It looks like it’s going to be sort of an uphill battle here. I would recommend using firefox/firebug to examine and fiddle around with the CSS. You also have several graphical elements and background images in the main theme that will need to be altered (like the ribbon image behind the navigation will need to be elongated).
The best way to deal with this is definitely going to be inspecting and editing the elements in firebug, then, when you like what you see, edit the style in the CSS file.
I’m beginning to think it will be easier just to customize a simpler theme. Would you recommend default or classic to achieve a look similar to lightword? My favorite aspect about the theme is the date on the left hand side. I can tell deciding to use wordpress is going to help me develop my CSS skills like never before. 😛 Would the date there be too hard to accomplish?
Would you recommend default or classic to achieve a look similar to lightword?
That’s a good question, and one that I’m not at all sure I can answer. I develop themes from scratch, usually (that way I control the CSS hooks, etc.) which means I don’t do a lot of customizing when it comes to pre-made themes. I’m led to believe that if you are going to customize from a pre-made theme, it’s best to start with a theme framework like Thematic, Hybrid, or Carrington. That might be the better place for you to start.
My favorite aspect about the theme is the date on the left hand side…Would the date there be too hard to accomplish?
That’s my favorite aspect as well. And no, it’s not hard to accomplish such a thing with a little clever positioning. If I were doing it, I’d build the_date() a little div house all its own, and then style that div to go where I wanted it.
I can tell deciding to use wordpress is going to help me develop my CSS skills like never before.
CSS is fun, and a great skill to have. This will certainly be a good learning experience for you.
Hope that was helpful, if you have any other questions, feel free to ask.
IF you are confident with image manipulation and IF you keep the sidebar width, the changes seem very straightforward.
in the style.css change:
#body widht from 811px to 1002px;
#content width from 769px to 963px;
#content_body width from 547px to 738px;
.cat_tags width from 550px to 740px.
edit 4 graphics:
content_bottom.png from width 811px to 1002px;
content_middle.png from width 794px to 988px;
content_top.png from width 811px to 1002px;
tags_category.png from width 548px to 742px.
cut the graphic about one third from the left, pull the right bit out to the specified width, then copy and paste mathing parts of the graphic to fill the gap.
at least that is how i would try.
