Bootstrap Genesis Child Theme can easily be created by modifying the default CSS of existing Eleven Forty Child Theme plus some custom templates. Here is how. This Bootstrap Genesis Child Theme Guide not any ready made solution, but a sane way of adding and combining features of Bootstrap and Genesis Framework for the best customized, responsive modern look and the snippet rich SEO friendly structure. If your need is for a ready made Bootstrap Genesis Child Theme, please search GitHub, there are few available as ready made solution or you can read this important resource cum tutorial, read this Twitter Bootstrap for WordPress article.
Bootstrap Genesis Child Theme : Understanding Both Genesis Framework and Bootstrap
Understanding how Genesis works from your heart is the most important factor for the closest look you want for the official Bootstrap look of your Bootstrap Genesis Child Theme or for creating something a bit customized like these :
1 | http://bootswatch.com/ |
There are excellent guides and tutorials written by Brian on studiopress.com and his personal blog, the good support forum and unofficial blogs like genesistutorials.com. Genesis actually is not like other ‘determined not to change’ Theme or Theme Framework, the best reason behind Genesis works great is due to excellent intermingling with WordPress base. The child themes might not look great to you but tweak can make them doing whatever you want. There are lot of Genesis Plugins which will help you to modify and get a custom look.
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Now about Bootstrap. Bootstrap is nothing but actually this : Twitter Bootstrap Design Website on Free Dropbox Cloud . I know very well, that there is big difference between Bootstrap and plain CSS and Javascript. But if you think in that way, you will be unable to get both Genesis and Bootstrap’s good things in your Bootstrap Genesis Child Theme.
Bootstrap Genesis Child Theme : Needed Tools
Genesis Theme Framework and Eleven40 Theme. Eleven40 is ready to be tweaked :
1 | http://demo.studiopress.com/eleven40/ |
The other tools are Gedit in case you are using Windows PC, in other words a Text Editor with Syntax Highlighting , Adobe Photoshop like good software, measurement tools (software not measuring tape), color picker tool to get hex value and most importantly – a sane, good, practical plan.
Bootstrap Genesis Child Theme : What is the sane, good, practical plan ?

You need not to become a Bootstrap specialist to create Bootstrap Genesis Child Theme. We have actually shown you that any CSS or Javascript can be loaded within the WordPress Text Editor. There are many such tweaks of ‘injection’ method. This is to give you the impression that for special effects stuffs, you can actually use conditional, handcoded, custom templates to create great looking theme. Here is the blueprint of such sane tips for creating your own Bootstrap Genesis Child Theme :
- The dropdown of Genesis (Superfish) is a jQuery function – it brings submenu on hover, Bootsrap by default will require a click. That is not practical for a Blog as we need the menu name as hyperlink too. This is very easy mod by only modification of the CSS file of Eleven40.
- Quite obviously, in general you will change some button, sidebar book etc. all are actually easy to do with only CSS file modification.
- Sidebar must be a practical thought, it is a blog not Twitter, if stuffs floats up and people wrongly clicks the AdSense units, your $1000 cheque from AdSense for next month is not going to be in your hand anymore.
- The most important thing about creating your own Bootstrap Genesis Child Theme is – you can actually create custom home.php or index.html for the home page for fully different look from the blog page template. In other words, call custom css and js of Bootstrap only on the pages you really need.
- Again, there is more in WordPress and Genesis than in Bootstrap, it is a great project and looks great, we can easily port the look to create Bootstrap Genesis Child Theme. I will advice to load the css and js from a CDN like Rackspace Cloud Files.
Thanks to Dr. Ruchi for asking to write a guide.
