WordPress Themes Demystified

WordPress Themes Demystified

Melbourne WordPress User Meetup 12 November 2014

Chris  Burgess  -­‐  h,p://chrisburgess.com.au  -­‐  @chrisburgess  

Making Your Site Truly Unique - Themes & Customisation

We will begin with a brief overview of what themes are and what they can do for your site. Then we will move on to cover: •  Where to find a theme •  How to determine the right theme for you (for now) •  Some gotchas to watch out for •  How to install your theme •  How to make your theme look like the demo •  Taking customisation to the next level

Topics  as  per  the  Meetup.com  agenda…  

Dashboard > Themes

Where to find a theme

•  WordPress Theme Directory •  Theme Developers/Vendors •  Marketplaces •  Developing Your Own

How to install your theme

Theme Details

How to determine the right theme for you (for now)

•  What type of website you have or need •  Themes are often tailored to a specific type of site,

keep this in mind •  Reviews and feedback •  Documentation •  Support •  Is it actively developed?

Some gotchas to watch out for

•  Functionality •  Poorly Supported •  Widgets (if switching themes) •  Custom Post Types

Note on Custom Post Types

How to make your theme look like the demo

•  Documentation •  XML Demo Data

Anatomy of the WordPress Theme

h,p://codex.wordpress.org/images/9/96/wp-­‐template-­‐hierarchy.jpg  

Anatomy of the WordPress Theme

•  https://yoast.com/wordpress-theme-anatomy/

Theme Frameworks

WooFramework

Genesis

Gantry

Thesis

Thematic

Note: Some of these aren’t technically ‘frameworks’ – however they’re

popular page builder style products

iThemes

Elegant Themes/Divi

Headway

Themify

PageLines

Starter Themes

_s (underscores)

Roots

Quark

Bones

Marketplaces

ThemeForest

MOJO Themes

Taking customisation to the next level

•  PHP •  HTML/CSS •  JavaScript •  WordPress

–  codex.wordpress.org –  make.wordpress.org

Customiser Example 1

Customiser Example 1

Handy Tools

wptest.io

Theme Test Drive

Theme Check (plugin)

Theme Authenticity Checker

ThemeCheck.org

Check for TimThumb

•  https://wordpress.org/plugins/timthumb-vulnerability-scanner/

WP-Compatibility

Where to next?

•  WordPress Codex –  http://codex.wordpress.org/Theme_Development –  https://make.wordpress.org/core/handbook/coding-

standards/ –  https://make.wordpress.org/core/handbook/coding-

standards/css/

•  The #wpmelb Developer Meetup –  http://www.meetup.com/WordPress-Melbourne/

Thanks/Questions?

Chris Burgess Twitter: @chrisburgess Web: http://chrisburgess.com.au LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisburgesscomau