How to make a page like this? Help a blogging newbie? :)

[shillise]

Hi everyone

I am trying to create a travel page much like this one featured here - http://theblondeabroad.com/destinations/

What I like are the simple 'boxes' with the picture and text. How can I get this for my blog?

Also, I like the 'latest from the blog' and 'explore some of my most popular posts' boxes on the front page - http://theblondeabroad.com/

How do I get these?

Looking forward to your answers 🙂

[Brad Dalton]

You could use several different solutions all of which i have written about.

• A custom grid loop
• Portfolio style grid columns
• Featured widgets
• Featured image with text overlay effect

There's also different ways to code these solutions.

• You could create template files for entire pages
• Use get_template_part
• Custom functions with hooks and conditional tags

For http://theblondeabroad.com/destinations/ i would code a page template

For http://theblondeabroad.com/ Latest from the blog, you could hook in widgets or hard code them into a front-page.php template.

All doable and fairly easy with Genesis.

---

Tutorials for StudioPress Themes.

[shillise]

Thanks for your reply @braddalton

I will look into the features you mentioned, though I'm not very knowledgeable with WordPress/Genesis!

[essaysnark]

@shillise, which theme are you using? Many of the features of that site you referenced are done in the theme. There are also plugins available. Please link to your site and identify the theme so we know what you're starting with.

[shillise]

@essaysnark, I am using the Swank theme (https://prettydarncute.com/swanktheme/)

My site is http://www.heartlifestyle.com - please excuse the mess! Just trying to find my way around.

[essaysnark]

Looks like you've made some good progress!

Did you want the Featured Pages to do something different from how you have them set up now?

For the Latest from the Blog part, you'll probably need to modify one of the theme files. Swank is a third-party theme and I don't have access to it so I can't guide you on what needs to change and where. Or if you're feeling brave, Brad does have a bunch of tutorials - here's one that might be what you want: http://wpsites.net/web-design/using-the-genesis-grid-loop-for-different-home-post-layouts/

Just some cautions though: If you have a typo when editing files like functions.php, you will bring down your entire site! Before you begin, be sure that you know how to log onto your server using FTP, and create a backup of the functions.php (or any PHP file that you're changing) so that you can restore it on the server if you need to.

When copying in code from a tutorial, use the "raw" link (or pastebin) if available, and don't copy in the opening php tag of any snippet.

The Genesis for Beginners guide is useful, if you haven't read it yet; it is available as a download from this site.

That site looks good for someone who's new to this! Nice job so far. The theme developer may be a better resource for your Swank-specific questions but we'll try to help out here too when you get stuck.

[shillise]

Thanks, @essaysnark! I guess it's all a bit of trial and error!

I'm really not sure how I want my blog set up... I was thinking a simple main page that shows the categories and also a menu for contact, about etc.

I would also like a 'recent posts' and 'popular posts' area like on http://www.theblondeabroad.com

I'm not entirely sure how pages/categories/portfolios/posts all work and how they relate to each other in terms of navigation..

Thanks for the recommendations! I really do like the Avada theme (off the website above), however I want to stay with the Genesis Framework...

[essaysnark]

Learning WordPress terminology can be confusing, and trying to figure out Genesis at the same time is even more complicated - so just be prepared for some frustration along the way. The wordpress.org site is a great resource; their codex is useful when you get stuck on specific backend things, and they cover the basics really well. If you haven't already, then you could start here to get up to speed on the terminology:

http://codex.wordpress.org/WordPress_Semantics

Figuring out the difference between WP Posts and WP Pages - and understanding that not every "page" on your website is a WP Page - is very important, because they behave differently and are used for different things. As just one example, when you set up your menu, the menu items are (usually) the Pages on your site - so that means you need to figure out how you want your site to be structured first, and then create the Pages, at least empty ones with no content, in order for them to appear in the Menus screen to become menu items. But generally you would never make a Post a menu item.

Admittedly, that paragraph might not make a lot of sense to someone just starting out...!! 🙂

Anyway, keep going with it and it'll click into place for you, and if you get stuck then you can always come back here (or wordpress.org forums) to get some guidance.

Good luck!

[sangmaofficial]

Thanks for this question, recently I released my Book for Newbies Check out here How to Start a Blog

[Author]

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