Choose your blog style and layout

Changing your blog style is not just for layout, but also for what style of featured image you want.

  1. Top Featured Image Centered - Top featured image with no left or right sidebars and the layout is centered
  2. Top Featured Image Left Sidebar - Top featured image with a left sidebar column
  3. Top Featured Image Right Sidebar - Top featured image with a right sidebar column
  4. Top Featured Image Left & Right Sidebars - Top featured image with both the left and right sidebar columns.

Screenshots

Here are examples of available blog style options in the order of the list above:

Featured Image Sizes

When you choose your style of layout, it’s best to prepare your featured images to be sized for the choice you make so that page load times can be limited. Here is a guide for featured image sizes:

  • Large Featured Image - You can have up to 1100 pixels in width and height can be up to you
  • Top Featured Image Left or Right Sidebar - You can have up to 720 pixels in width.
  • Left or Right Featured Image - Thumbnail is sized down to 420 pixels in width

Change Your Blog Style

  1. Go to Appearance >> Customize >> Blog Options
  2. Find the “Blog Style” setting and make your choice
  3. Click “Save & Publish” at the top of the column.

Single Post Layout

In addition to the blog’s home style and layout, you also get the option to select the layout for your full post view — this is when you click on a “Read More” link and view the post in full.

  1. Go to Appearance >> Customize >> Blog Options
  2. Find the “Single Post Layout” setting
  3. Click Save & Publish

Blog Post Summaries - Content vs. Excerpts

The blog post summaries are the “intros” that you see when you first go to a blog. This is normally recognized when you see each summary with a title, perhaps a featured image, and then the “Read More” button or link. Post summaries are only part of a full post and will only show on the blog’s home page.

With this theme, you get a couple of options to display your summaries:

  • Content - This is going to give you a summary that can include formatting, images, and a “Continue” link.
  • Excerpt - This gives you a set number of words that keeps each summary consistent; no formatting, no images, but will give you a “Continue” link as well.

To read more about “Content and Excerpts”, continue on to the “Basic Theme Setup” tutorials.

Use Excerpts for your Blog Summaries

Changing Your Excerpt Length (size)

By default WordPress sets a size of 55 words. Aberration Lite includes a setting that lets you change this to your own preference.

  1. Go to Appearance >> Customize >> Blog Options
  2. Look for the “Excerpt Length” setting and make your choice. The default for this theme is 50.
  3. Click “Save & Publish“.