• Home
  • Archive
  • Tools
  • Contact Us

The Customize Windows

Technology Journal

  • Cloud Computing
  • Computer
  • Digital Photography
  • Windows 7
  • Archive
  • Cloud Computing
  • Virtualization
  • Computer and Internet
  • Digital Photography
  • Android
  • Sysadmin
  • Electronics
  • Big Data
  • Virtualization
  • Downloads
  • Web Development
  • Apple
  • Android
Advertisement
You are here: Home » Create a free child theme of your own in WordPress

By Abhishek Ghosh March 28, 2011 4:52 am Updated on October 17, 2014

Create a free child theme of your own in WordPress

Advertisement

The principle of child theme is to enable the modification and adding features to a parent theme without introducing any change to the parent theme. The major advantage is the ability to receive updates for the parent theme while continuing changes in the child theme. Two minutes effort is  enough to create a child theme! Not that you need premium platform based themesCreate a free child theme like Thesis, Genesis; you can use free theme like Twenty Ten for creating a child theme. Another advantage is, you can create special occasion themes (basically the same theme with minor graphical parts added) for Christmas, New year etc. With a few clicks, you will be able to switch between the themes.

 

Method of creating the child theme

With WordPress, create a child theme is really easy.

 

  • Create a new folder in the folder <span style="background: #E9EEF3;">/ wp-content/themes/Name_of_the_Theme_you_are_using</span>;
  • Create the CSS style sheet named <span style="background: #E9EEF3;">style.css</span> inside it; to create a style sheet, simply open your text editor (such as Notepad, write the codes inside it, name it as  <span style="background: #E9EEF3;">style.css</span> and save as “All files” and save it. Thats it.

 

Copy / paste the following lines of code:

Advertisement

---

/ *Theme Name: Twenty Ten Child themeDescription: Child Theme for Twenty TenAuthor: The author's nameTemplate: TwentyTen* /@ Import url ("../ TwentyTen / style.css ");# Style1 {float: left;}

 

Enter the URL of the stylesheet of the parent theme <span style="background: #E9EEF3;">@import url("../twentyten/style.css")</span>; and the name of the parent theme in <span style="background: #E9EEF3;">Template: twentyten</span> (for this tutorial) and start coding styles. What ever you write here will override the default Twenty Ten’s css style. If you do not write, it will follow Twenty Ten’s CSS. For example, you have created a css style for Blockquote, but not Make it clear. This is very important.

About other theme files

 

The child theme will inherit all the features of the parent theme. In fact, only files that are added in the theme folder child surpass those of the parent theme.

If you want to change the <span style="background: #E9EEF3;">header.php</span> to some other free theme’s, simply copy that php file, paste and save this file to the child. Ditto for all the WordPress template like widgeted footer.

 

Foot note for widgeted footer: the second theme (from which you are copying) might have 4 columns, but you need 3 columns. Simply delete the codes for the forth column (you will understand by noticing declaration in the php file where it begins and ends). You must define the css style for the widgeted footer in child theme’s css style sheet.

 

You can also simply adding a CSS style sheet and multiply the purely visual changes while maintaining the structure of the HTML pattern of the parent theme. This technique is common for paid premium themes. This allows designers to offer several appearances for the same theme.

 

Warning for the file functions.php

 

Unlike other theme files ( <span style="background: #E9EEF3;">index.php</span>, <span style="background: #E9EEF3;"> single.php</span>, etc..), The <span style="background: #E9EEF3;">functions.php</span> will not be overwritten by the theme of the child – if it exists. It will instead load just before the parent theme <span style="background: #E9EEF3;">functions.php</span>. So you can add functionality to the parent theme without “breaking” it.

Use a child theme is a really a time and money saver for both the developer and for the webmaster who will no longer have to worry about changes. A theme in terms of own source code and a theme for the child wishes to customize.

 

Steps you must follow:

 

  • Create an offline WordPress blog in your computer. You can follow our tutorial for this.
  • Take a backup and name separately everytime you make changes.
  • You can name the Child theme as you like. But, the stylesheet in child theme must declair that name.
  • Take a screenshot of your newly developed child theme and save as screenshot.png ; otherwise you will not get the preview from your WordPress Manage Themes console. Here is an example:

 

free child theme of your own in WordPress Signature

This Article Has Been Shared 963 Times!

Facebook Twitter Pinterest

Abhishek Ghosh

About Abhishek Ghosh

Abhishek Ghosh is a Businessman, Surgeon, Author and Blogger. You can keep touch with him on Twitter - @AbhishekCTRL.

Here’s what we’ve got for you which might like :

Articles Related to Create a free child theme of your own in WordPress

  • Create mouse hover effect for button using CSS sprite

    You must have noticed buttons in various websites that change its appearance on mouse hover. Here is tutorial on how to create very easily.

  • 30 ways to increase the readability of your blog

    One of the most important aspect in the design of a blog is readability, how easy it is to read your content. People come to your blog to read articles, and if they are easier to read, the better.

  • Customize the width of body and sidebar of WordPress blog

    You can easily customize your Wordpress theme’s width of content area and sidebar widget area by manipulating the CSS file.

  • Making of WordPress theme : softwares and browsers addons

    List of the most useful tools needed for designing and coding a Wordpress theme.

  • Introduction to faster loading of your Website

    We are are listing the best practices for making a website load faster.

Additionally, performing a search on this website can help you. Also, we have YouTube Videos.

Take The Conversation Further ...

We'd love to know your thoughts on this article.
Meet the Author over on Twitter to join the conversation right now!

If you want to Advertise on our Article or want a Sponsored Article, you are invited to Contact us.

Contact Us

Subscribe To Our Free Newsletter

Get new posts by email:

Please Confirm the Subscription When Approval Email Will Arrive in Your Email Inbox as Second Step.

Search this website…

 

Popular Articles

Our Homepage is best place to find popular articles!

Here Are Some Good to Read Articles :

  • Cloud Computing Service Models
  • What is Cloud Computing?
  • Cloud Computing and Social Networks in Mobile Space
  • ARM Processor Architecture
  • What Camera Mode to Choose
  • Indispensable MySQL queries for custom fields in WordPress
  • Windows 7 Speech Recognition Scripting Related Tutorials

Social Networks

  • Pinterest (24.3K Followers)
  • Twitter (5.8k Followers)
  • Facebook (5.7k Followers)
  • LinkedIn (3.7k Followers)
  • YouTube (1.3k Followers)
  • GitHub (Repository)
  • GitHub (Gists)
Looking to publish sponsored article on our website?

Contact us

Recent Posts

  • Is it Good to Run Apache Web server and MySQL Database on Separate Cloud Servers? March 27, 2023
  • Advantages of Cloud Server Over Dedicated Server for Hosting WordPress March 26, 2023
  • Get Audiophile-Grade Music on Your Smartphone March 25, 2023
  • Simple Windows Security and Privacy Checklist for 2023 March 24, 2023
  • 7 Best Artificial Intelligence (AI) Software March 24, 2023

About This Article

Cite this article as: Abhishek Ghosh, "Create a free child theme of your own in WordPress," in The Customize Windows, March 28, 2011, March 28, 2023, https://thecustomizewindows.com/2011/03/create-a-free-child-theme-of-your-own-in-wordpress/.

Source:The Customize Windows, JiMA.in

PC users can consult Corrine Chorney for Security.

Want to know more about us? Read Notability and Mentions & Our Setup.

Copyright © 2023 - The Customize Windows | dESIGNed by The Customize Windows

Copyright  · Privacy Policy  · Advertising Policy  · Terms of Service  · Refund Policy

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie SettingsAccept
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT