How to Edit Wordpress Themes

1. If you host your own Wordpress.org Blog then you will have complete access to edit and customize your Wordpress Themes. However, if you have a free blog application through Wordpress.com then you will have limited blog editing capability. Wordpress.org is for self hosted users which means that you pay for your own blog domain name and hosting. The benefit to setting up your own self hosted blog is that you have complete control of how your blog looks. Wordpress.com users can only choose their blog theme, they can't customize them.
2. To customize your Wordpress.org blogging application you will want to log in to your blog admin panel by going to www.yourblog.com/wp-admin - use the user name and password you setup when you first installed your blog and login to the admin area. Once inside the admin section of the blog you will want to go to the Appearance tab on the left hand side of the page on click on Appearance to drop down the options unless it is already opened then you just want to click on Editor.

3. From the Editor page you have the ability to edit any Wordpress themes you have uploaded to your server. On the right side of the page are different pages that you can customize or modify to meet your blogging needs. The most common files you can edit are the style sheet, header, footer, main index or home, archives, search, comments, pages, single page, theme functions, and sidebar.
4. If you want to change the color of your blog or alter images then you will want to do so using the Cascading Style Sheet (CSS). Most of the other files are a combination of advanced HTML and PHP so you will have to know how to read some code before attempting to edit a Wordpress theme. This is where you can change how your blog looks and decide what type of layout you would like to have. Once you learn what you would like to add or subtract from your WP blog you will most likely use this editing section to create a custom design that will set your blog apart from other bloggers.