When you first download a WordPress blog, you find yourself looking at its default layout - boring! Here are ways to make your blog more unique and exciting by editing your layout:

• Download Different Themes - There are developers and bloggers who have created their own themes that you can download for your own blog. Google WordPress themes or go to the best collection - the WordPress Theme Viewer. Download the theme onto your computer, make sure all of the files are in a named folder, then upload the folder to your site via FTP to wp-content/themes. Activate the theme by clicking on the “Presentation” tab in your WordPress administration panel, then clicking the theme you just downloaded. Sometimes, this is all you want to do. Other times, you want to further modify your theme - Tip Diva, for one, is a modified Greenline 1.0 theme. But before you start…
• Always Back Up Your Theme’s Pages Before Tweaking - Make sure you copy the wp-content/themes/(theme name) folder in your website’s file manager to your computer, just in case you mess up and have to upload the old pages and images again.
• Learn About HTML, CSS And PHP - WordPress theme pages use three computer languages that you should have some familiarity with before starting: HyperText Markup Language, or HTML; Cascading Style Sheets, or CSS; and scripting language PHP. Tizag has good beginner tutorials for HTML, CSS and PHP. Also see Top Ten Tips - Learning HTML Basics.
• Familiarize Yourself With HTML Colors - You’ll undoubtedly want to change the colors of your site, so familiarize yourself with HTML (and CSS) color codes.
• Learn How To Make Your Own Graphics - Buy a graphics editing program like Paint Shop Pro or Photoshop and Google their many tutorials. For some of Tip Diva’s favorite sites, check out Tipsy Tuesday - Photoshop And Paint Shop Pro Edition.
• Learn WordPress Nuances - WordPress has its own little codes to make the blog function. The best way to learn about how a WordPress theme is put together - and how to make your own - is to visit WPDesigner’s site, which has a tutorial on creating a WordPress theme from scratch.
• Edit The Code Using Your Computer’s Word Pad - Get the code by going the “Presentation” -> “Theme Editor” tabs in your administration panel, then clicking on the page you want to edit. Highlight the code, copy it, and paste it into your computer’s word pad program. Doing so allows you to save multiple copies of your work, use the find/replace functions and undo multiple errors, which isn’t possible using WordPress’ default theme editor. Then, you can just replace the text in the default theme editor with your own copied and pasted text from the word pad program and click “Update File.”
• Use The Find And Replace Functions - The Find/Replace functions of your word pad program comes in handy, especially when replacing colors. Suppose you wanted to change the color teal on your blog with yellow. All you have to do is find HTML color #008080 and replace all with #FFFF00.
• Save And Check Site After Each Edit - Make sure you update the file after each edit and check the page before continuing. One typo can mess up a whole layout. So instead of doing 10 edits and having to go back and check every single one, you only have to fix the last edit you made.
• Use Plugins And Widgets To Supplement Your Site - WordPress plugins and widgets (sidebars) also make your blogs unique. For instance, Tip Diva uses the CommentLuv, Darren’s Related Posts, Sociable and Subscribe To Comments plugins. For more, see WordPress Plugins and WordPress Widgets.

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