submitted for review to determine that the theme is accessible, secure, and meets procurement’s standards. Do not purchase any themes until the review process is completed and the theme is approved.
Before submitting a request:
- Check the current list of themes to be sure there isn’t already one in the system that works for your needs.
- For new themes to be considered, they must meet the following criteria:
- The theme is supported by WordPress and is actively being maintained by the creator. Plugins and themes that are no longer supported or deprecated will not be accepted.
- The theme doesn’t have multiple unaddressed errors or negative reviews.
- Themes must be “Gutenberg optimized,” which means they’re compatible with WordPress’s new block editor.
- The theme meets Miami’s WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility requirements.
- Complete and submit your request for: