Most Museum websites run the same theme, but the theme has various customization options you can edit to make the site your own. These tutorials will show you how to change your site theme colors, headers, side navigation menu and more.


Videos on this page:


Customizing Site Theme Options

All Museum sites use the same site theme, but this theme is customizable. You may select from 12 different color schemes, change the contact information in the site footer, change menus and widgets and select between a static homepage or showing blog posts by default. All of the changes that you make here can be previewed on your site on the right-hand side so you can see the effects before publishing your changes.

Topics covered:
0:00 – intro
0:16 – users must have an Editor role or higher to change these options
0:22 – where to find Customize menus
0:35 – options are on left and live preview is on the right
0:44 – Site Identity (footer contact information)
1:40 – how to make a clickable email link in your footer
3:15 – Color Scheme
3:44 – Menus
4:20 – Widgets
4:56 – Homepage Settings
5:15 – static homepage
5:48 – latest posts displayed on homepage
6:06 – click Publish to save all changes

Download step-by-step instructions for site customization options


Page/Post Header Images

Pages can either have a large full-size image header or use the default band of solid color. Posts can either have a half-size image header or use the default band of solid color. Headers must be configured on a per-page/post basis.

Topics covered:

0:00 – intro
0:10 – page vs. post header differences
0:30 – featured images show up as post page thumbnails
0:52 – how to add a header (featured image) for a page or post
1:25 – uploading a new image (remember good alt text)
1:45 – header images must be a certain size
2:00 – page (full-size) dimensions: 1700px x 750px @72 dpi
2:15 – post (half-size) dimensions: 960px x 660px @72 dpi
2:22 – reasons why they need to be exact sizes
3:10 – featured image display options
3:40 – view finished post & thumbnail image
4:00 – posts with featured image but image display set to none
4:35 – using this setting with landing grids

Download step-by-step instructions for header images


Landing Page Grids

Landing page grids are groups of images that are links to other pages on the site. The pages’ titles are automatically included underneath the images. The images shown are those page’s featured images.

Topics covered:
0:00 – intro
0:08 – what is a landing page grid?
1:10 – please add landing grids to parent pages that have submenu items
2:05 – even if you don’t have nested menus, grids can be used as “quick links” to expose content
2:30 – how shortcodes work
3:00 – landing_page shortcode breakdown
3:15 – options listed in PDF documentation
3:30 – general format
3:42 – only include the options you need that aren’t defaults
3:48 – show children page(s) option
4:25 – size option
4:42 – columns option
4:58 – include option
5:06 – how to determine page ID numbers
6:28 – exclude option
6:38 – excerpt option
6:52 – reverse order option
7:22 – how to fix pages that don’t have a featured image
7:38 – selecting a featured image
7:58 – featured image display options
8:38 – how to add a grid item for a page that is not on your local site
9:15 – creating a placeholder page
10:35 – add placeholder page ID number to shortcode as usual
11:25 – useful for adding external sites or other museum pages to your grid

Download step-by-step instructions for landing page grids


The side menu navigation normally lists the pages on your site (not posts). It is not configured to add new pages by default, so you’ll need to manually add any new pages you add to the site. You can change the order they appear, the text they use, or remove them from the menu entirely. It is also possible to have menu items that are links to other websites, posts or display posts from particular categories.

Topics covered:
0:00 – intro
0:12 – you must have the Editor role or higher to change the menu
0:20 – locating the Menus menu
0:34 – menu management screen
0:52 – adding a new menu item
1:15 – changing the order of menu items
1:32 – save menu and view changes on the site
1:42 – automatic page addition option
2:22 – how to remove menu items
2:35 – changing menu item text
2:55 – adding posts to the side menu
3:20 – adding categories to the side menu
3:44 – adding links to other websites (Custom Links)
4:25 – try to keep external links near the bottom of your menu
4:50 – other sections of the museum’s site should be treated as custom links
5:48 – setting up subpages (nested) menu items
6:15 – sub-section example with landing page grid
7:00 – example of menu screen with nested pages

Download step-by-step instructions for managing the side menu navigation


Post Widgets

Widgets add content and features to your WordPress posts. Examples are post categories, recent comments, tag clouds, search, etc. They are easy to add, remove and configure, and can be placed in the left sidebar under the site menu or at the bottom of the post above the footer.

Topics covered:
0:00 – intro
0:25 – only posts use widgets, not pages
0:44 – finding widget menu
0:55 – you must have the Editor role or higher to edit them
1:10 – widget management screen
1:30 – areas you can add widgets to
1:50 – accessing individual widget options
2:10 – adding a new widget
2:30 – save and view site for changes
2:55 – removing widgets

Download step-by-step instructions for using widgets