How to Add Featured Boxes on the Homepage of Your WordPress Website
Everyone wants their content to be the best it can be and that means using the right tools. When it comes to the content we produce, words aren’t enough. We also need images to illustrate our points. That’s where the featured boxes on the home page of our WordPress website come into play. Let’s take a look at how to add these boxes, so your content will be seen by its best possible audience.
The Basics
If you’re reading this, I assume you’re either a WordPress expert or someone who knows one. If not, you might want to consider whether or not this is the right tool for you. WordPress is a versatile content management system and it can be used to create any kind of website you might want to see. It’s extremely popular, which means there’s a lot of information online about how to use it effectively. If you’re looking for a free platform, WordPress is a great choice and it has a lot of functionality built into it, which makes setting up a new site extremely easy. The best part is that all the tools you need are already included in the platform.
The Biggest Differentiator
I mentioned earlier that everyone wants their content to be the best it can be. That’s true, but it’s not limited to the content that we create. Everyone has various standards when it comes to the content they consume. For example, video content tends to perform better when viewed on a mobile device rather than on a large screen. That’s why we often see smartphone footage used in video tutorials and how-to articles. In order to be the best it can be, we need to ensure our content looks as good as new regardless of whether or not it was created for a digital camera or a high-quality display. With that in mind, let’s take a quick look at the features that make up the WordPress standard package and why you should consider them when creating your content strategy.
Media Queries
Media queries let you specify different display options for different devices. For example, if you have an iPad and a desktop computer, you can create separate layouts for each device that meet the same criteria. When you create a media query, you’ll need to identify the width of the device you’re targeting for and the maximum width at which you want the content to display. Once you have that information, you can create a media query that will have the same effect. For example, if you have an iPad and you want the content to display at half-screen width, you might create a media query like this:
@media only screen and (min-device-width : 768px) and (max-device-width : 1024px) {
}
Note: If you have a large number of media queries, it’s a good idea to separate them into different css files, which you can include in the header of your WordPress site.
CSS Sprites
It’s important to note that using media queries doesn’t mean you have to use separate CSS files for different devices. Media queries are completely separate from the CSS files you use for styling your site and you can style your site as normal, which will resolve any media queries you set up. However, if you choose this route, it’s important to remember to include the appropriate CSS files based on the resolution of the device you’re using. For example, if you have a retina display, you’ll need to include the hi-res version of the CSS file. Without that, your content might appear blurry or pixelated on the device. This is why it’s important to check the resolution of the display you’re using when creating media queries. You can use tools like CalBrowser, which will tell you the exact screen resolution of the device you’re using. Using CSS sprites, which we’ll discuss next, saves you from having to keep downloading separate images to see on different devices. Sprites are bitmaps combined with some CSS3 code to create a single image. For example, if you wanted to use a picture of a dog on your site, you might create a CSS sprite with the dog icon and then use that image on different devices as needed. When a user clicks on the image, they’ll be redirected to the original blog post or article instead of a different dog picture on each device.
Responsive Images
If you can, use a tool like Canvas, which turns images into responsive images. Responsive images are a great way to ensure your images look the same on any device. If you’re not familiar, Canvas allows you to take any image and make it responsive. That means you don’t need to have different versions of the same image for different devices. You can use Canvas to make your images look the same on all devices, regardless of the screen size. With Canvas, all you need to do is upload the image you want to use and then add a description about what the image is. Canvas will take care of the rest. Responsive images also have the advantage of being cacheable, which means your users won’t have to keep re-requesting the image from the web server. They’ll be able to scroll through a list of recent posts and click on an image to see the full blog article on their phones. This helps with mobile performance and it saves data, too.
Retina Display Support
If you have a Retina display-equipped device, you’ll need to download and install the iOS version of WordPress as iOS 8 will not display non-Retina images. Installing WordPress on a Mac is fairly straightforward, but you’ll need to download and install the iOS app first. Once you have that set up, you can move onto the next step. Installing WordPress on an iPhone or iPad is even easier. All you need is a wifi connection and you can follow the instructions on the screen to have WordPress installed in a matter of minutes. Once that’s done, you can start creating your content and using the various tools at your disposal.