Random Header Images for Your Blog

I was asked a question via email if there are advantages of having random header images. I say why not. If you have a website that contains a header image, it is much better for you to change things up, spice it up a little. I would take the dynamic header image any day.

Most people think this would be a pain in the ass and it requires some plugin. And if you are like me, you don’t want to go through the hassle of searching the plugin. Well how about I tell you that there is no need for a plugin to do this. I say this tutorial is on Beginner Level.

All you really need is a simple php code that I am about to give you in this post.

Get the Header Images

For demonstration’s sake I will be only using three images, but you can use as many images you want. Few things to keep in mind that you must have all of these images in the same extension. Meaning if you have one image as a .gif then the other two must also be .gif. If you have one as .jpg then the other two must also be .jpg. I hope you guys get the concept.

So the three files we would use are:

• himage_1.jpg
• himage_2.jpg
• himage_3.jpg

You do not have to use the same names as I do. It can be header_1 or head_1… anything you really like. Just make sure there is an _ separating the number. Also make sure that these images are the same size, so it fits your design’s dimension and doesn’t make your site W3 Invalid.

If you need help finding stock photos then I have compiled a list of 11 free stock photo sites.

Implementation

This code would work just about work on any platform that is based on php. So if you are using wordpress then you are ok. Anyone else who wants to use it on their php websites, this would work as well.

<img src="http://path_to_images/himage_<?php echo(rand(1,3)); ?>.jpg"
width="image_width" height="image_height" alt="image_alt_text" />

If you are using more images, make sure that you change the number from 3 to however many images you have. All what this code does is it takes your image and choose one randomly. It is that simple.

I hope you guys like it.