Adding WordPress blog to existing site and matching existing styles?

  • Hi All,

    My first post is of course a beginner question. I just started with WordPress. Are there any links that describe the following: I have an existing static site with four main pages built with strict XHTML and CSS. I would like to add a WordPress blog page to this site and have the look, style and banner image be the same as the rest of the site. I am a little unsure of how to add the existing pages (including the Home index.html page) and CSS to the WordPress files. For instance, would the index.html file clash with the Worpress index.php file? What about the CSS?

    Is this doable or should I abandon my existing static pages and have all the pages be WordPress pages? The problem is I don’t want all the WordPress content and columns on some of the pages, just on the blog page? What I need to learn is how and where to set up the files, what to call them etc. I have managed to install MAMP and get my default WordPress folder to function as a “localhoast” on my Mac, so I have the ability to test all this off-line.

    Thanks in advance!

    Max

Viewing 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)

  • 1. Put your WP install in a subfolder of your site, so it will be “parallel” with your existing 4 html pages.
    example.com/blog
    example.com/yourfile.html
    2. Yes, you can create a theme from your existing design.
    https://codex.www.ads-software.com/Theme_Development
    https://codex.www.ads-software.com/Blog_Design_and_Layout
    (and all the relevant links from there)
    3. Having it in its own folder (e.g. blog) there is no issue of clashing index files. (otherwise there would be)

    If you need more directions… ask back.

    Thread Starter maxwellbalmain

    (@maxwellbalmain)

    Thanks Moshu!

    Just to better get my head around this:

    Say I have my existing site in a folder called my_site (which contains index.html, contact.html etc, a subfolder for images and a CSS file.)

    Say I have a link in my main navigation for the blog page. So, if I follow you correctly I rename the WordPress folder that I downloaded and call it “blog” and then place that into my existing site folder (in this case “my_site). I then install Worpress to make it connect to the proper database and I am good to go? I should be able to launch the WordPress blog by clicking on the “blog” link in my navigation on my existing pages? This sounds pretty straight forward.

    As the WordPress files are all in their own folder I guess I will need to copy banner images and other graphics from the my_site images folder. These go into the themes folder that is contained in the WordPress folder?

    I’ll follow those links and look into messing around with the themes and CSS etc. Fortunately I am familiar with CSS, buy I am a virgin when it comes to PHP etc.

    Max

    Your site’s root directory (where the existing index, contact etc. reside) – through ftp should be something like: public_html, www or htdocs…

    Yes, you create a (sub)folder there, call it what you’d like and upload the content of the wordpress folder from your hard drive – then follow the instructions for the install

    Of course, you will have to create a link manually from your main html page(s) to the blog’s directory.

    Well, the images, banners and stuff – they will be part of your custom WP theme that you are going to create. I’d suggest dissecting 1-2-3 themes to see how do they work and then you’ll understand it better.

    Forget the PHP. All you need is the placement of the template tags – the rest is (x)HTML.
    See also: https://codex.www.ads-software.com/Stepping_Into_Template_Tags

    Thread Starter maxwellbalmain

    (@maxwellbalmain)

    Moshu,

    Thanks. I followed up with the steps and it works perfectly. I now need to create links on the WordPress blog page that link back to the other existing static pages.

    Next comes the “heavy lifting”: seeing how the CSS works in WP Themes!

    Cheers,

    Max

Viewing 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)
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