- \nInstalling the Child Theme Configurator plugin<\/a>\n\n<\/li>\n
- Plugin configurations<\/a>\n\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- Method 3: Create a WordPress child theme manually (using code, without plugin)<\/a>\n\n\n
- \nCreate a folder for your child theme<\/a>\n\n<\/li>\n
- Child theme folder structure<\/a>\n\n\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- Conclustion<\/a>\n<\/li><\/ul>\n\n
What is a WordPress child theme and why do you need it?<\/h2>\n\n\n
A WordPress child theme is a theme that inherits the functionality and styling of another theme, called the parent theme. Child themes are the recommended way to modify an existing theme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The child theme can be used to add new features or to make styling changes. The installation process is the same as regular themes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The advantage of using a child theme is that if you make changes to the parent theme, your changes will be preserved when the parent theme is updated.<\/strong> That is something you don’t need to happen because you will have to redo all the changes and modifications that you have done in your theme files. In simple words, you can use a child theme to customize your parent theme without having to edit the original files of your existing theme (parent theme). <\/p>\n\n\n
Method 1:<\/strong> Download WordPress child theme<\/h2>\n\n\n
Wait, what? Yes, this is the easiest way. Will it work for all the themes? Absolutely, not. That’s why we have listed 2 other ways to create WordPress child theme. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Suppose, you are using a prevalent theme like GeneratePress, Astra, or Kdence themes. The chances of finding the original child theme are very high. You just have to Google ‘Your theme name’ download the child theme<\/em> \ud83d\ude04 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you have purchased the theme from a place like ThemeForest<\/a>, you can find the child theme from the zip file bundle downloaded from the website. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
That was the easiest method. Let’s dive deeper to find other options. <\/p>\n\n\n
Method 2:<\/strong> Create a WordPress child theme using a plugin (removable plugin)<\/h2>\n\n\n
There are multiple WordPress plugins that you can use to create a child theme. In this tutorial, I will use the most popular and the most reliable option. Child Theme Configurator <\/a>is a fast and easy-to-use WordPress utility plugin that allows you to analyze any theme, create a child theme, and customize it beyond the options of the Customizer. <\/p>\n\n\n
Installing the Child Theme Configurator plugin<\/h3>\n\n\n
1.<\/strong> Navigate to your WordPress dashboard and click on add new plugin<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
2. <\/strong>Search for the plugin “Child Theme Configurator<\/strong>.”<\/em>. Install and activate the plugin<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wpauthors.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Child-Theme-Configurator-1024x312.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\nPlugin configurations<\/h3>\n\n\n
1. <\/strong>After the activation, you need to navigate to Tools \u00bb Child Themes<\/em><\/strong> in your WordPress dashboard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wpauthors.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Child-Theme-Configurator-step-2-1024x208.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n2. <\/strong>On this page (you should be at the Parent\/Child tab), the plugin will automatically select the active theme as your parent theme. If you want, you can change the theme as your requirement. In my case, I need to create a child theme for the default WordPress theme called Twenty Twenty-Two. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now, go ahead and click on Analyze<\/em><\/strong> button.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
3.<\/strong> After a couple of seconds, the plugin will run some tests to verify the compatibility of your theme. In most cases, you won’t be facing any issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Next, the plugin will ask for a name for your new child theme directory. The default will be the name of your theme – child. If you are planning to rebrand the theme, feel free to provide a custom name for the directory. But, I recommend you to keep the default settings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wpauthors.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Child-Theme-Configurator-step-5-1024x86.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n4. <\/strong>Then, you can leave the default settings for the 5 and 6 sections. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
5. <\/strong>In section 7, click on “Click to Edit Child Theme Attributes.” You will see several text fields to edit. Feel free to add some custom values if you need to do so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"Child](\"https:\/\/wpauthors.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Child-Theme-Configurator-step-7-1024x268.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n6.<\/strong> In section 8, click on the checkbox to copy your theme settings, menus, and widget from your parent theme. This is an advantage over manual theme child theme creation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
You can ignore the warning basically, as I mentioned in the previous topic; if you are using a premium WordPress theme downloaded from a website like ThemeForest<\/a>, they provide a child theme with the theme bundle most of the time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wpauthors.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Child-Theme-Configurator-step-9-1024x133.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n7. <\/strong>Finally, click the button to create your new child theme<\/em><\/strong>. This will take about 5 to 15 seconds to prepare your theme. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now, you can navigate to Appearance \u00bb<\/em><\/strong> Themes<\/em><\/strong>. Then, you will see your new child theme. Go ahead and activate the theme. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Suppose you are considering removing the Child Theme Configurator<\/strong><\/em> plugin. You can do it now. The plugin is not necessary from now. If you need it in the future, you can install the theme plugin later. The plugin will recognize your theme and child theme without any configurations. <\/p>\n\n\n
Method 3:<\/strong> Create a WordPress child theme manually (using code, without plugin)<\/h2>\n\n\n
I should say that this method needs some coding experience, and you might need to have access to your file manager via your control panel, FTP, or a File Manager<\/a> plugin. But, in this article, I’m not going to use those. Instead, I’m going to create the child theme files on my local computer. <\/p>\n\n\n
Create a folder for your child theme<\/h3>\n\n\n
When naming the folder, make sure to use simple letters and use “-” for spaces\u2014for example, my-child-theme. You can create the folder wherever you like on your computer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In my case, I’m creating a child theme for the theme called Nave<\/em> so that I will name my folder as nave-child<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"create](\"https:\/\/wpauthors.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/child-theme-manual-step-1-1024x208.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\nChild theme folder structure<\/h3>\n\n\n
When we are creating a theme, WordPress expects two files (these two files are required). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
- style.css<\/li>
- functions.php<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n
creating style.css stylesheet (CSS)<\/h4>\n\n\n
The style.css is a stylesheet (CSS) file required for every WordPress theme. It controls the website presentation (visual design and layout). Also, it contains the identity of your theme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let’s create the file. Create a text file and rename the file to style.css<\/em><\/strong>. Now, you can open the file using your text editor. For windows, the notepad will work fine. For Mac, you can use the TextEdit app. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Time to do some copy-paste action \ud83d\ude03 Paste the following CSS comment into your style.css file.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\/*\nTheme Name: Neve Child\nTheme URI: https:\/\/example.org\/your-theme\/\nAuthor: WP Authors\nTemplate: neve\nVersion: 1.0\nDescription: Neve child theme\nLicense: GNU General Public License v2 or later\nLicense URI: http:\/\/www.gnu.org\/licenses\/gpl-2.0.html\nText Domain: neve-child\n*\/<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nThis is a CSS comment containing information about your new child theme. You can edit the following values to customize the theme with your information. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Theme Name<\/strong>: Name of your child theme.<\/li>
- Theme URI<\/strong>: The URL of a public web page where users can find more information about the theme. This is an optional property.<\/li>
- Author<\/strong>: The name of the individual or organization who developed the theme. Feel free to use your name or your organization name.<\/li>
- Template<\/strong>: The folder where the parent theme is stored. Use the folder name and not the theme name. Without this line, your theme won\u2019t work as a child theme. <\/li>
- Version<\/strong>: The version number<\/li>
- Description<\/strong>: Descriptive text to help users understand what the theme does.<\/li>
- License<\/strong>: The license, which must be GNU. [link] You can keep it as it is. <\/li>
- License<\/strong> URI<\/strong>: The link to information on the license. You can keep it as it is. <\/li>
- Text Domain<\/strong>: Use the text domain as the second parameter in any internationalization functions. Use your folder name<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
To find your parent theme folder name, you have to navigate to wp-content \u00bb<\/em><\/strong> themes <\/em><\/strong>directory using your file manager. I’m using the File Manager<\/a> WordPress plugin in this example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"wordpress](\"https:\/\/wpauthors.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/child-theme-manual-step-2-1024x185.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n - Theme URI<\/strong>: The URL of a public web page where users can find more information about the theme. This is an optional property.<\/li>
- Theme Name<\/strong>: Name of your child theme.<\/li>
- Child theme folder structure<\/a>\n\n\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- Plugin configurations<\/a>\n\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
![\"how](\"https:\/\/wpauthors.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/child-theme-manual-step-3-1024x334.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n