how to use wordpress theme customizer

How to Use the WordPress Theme Customizer: A Comprehensive Guide

How to Use the WordPress Theme Customizer: A Comprehensive Guide

With over 15 years of experience in the world of WordPress, I’ve seen firsthand the transformative power of the Theme Customizer. It allows you to create a visually appealing website that resonates with your audience without needing to write a single line of code. While it’s a powerful tool, navigating its array of customization options can be overwhelming for beginners. This comprehensive guide will walk you through the default panels and teach you how to use the WordPress Theme Customizer like a pro, helping you create a polished and professional website.

Accessing the WordPress Theme Customizer

The Theme Customizer is a built-in feature of WordPress and is part of every WordPress website. To access it, log in to your WordPress admin area and navigate to Appearance » Customize from the left sidebar of your WordPress admin dashboard. This will open the Customizer interface with your current theme.

You can also use the WordPress Theme Customizer for any of the themes installed on your website, even if they are not currently active. This feature allows you to preview the theme live and make changes before activating it. To do so, go to Appearance » Themes. Hover your mouse over any installed theme and click on the Live Preview button to open the WordPress Theme Customizer page.

Can’t find the Theme Customizer? Here’s how to fix the missing Theme Customizer in the WordPress admin.

How to Use the WordPress Theme Customizer

After opening the WordPress Theme Customizer, you’ll see all the customization settings on the left side of the screen. The live preview of your website will be displayed on the right side.

The WordPress Theme Customizer comes with a set of default panels, regardless of the theme you’re using. Click on each panel to modify its settings. You can also click on any of the blue pencil icons on the right side of the screen to open the settings for that particular element/item.

Note: Advanced WordPress themes will have additional settings panels for extra customization options (more on this later).

In the following sections, we’ll explore the default options available in the WordPress Theme Customizer and share some customization tips and alternatives. If you’re interested in a specific topic, you can click on the link to jump to that section of the article:

Ready? Let’s dive in.

Site Identity Panel: Add Title, Logo, and Favicon

The “Site Identity” panel of the WordPress Theme Customizer lets you add or change the title and tagline of your website. By default, WordPress adds “Just another WordPress site” as the site tagline. It’s recommended to change this after installing WordPress on your site, but you can also leave it blank if you prefer.

The “Site Identity” panel of the WordPress Theme Customizer also allows you to add your site’s logo. Simply click on the Select Logo option to upload your website’s logo. Want to add a favicon to your site? You can do this by clicking on the Select Site Icon option. For detailed instructions, follow our guide on how to create and add a favicon to your site.

WordPress Theme Customizer: Change Colors on Your Website

The controls in the “Colors” panel will vary depending on the WordPress theme you’re using. For instance, the Twenty Seventeen theme allows you to choose the header text color and select a color scheme for the entire website.

Other WordPress themes may offer different color options for site elements like headers, links, body text, and the background of your website.

The “Menus” panel lets you create navigation menus and control their placement on your website. You’ll find all the existing WordPress menus you’ve previously created in this tab. You can click on the View all locations button to check the available menu locations your theme supports.

To create a new menu, click on the Create a new menu button. Next, you’ll need to give your menu a name so you can manage it easily later. You can also select the menu location and click on Next to continue.

To add items to this menu, you’ll need to start by clicking on the Add Items button. This will open a new panel. Now, you can add custom links, pages, posts, categories, and tags as menu items to their respective fields.

To reorder the items, you can click on the Reorder link and then use the arrow icons to adjust the menu items.

Control Widgets on Your Website in Theme Customizer

The “Widgets” panel lets you add and manage widgets on your site. Clicking on it will show you the different locations to add widgets. Again, this will vary depending on the theme you’re using. For example, the Twenty Seventeen theme offers 3 widget locations, while the Twenty Nineteen theme comes with only one location.

Clicking on any of these will display the widgets you’ve previously added to that location. To add a new widget, you can click on the Add a Widget button. This will open a new panel where you’ll see a tab with all the available widgets.

Then, you’ll need to click on the one you want to add. You can also make changes to newly added widgets and adjust their position by dragging them up or down.

Homepage Settings Panel in Theme Customizer

By default, WordPress displays the latest blog posts on your homepage. However, most users prefer to use a custom homepage for business websites. This allows you to have a proper landing page that showcases your products and services.

To customize the homepage, select the “A static page” radio button in the “Homepage Settings” panel. This will open two new dropdowns that you can use to select a homepage and another to display your blog posts. If you don’t have the pages on your site, you can create a new one by linking the “+ Add New Page” link present below the dropdown. This will create a blank page with the name of your choice.

Additional CSS Panel for Adding Custom CSS

Want to add custom CSS code to style your website? You can do it in the “Additional CSS” panel. Intermediate and advanced WordPress users often customize their sites by adding CSS code directly to their theme’s style.css file. This method requires additional steps like having FTP access to your WordPress hosting, modifying theme files, etc.

An easier solution for beginners is to add their custom CSS code to the Additional CSS panel in the WordPress Theme Customizer. This will allow you to make changes to your site and see them live on the right side of your screen. When you start typing CSS code, WordPress will automatically suggest attributes based on the letters you type. It will also display error messages if you haven’t written a proper CSS declaration.

Note: If you want to customize your website without writing any code, keep reading. We’ll share three beginner-friendly options that will let you easily customize your theme and even create a custom WordPress theme.

Other Theme Customizer Options

Some free and premium themes offer more options in the Theme Customizer. Depending on the theme you’re using, you might be able to change the font style, add a background image, change the layout/structure/design/template, modify colors, add random header images, and much more.

You can also add specific features to your Theme Customizer with the help of plugins. For instance, with the Easy Google Fonts plugin, you can add custom fonts in WordPress.

Preview Your Website in Different Screen Resolutions

It’s essential for all website owners to ensure their website is mobile-responsive and looks good on all screen sizes. Thanks to the WordPress Theme Customizer, you can easily check how your website looks in different screen sizes.

At the bottom of the Theme Customizer panel, you’ll find three icons and the “Hide Controls” link. These icons let you test your site in different screen resolutions like desktop, tablet, and mobile. The “Hide Controls” link is helpful for hiding the WordPress Customizer panel so you can see your site properly in desktop mode.

Publish, Save, or Schedule Your Customizer Settings

Once you’ve made the necessary changes, you need to apply them to your site. Otherwise, all the work you’ve done will be lost. Click on the “Publish” button to apply the changes. Once the process is finished, you can click on the close button in the top left corner of the screen to exit the Theme Customizer.

What if you need more time to finalize your new design? In that case, you can save your new design as a draft and even share it with someone without giving them access to your admin area. To do so, you’ll need to click on the gear icon located right next to the “Publish” button. This will open the “Action” panel.

Here, you’ll find three options: “Publish,” “Save Draft,” and “Schedule.” Simply select the “Save Draft” radio button in the “Action” panel. Then, click on the “Save Draft” button to save the changes. Now, you can copy the preview link and share it with others to get feedback/comments/opinions. The “Schedule” option lets you publish your changes at a specific date and time. For example, you can schedule your theme changes to be published when you’re receiving less traffic.

Finally, if you want to revert unpublished changes, you can click on the “Discard Changes” link in the actions panel.

Preview Different Themes Without Activating Them

There are times when you want to check how a new theme would look on your site. However, you don’t want to activate them on your live website. In that case, you can open the WordPress Customizer to test out new themes without going live. In the Customizer panel, you’ll find the name of your active theme and the “Change” button.

Clicking on that button will display all the installed themes on the right side of the page. To check a particular theme, you need to click on the “Live Preview” button. You can also preview themes from the WordPress theme repository. To do so, you’ll need to select the “Themes from WordPress.org” checkbox in the left panel. This will display themes from the WordPress.org directory. Simply click on the “Install and Preview” button to check out the theme you like. You can also filter the themes by clicking on the “Filter themes” button located in the top right corner of the screen.

Note: We recommend using a WordPress staging website to test out new themes instead of using the Customizer on a live site.

Import or Export Theme Customizer Settings

Did you know that you can import and export your Theme Customizer settings? This comes in handy when you’re making theme changes on a local server or staging site. Instead of manually copying the settings to your live website, you can simply export the Theme Customizer settings to save time. For detailed instructions, follow our guide on how to import and export Theme Customizer settings in WordPress.

WordPress Theme Customizer Alternatives

While the WordPress Customizer allows you to make changes to your site, the number of controls will vary depending on the theme you’re using. What if you love your theme but wish it had more customization options?

In that case, the best solution is to use one of the three customization plugins that work alongside the WordPress Theme Customizer.

SeedProd

SeedProd is the best drag-and-drop website builder for WordPress. You can use SeedProd to easily create custom WordPress themes and page layouts without needing to edit any code. SeedProd offers hundreds of pre-made page designs for landing pages, sales pages, webinar registration pages, coming soon pages, maintenance mode pages, and much more. Customization is easy with ready-to-use blocks like subscription forms, social profiles, buttons, countdown timers, contact forms, and more.

You can also set color schemes, save font combinations, and reuse pages and page elements so you don’t have to create them again.

Thrive Theme Builder

Thrive Theme Builder is another popular drag-and-drop theme builder plugin for WordPress. You can use it to easily create a custom WordPress theme with no code required. It comes packed with four different theme templates ready to get you started quickly. Each theme template includes a variety of pre-built pages that you can add to your site.

You can edit every part of your theme, including the header, footer, blog posts, category pages, etc., by simply pointing and clicking. Plus, there are over 100 design and site-building elements that you can quickly add to your theme by dragging and dropping them onto your site.

CSS Hero

CSS Hero is a plugin for WordPress that allows you to customize your site without writing a single line of CSS code. You have the freedom to style every element of your site without any hassle. Want to customize the login page of your WordPress site? CSS Hero lets you do it in minutes. You can also edit and preview changes on the front-end to make sure your design looks perfect on all devices.

Beaver Builder

Beaver Builder is another one of the best page builders for WordPress. It lets you create stunning pages for your site using a drag-and-drop interface. The best part is that Beaver Builder works with almost every WordPress theme. This allows you to use it with your current theme.

Beaver Builder supports using shortcodes and widgets. It also offers different types of modules that you can use to style your website easily. You can check out our guide on how to create custom layouts in WordPress for detailed instructions.

Conclusion

We hope this guide has helped you learn how to use the WordPress Theme Customizer like a pro. You may also want to check out our guide on how to test your WordPress theme with the latest standards or our selection of the best minimalist WordPress themes you should try.

If you’re interested in learning more about tech news, feel free to visit my website: www.naveedahmed.me.

FAQs

What is the WordPress Theme Customizer?

The WordPress Theme Customizer is a built-in tool that allows you to change the appearance and settings of your WordPress website without needing any coding knowledge. You can modify elements like colors, fonts, layouts, widgets, menus, and more through a user-friendly interface.

How do I access the WordPress Theme Customizer?

To access the Theme Customizer, log in to your WordPress dashboard and navigate to Appearance » Customize. This will open the Customizer interface, allowing you to start customizing your website.

Can I use the WordPress Theme Customizer with any theme?

Yes, the Theme Customizer is compatible with almost all WordPress themes. However, the available options may vary depending on the theme’s features.

What are the main panels in the WordPress Theme Customizer?

The WordPress Theme Customizer typically includes panels for Site Identity, Colors, Menus, Widgets, Homepage Settings, Additional CSS, and more. These panels offer a range of settings for customizing your website’s look and feel.

Can I preview my changes before publishing them?

Yes, the WordPress Theme Customizer provides a live preview of your changes as you make them. This allows you to see how your customizations will affect your website in real-time before you publish them.

How do I save my changes in the WordPress Theme Customizer?

To save your changes, click on the “Publish” button in the Theme Customizer. You can also choose to save your changes as a draft or schedule them to be published later.

Can I revert my changes in the WordPress Theme Customizer?

Yes, you can always revert your changes in the Theme Customizer. Click on the “Discard Changes” link in the “Action” panel to restore your website to its previous state.

Are there any alternatives to the WordPress Theme Customizer?

Yes, there are several alternatives to the WordPress Theme Customizer, including drag-and-drop page builders like SeedProd, Thrive Theme Builder, and Beaver Builder. These tools offer more advanced customization options and can help you create unique website designs.

What are the advantages of using the WordPress Theme Customizer?

The WordPress Theme Customizer is a user-friendly and powerful tool that offers several advantages, including:

  • No coding knowledge is required.
  • Live preview of changes.
  • Easy to use and navigate.
  • Wide range of customization options.
  • Built-in functionality of WordPress.

What are some best practices for using the WordPress Theme Customizer?

Here are some best practices for using the WordPress Theme Customizer effectively:

  • Start with a clear vision for your website design.
  • Make small changes and preview them before publishing.
  • Test your website on different devices and screen resolutions.
  • Use a staging website to experiment with new designs.
  • Back up your website before making significant changes.
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