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An overview of how WordPress uses a template system to generate pages on your website. This session dives into the WordPress theme folder and explains what all those mysterious PHP files are. You also learn about the critical role CSS plays in theme design. And finally, you learn why child themes are so important and how to set one up. This is foundational knowledge for anyone wanting to develop a new theme or customize an existing theme. Slides from webinar presented by WPApprentice.com
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WordPress Theme MechanicsBecause sometimes you need to look under the hood
Common Challenges
• Change fonts and typography? (font size, font color, font face, line spacing).
• Change the background color on a page.
• Customize the theme header (or footer).
• Modify the site layout - change column widths, margins, padding.
In Today’s Webinar
• How WordPress works (conceptually).
• Understanding the WordPress template system.
• Customizing your theme the CSS way.
• How to make a child theme.
• Almost no PHP.
My Assumptions
• You know a little about WordPress
• Adding posts and pages
• Installing and activating plugins and themes
• You have some very basic knowledge of common web terminology
• Primarily HTML & CSS
How WordPress Works
What are the limits ofWordPress Themes??
What are the limits of HTML and CSS?
With just a little bit of JavaScript?
Anything is possible*
* when you know the secrets
of the WP theme system
(and HTML and CSS)
Theme Secrets Revealed
Inside the Theme Folder
Decoding the Template System
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Filed Under: Category Name
Templates are patterns
for your website
Every type of page has a template
Header
Footer
Sidebar
Post TitleNormal Paragraph, Morbi leo risus, porta ac consectetur ac, vestibulum at eros. Donec ullamcorper nulla non metus auctor fringilla. Fusce dapibus, tellus ac cursus commodo, tortor mauris condimentum nibh, ut fermentum massa justo sit amet risus. Praesent commodo cursus magna, vel scelerisque nisl consectetur et. Maecenas faucibus mollis interdum. Vestibulum id ligula porta felis euismod.
Post TitleNormal Paragraph, Morbi leo risus, porta ac consectetur ac, vestibulum at eros. Donec ullamcorper nulla non metus auctor fringilla. Fusce dapibus, tellus ac cursus commodo, tortor mauris condimentum nibh, ut fermentum massa justo sit amet risus. Praesent commodo cursus magna, vel scelerisque nisl consectetur et. Maecenas faucibus mollis interdum. Vestibulum id ligula porta felis euismod.
Post TitleNormal Paragraph, Morbi leo risus, porta ac consectetur ac, vestibulum at eros. Donec ullamcorper nulla non metus auctor fringilla. Fusce dapibus, tellus ac cursus commodo, tortor mauris condimentum nibh, ut fermentum massa justo sit amet risus. Praesent commodo cursus magna, vel scelerisque nisl consectetur et. Maecenas faucibus mollis interdum. Vestibulum id ligula porta felis euismod.
Post TitleNormal Paragraph, Morbi leo risus, porta ac consectetur ac, vestibulum at eros. Donec ullamcorper nulla non metus auctor fringilla. Fusce dapibus, tellus ac cursus commodo, tortor mauris condimentum nibh, ut fermentum massa justo sit amet risus. Praesent commodo cursus magna, vel scelerisque nisl consectetur et. Maecenas faucibus mollis interdum. Vestibulum id ligula porta felis euismod.
Post TitleNormal Paragraph, Morbi leo risus, porta ac consectetur ac, vestibulum at eros. Donec ullamcorper nulla non metus auctor fringilla. Fusce dapibus, tellus ac cursus commodo, tortor mauris condimentum nibh, ut fermentum massa justo sit amet risus. Praesent commodo cursus magna, vel scelerisque nisl consectetur et. Maecenas faucibus mollis interdum. Vestibulum id ligula porta felis euismod.
Home PageLists posts from newest to oldest, blog style(aka index.php, home.php, front-page.php)
Header
Footer
Sidebar
Post Title
Normal Paragraph, Morbi leo risus, porta ac consectetur ac, vestibulum at eros. Donec ullamcorper nulla non metus auctor fringilla. Fusce dapibus, tellus ac cursus commodo, tortor mauris condimentum nibh, ut fermentum massa justo sit amet risus. Praesent commodo cursus magna, vel scelerisque nisl consectetur et. Maecenas faucibus mollis interdum. Vestibulum id ligula porta felis euismod.
Normal Paragraph, Morbi leo risus, porta ac consectetur ac, vestibulum at eros. Donec ullamcorper nulla non metus auctor fringilla. Fusce dapibus, tellus ac cursus commodo, tortor mauris condimentum nibh, ut fermentum massa justo sit amet risus. Praesent commodo cursus magna, vel scelerisque nisl consectetur et. Maecenas faucibus mollis interdum. Vestibulum id ligula porta felis euismod.
Normal Paragraph, Morbi leo risus, porta ac consectetur ac, vestibulum at eros. Donec ullamcorper nulla non metus auctor fringilla. Fusce dapibus, tellus ac cursus commodo, tortor mauris condimentum nibh, ut fermentum massa justo sit amet risus. Praesent commodo cursus magna, vel scelerisque nisl consectetur et. Maecenas faucibus mollis interdum. Vestibulum id ligula porta felis euismod.
September 1, 2013 * By Author Name
File Under: CategoryTag, Tag, Tag, Tag
Normal Paragraph, Morbi leo risus, porta ac consectetur ac, vestibulum at eros. Donec ullamcorper nulla non metus auctor fringilla. Fusce dapibus, tellus ac cursus commodo, tortor mauris condimentum nibh, ut fermentum massa justo sit amet risus. Praesent commodo cursus magna, vel scelerisque nisl consectetur et. Maecenas faucibus mollis interdum. Vestibulum id ligula porta felis euismod.
Leave a Comment:
PostDisplays a single post and comments
(aka single.php)
Header
Footer
Sidebar
Page Title
Normal Paragraph, Morbi leo risus, porta ac consectetur ac, vestibulum at eros. Donec ullamcorper nulla non metus auctor fringilla. Fusce dapibus, tellus ac cursus commodo, tortor mauris condimentum nibh, ut fermentum massa justo sit amet risus. Praesent commodo cursus magna, vel scelerisque nisl consectetur et. Maecenas faucibus mollis interdum. Vestibulum id ligula porta felis euismod.
Normal Paragraph, Morbi leo risus, porta ac consectetur ac, vestibulum at eros. Donec ullamcorper nulla non metus auctor fringilla. Fusce dapibus, tellus ac cursus commodo, tortor mauris condimentum nibh, ut fermentum massa justo sit amet risus. Praesent commodo cursus magna, vel scelerisque nisl consectetur et. Maecenas faucibus mollis interdum. Vestibulum id ligula porta felis euismod.
Normal Paragraph, Morbi leo risus, porta ac consectetur ac, vestibulum at eros. Donec ullamcorper nulla non metus auctor fringilla. Fusce dapibus, tellus ac cursus commodo, tortor mauris condimentum nibh, ut fermentum massa justo sit amet risus. Praesent commodo cursus magna, vel scelerisque nisl consectetur et. Maecenas faucibus mollis interdum. Vestibulum id ligula porta felis euismod.
September 1, 2013 * By Author Name
File Under: CategoryTag, Tag, Tag, Tag
Normal Paragraph, Morbi leo risus, porta ac consectetur ac, vestibulum at eros. Donec ullamcorper nulla non metus auctor fringilla. Fusce dapibus, tellus ac cursus commodo, tortor mauris condimentum nibh, ut fermentum massa justo sit amet risus. Praesent commodo cursus magna, vel scelerisque nisl consectetur et. Maecenas faucibus mollis interdum. Vestibulum id ligula porta felis euismod.
Leave a Comment:
PageDisplays a single page
(aka page.php*)
* if page.php doesn’t exist, WordPress uses single.php for pages
Header
Footer
Sidebar
Post TitleNormal Paragraph, Morbi leo risus, porta ac consectetur ac, vestibulum at eros. Donec ullamcorper nulla non metus auctor fringilla. Fusce dapibus, tellus ac cursus commodo, tortor mauris condimentum nibh, ut fermentum massa justo sit amet risus. Praesent commodo cursus magna, vel scelerisque nisl consectetur et. Maecenas faucibus mollis interdum. Vestibulum id ligula porta felis euismod.
Post TitleNormal Paragraph, Morbi leo risus, porta ac consectetur ac, vestibulum at eros. Donec ullamcorper nulla non metus auctor fringilla. Fusce dapibus, tellus ac cursus commodo, tortor mauris condimentum nibh, ut fermentum massa justo sit amet risus. Praesent commodo cursus magna, vel scelerisque nisl consectetur et. Maecenas faucibus mollis interdum. Vestibulum id ligula porta felis euismod.
Post TitleNormal Paragraph, Morbi leo risus, porta ac consectetur ac, vestibulum at eros. Donec ullamcorper nulla non metus auctor fringilla. Fusce dapibus, tellus ac cursus commodo, tortor mauris condimentum nibh, ut fermentum massa justo sit amet risus. Praesent commodo cursus magna, vel scelerisque nisl consectetur et. Maecenas faucibus mollis interdum. Vestibulum id ligula porta felis euismod.
Post TitleNormal Paragraph, Morbi leo risus, porta ac consectetur ac, vestibulum at eros. Donec ullamcorper nulla non metus auctor fringilla. Fusce dapibus, tellus ac cursus commodo, tortor mauris condimentum nibh, ut fermentum massa justo sit amet risus. Praesent commodo cursus magna, vel scelerisque nisl consectetur et. Maecenas faucibus mollis interdum. Vestibulum id ligula porta felis euismod.
Post TitleNormal Paragraph, Morbi leo risus, porta ac consectetur ac, vestibulum at eros. Donec ullamcorper nulla non metus auctor fringilla. Fusce dapibus, tellus ac cursus commodo, tortor mauris condimentum nibh, ut fermentum massa justo sit amet risus. Praesent commodo cursus magna, vel scelerisque nisl consectetur et. Maecenas faucibus mollis interdum. Vestibulum id ligula porta felis euismod.
Archive: Category, Tag, Date, or Author
Archives(aka archive.php, category.php,
tag.php, author.php)
Getting More Specific
category.php → category-baking.php
page.php → page-about.php
single.php → single-products.php
Templates for Page Parts
Page Content
Header
Footer
Sidebar
Header(aka header.php)
Page Content
Header
Footer
Sidebar
Footer(aka footer.php)
Page Content
Header
Footer
Sidebar
Sidebar(aka sidebar.php)
Content(aka content.php, content-audio.php, etc.)
Page Content
Header
Footer
Sidebar
Template Master GuideThe Template Hierarchy Diagram (don’t let the name scare you)
h"p://codex.wordpress.org/Template_Hierarchy
What about those other files & folders?
functions.php
• Used to enable theme features (menus, widget areas, featured images, etc.).
• Can be used to do anything a plugin can do.
style.css
• The most important file in your theme.
• Controls all design elements:
• All type settings (style, size, color, line spacing, margins, etc.).
• Positioning of layout, sidebars, header, footer, and everything else.
• Anything you think of as “design” is probably controlled by CSS
The same WordPress site without CSS...
Customizing Your Theme
Theme CustomizerThe “No Code” Way to Customize
But what about bigger changes?
CSSIt’s code, but at least it’s not PHP
h1.site-‐;tle {color: #040393;font-‐size: 2em;font-‐style: italic;
}
.site-‐main {background-‐color: #011033;
}
div#navbar { background: #990000;}.nav-‐menu li a { color: #fff;}
.site-‐header .home-‐link { min-‐height: 150px;}
How do I know what CSS classes to use?
Before you change any CSS or
a theme template
Start With a Child Theme
• A child theme protects your customizations.
• Child theme templates and styles override the parent theme.
PHPI said *almost* no PHP
When You Need to “Know” PHP
• To change some common content element on a page (“Leave a comment”)
• To add or remove content elements on a page (title, date, category, etc.)
• Add a WordPress feature (menu, widget area, featured image, etc.)
Inside a Template File
• PHP
• HTML
• Sometimes JavaScript
• CSS is in a stylesheet not the templates
Ready to Dig Deeper Into WordPress Themes?
Theme Mechanics Workshop
• Five weekly sessions on WordPress themes (60 minutes each).
• In-depth coverage of WordPress theme topics.
• Learn how to customize your themes.
• Q&A with each session.
• Replays available in workshop member portal.
• Session content will be shaped by your feedback and needs.
Workshop Topics• Setting up a WordPress theme lab on your PC or Mac.
• Working with the WordPress loop.
• Customizing theme templates: add common features like menus, widget areas, custom headers and footers, WP customization features (with child themes, of course).
• Creating custom page templates.
• Framework and starter themes. What they are and when to use them.
• Debugging. Fixing stuff when it breaks.
Prerequisites
• You should be familiar working with WordPress.
• You should know a bit about HTML and CSS.
• PHP knowledge is not essential, but you should expect to learn some along the way.
More Information at:http://workshop.wpapprentice.com
Code Editor Features
• Color code highlighting
• Line numbering
• Code completion
• Unicode support
Recommended