When it comes to designing a website, you can take two main approaches. You can start from scratch or build upon an existing framework. If you’re starting a WordPress site, the chances are good that you’ll want to use a theme as your foundation.
There are two types of WordPress themes: parent themes and child themes. This post will focus on child themes and explain what they are and why you might want to use one.
So what exactly is a WordPress child theme?
A child theme is a theme that inherits the functionality of another theme, called the parent theme. Child themes are often used when you want to customize or change the style of a WordPress theme without losing the ability to update that parent theme.
A child theme consists of two parts:
The first part is the child theme directory, which contains all the stylesheet files, template files, images, and JavaScript files.
The second part is the functions.php file located in the parent theme directory. This provides a way to modify how a WordPress site works without editing any existing code in the parent theme.
When you create a new child theme, you must include both parts. The easiest way to do this is by using a plugin like WP Child Theme Generator.
Once you have created your child theme, you can activate it by going to the Appearance > Themes page in your WordPress admin panel.
You should now see your child theme listed as an available theme. Click on the Activate link to switch to your child theme.
Benefits of using a child theme
Now that you know what a WordPress child theme is and how to create one, let’s look at some of the benefits of using a child theme.
One of the biggest advantages of using a child theme is that it allows you to change your site without affecting the parent theme.
You can delete the child theme and revert to the parent theme without losing any of your changes if something goes wrong.
Another advantage of using a child theme is that it makes it easier to update the parent theme.
If you change a parent theme, those changes will be lost when you update the parent theme.
However, if you have a child theme, your changes will remain intact even after updating the parent theme.
This is because the files in your child theme override the files in the parent theme.
A child theme is a great way to save time and headaches when changing your WordPress site. By using a child theme, you can ensure that your changes will not be lost when the parent theme is updated.
