Tired of your old header? Want to switch it for something fresh and new? WordPress 3.0 makes it easy. You just need to make a few changes to your functions.php and header.php files, and then you can switch headers as often as you want.

You’ll need FTP access to your site’s theme files (you can do some of this in the Appearance Editor, but it’s easiest if you can upload and download as necessary). You’ll also need to know the height, width, and location of your current or desired header, and you’ll need an image or graphic to use for your new header.

First, we need to set up the function that will define the size of the header image and activate the Headers link in the Appearance menu of your admin screen. Open your functions.php file and paste the following:

define( 'HEADER_IMAGE', '%s/images/header.png' ); // The default header located in themes folder
define( 'HEADER_IMAGE_WIDTH', apply_filters( '', 845 ) ); // Width of header
define( 'HEADER_IMAGE_HEIGHT', apply_filters( '', 365 ) ); // Height of header
define( 'NO_HEADER_TEXT', true );
add_custom_image_header( '', 'admin_header_style' ); // This Enables the Appearance > Header
// Following Code is for Styling the Admin Side
if ( ! function_exists( 'admin_header_style' ) ) :
function admin_header_style() {
?>
<style type="text/css">
#headimg {
height: <?php echo HEADER_IMAGE_HEIGHT; ?>px;
width: <?php echo HEADER_IMAGE_WIDTH; ?>px;
}
#headimg h1, #headimg #desc {
display: none;
}
</style>
<?php
}
endif;


Make sure you change the dimensions to match the size of the header on your actual site. Note that you will also need to upload a default header to your theme’s image directory (if you wish to use your existing header as the default, make sure you change the Header Image name in the function).

Next, you need to display the new header on your site. In your header.php file, add the following:


<img src="<?php header_image(); ?>" width="<?php echo HEADER_IMAGE_WIDTH; ?>" height="<?php echo HEADER_IMAGE_HEIGHT; ?>" alt="Header Image" />


Change the alt text to reflect your image or site.

Log in to your WordPress admin screen and click “Appearance.” You will now see a link called Header. Click that to access your Custom Header section. You’ll see your default or current header as well as instructions for uploading a new one. You can also revert to your default header or eliminate your header altogether (note that there is no undo for those options, so choose carefully).

To upload a new header, browse for the image or graphic that you want to use (make sure it is at least as wide and high as your specified header dimensions) and click ‘Upload.’ If you need to crop your image, you can do so in the next step. Move the bounding box around until you are happy with the new header image and click Crop & Save.

That’s it! Your new header image will appear on your site, and you can switch it out as frequently as you like.

Questions? Problems? Leave a comment and we’ll do our best to help you out.

Don’t miss out on the chance to attend WordCamp PDX this year – there are TONS of speakers (I’m one of them!) and some pretty fab giveaways, including copies of our book!

Registration is open at the official WordCamp site. Don’t forget to tell them your shirt size.

One of the coolest new features in WordPress 3.0 is the ability to add custom menus. In this post we’ll walk you through the process of adding custom menu support to your existing them as well as setting up the custom menus in the admin section.

1. Add the register_nav_menus function to your functions.php file.

In your functions.php file, add the following code:
register_nav_menus( array(
'main-menu' => __( 'Main Menu' ),
) );
This will allow your theme to recognize and register a custom navigation menu.

2. Replace the code for your current navigation menu (in your header.php file) with wp_nav_menu.

Open your header.php file and find the section that calls up your navigation menu. It may look something like this:

<?php wp_list_pages(); ?>
Replace that code with this one:

<?php wp_nav_menu( array( 'theme_location' => 'main-menu' ) ); ?>
Using the above code will replace your existing navigation menu with one you specify in the new Menus section (see below).

3. Log in to the admin area of your WordPress site and go to Appearance > Menus.

4. Create a new menu. Give your menu a name (this will not be displayed on your site) and add links by choosing from your pages, categories, or custom URLs. Once you’ve added all the links you want to include in your navigation menu, click “Save Menu.”

5. In the top left of the Menus section, you will see a box labeled “Theme Locations” which should say the following: Your theme supports 1 menu. Select which menu you would like to use. In the drop-down, choose the menu you just created and hit “Save.”

That’s it! You’ve just set up custom menus for your WordPress theme. You can add, delete or re-order your menu items any time you want.

Additionally, you can add custom menus to your sidebar, too – without touching a single line of code. Just add a new custom menu by clicking the plus sign next to your existing menu. Once you’ve got your new menu named and some menu items in place, go to Appearance > Widgets and choose the Custom Menu widget. Drag it to your sidebar, give it a name, and you’re ready to roll!

Questions? Problems? Leave a comment and we’ll do our best to help you out.

Jessica will be speaking at WordCamp Portland!

The full schedule hasn’t been announced yet, but the event is

September 18-19 2010 at Webtrends in Portland, OR

Business Blogging for Non-Writers

Learn to make the most of your business blog, even if writing isn’t your strong suit.

http://www.wordcampportland.org/speakers/

Check it out if you are in the area.

Hope to see you there!

We (well Matt anyway) will be attending SXSWi 2010 again this year down in Austin, TX.

Tons of great talks for WordPress designers.

Hope to see you there!

WordPress 2.9 includes some new photo manipulation features, basic cropping and the like.

Aaron Hockley, (blogger, photographer and the Tech Editor for our book) has an excellent post walking through some of the upcoming features in WordPress 2.9 on his site Social Photo Talk.

Check out his post on the new WordPress Photo Image Features here.

Our next contest is up: become a fan of our company, couldbe studios, on Facebook – once we reach 100 fans we’ll pick someone at random to win a copy of the WordPress Visual QuickStart Guide!

Over on the WordPress blog, Matt Mullenweg announced that WordPress won the 2009 Open Source CMS award. Congratulations to all the hard working folks who make WordPress happen.

Matt’s post about winning the award can be found here.

This is the first time that WordPress has won that award, and I think Matt explained the significance very well.

“Every day thousands of new people are embracing WordPress to power not just their blogs but entire sites and communities without compromising on usability or scalability (as would be the case with a legacy CMS). Every member of the WordPress community, from core developer to beginning user, should be proud to be part of this momentum: congratulations to us all!”

So, congrats to the WordPress team on a well deserved acknowledgment.

-Matt Beck

Itching for a copy of our new book, the WordPress Visual QuickStart Guide? Of course you are, and we’re here to help.

Our book’s release date is right around the corner – in fact, we just got our advance copies in the mail today! Check it out: