You’re probably asking.
Well, if there’s one thing that bothers me about WordPress, it’s that you can’t control the size and darkness of your blog text. You pretty much have to take what comes with the theme, unless you’re much more tech-savvy than I am, or just happen to be using a theme that allows it (of which I haven’t found any).
I had a comment a few days ago that the reader liked my blog theme and the way I had it set up, but was having a hard time with the smaller font in that theme. I myself also have lots of trouble with smaller fonts, as well as gray text, or at least a lack of contrast between the text and the background. I really don’t understand why so many blog themes use a gray text. Some of them are almost impossible to read!
So anyway, I have now embarked on a quest (hey, that sounds kinda neat!) to find a blog theme which has a large enough and dark enough text font, and still has the clean, professional look that I want. That means this theme I am using right now may change very soon.
And that’s what I’m doing here!
That is a frustration with me as well, though I’m NOT going back to Blogger.
Another way to read something one time, such as a blog post, is to simply use the control + combo on the keyboard to magnify the page you’re looking at.
Face it. At your age you’re going to have to do that more!
Yes, I’m going to have to do that more, at my advanced age.
But as long as they are offering themes that have larger and darker fonts, I’m trying to mitigate that. In fact, right now I’m taking a short break from going through the WP themes, looking for one that’s better than this one. Not finding any so far. I may just stick with this one for a while and see how I can customize it.
An alternative is to use the theme you like and instruct your readers on the use of the Ctrl plus + feature of web browsers that increases font size, etc.
Yes, that is an alternative.
Hey Nathan! I haven’t seen you here in a long time! How are you? Merry Christmas to you and yours!
Thank you, and Merry Christmas to you as well. I am doing well, but it has been a rough few months this past semester. I still read all of your posts, but I seldom comment on blogs anymore.
Gary,
Regardless of what WordPress theme you use, you can change the font size of both your Posts and Comments (your personal comments, not your readers’ comments).
Instead of writing your posts and comments in WordPress, write them in Windows Live Writer (Windows XP version; Windows 7/Vista version). Or alternatively (to take advantage of true word processor functionality), write them in Microsoft Word, LibreOffice, or equivalent, and then copy the text over to Live Writer.
Use the following steps from within Live Writer to adjust your Post/Comment font size/color:
Switch to Edit view (Live Writer’s word processor window): View > Edit
If pasting text from another word processor:
Right click in the text area, then Choose Paste Special
Choose Thinned HTML – gets rid of the word processor-specific behind-the-scenes HTML code that does not play nicely with WordPress
Adjust the font size and text alignment
Switch to Preview view: View > Preview (this shows what your Post/Comment will look like when published)
When you are satisfied with the way your text looks, switch to Source view (HTML view): View > Source
Insert HTML paragraph tags (ensures that WordPress properly formats your paragraphs and the spacing between them):
Between each paragraph: <p> for begin paragraph; </p> for end paragraph [looks like <p></p> between each paragraph]
At the end of each paragraph [looks like </p> at the end of each paragraph]
Copy all HTML in this Source view window
If Authoring a Post:
Add a new Post within WordPress
Click the HTML tab in the Add New Post window
Paste the copied HTML (the HTML you copied from Live Writer Source view) into the WordPress HTML text area
Click the Preview button in WordPress. You should now see the proper font size and other custom formatting.
If you are satisfied, publish your new post. Otherwise, play with it a bit more in Live Writer and repeat the previous steps
If Authoring a Comment:
Click in the comment reply box
Paste the copied HTML (the HTML you copied from Live Writer Source view) into the comment box
Submit your comment. Your new comment will display with the correct font size, paragraph spacing, bold, italics, underscore, etc.
This seems like a lot of bother, but it only seems that way because of the detailed instructions. Once you get the hang of it, you’ll never go back to the old way. This gives so much more control over the Post and Comment authorship process. The best part is that by using Live Writer as your HTML source code generator instead of WordPress, you will gain the added bonus of using bold, italics, underscore, etc. You can even specify that links within your Post or Comment open up the target page in a new browser window instead of navigating away from your blog. The benefits are priceless.
I use this process for almost every Post and Comment I submit to the web.
Thanks for this info. I’ve messed with it a bit a few years back, but gave up and had completely forgotten about this technique.
You are very welcome Nathan. Happy blogging!