There are currently 20 different themes that are available through blogs.oregonstate.edu.  They are as follows:

Benevolence ● Bluebird ● Blue Zinfandel ● ChaoticSoul ● Connections ● Contempt ● Copyblogger ● Cutline ● Dark Tree ● Falling Dreams ● Fauna Beta ● Glorious Day ● MistyLook ● Ocean Mist ● OceanWide ● OSU Sport ● Quentin ● Rubric ● SeaShore ● Waterlilly

How to Change a Theme

To change your theme, just do the following:

  • From within your Dashboard, click on Appearance > Themes.
  • A selection of available themes will appear.  Click on the image of one that interests you.
  • A full-screen version of the selected theme will appear for closer review.
  • If you’d like to look at a different theme, just click on the X in the upper left corner.  If you want to enable the new theme, click on the Activate link in the upper right corner.

Some Things to Consider About Themes

Different themes, obviously, possess different features.  This is true both on the surface, as well as in the underlying programming structure.

For example, if the theme you choose has right sidebar navigation, this is not something that can be changed.  The colors, the menu font styles, pattern fills that are used in the background – these are all things that are part of the theme and also generally can’t be changed.

Additionally, if you happen to change your theme from one that, say, has two sidebars to a theme that only has one sidebar – any Widgets that you may have placed in the now non-existent sidebar will no longer have a place to reside.  These items will have to be re-added to your layout.

Special Theme Features

There are some themes that are quite flexible in terms of how you can change regions that are usually more “fixed” in nature.

For example, some themes will provide you with the capability to change a header image.  Others might possess certain built-in capabilities, such as a calendar or clock.

If a theme possesses any special configurable qualities, these items will show in the Appearance menu group.

The appearance of a site is affected by two things; the theme and the layout.

A theme regulates the “look and feel” of your site: the background colors, background images, font type, font color – even the space between lines of text can be controlled by a theme.

Layout is concerned with what Widgets are enabled and where they are placed on your blog.

You have a lot to say in terms of how your blog appears, so let’s see how these things can be customized to suit your needs.