Any Theme can be a parent

And you can do it with your hands

What Are Child Themes?

• Inherit Templates From a Parent unless you say otherwise
• As little as a style.css file, as much as you want it to be
• Template: PARENT DIRNAME

File Structure

• wp-content

  • themes

    • twentyten

      • 404.php
      • …
      • tag.php

    • jorbinten

      • style.css
      • functions.php

style.css

/*
Theme Name: Thirty Ten
Theme URI: http://aaron.jorb.in/thirty-ten
Description: A child theme of 2010.
Author: Aaron Jorbin based on work by the WordPress team
Author URI: http://aaron.jorb.in/
Version: 1.1
Template: twentyten
*/

@import url('../twentyten/style.css');
		

Same as a regular theme, except we define a Template (which is the Parent's Directory) and then import the parents style sheet

Why Use Child Themes

• Good Developers are Lazy Developers
• Speed Matters
• Makes Updates Easier

Examples

Twenty Ten

• READ THE 2010 SOURCE!
• PHPDOCS and conversational docs
• A tutorial in and of itself

Template Hierarchy

get_template_part

• Used to get an overridable file
• Parameter 1: File ; Parameter 2: Context
• Example: get_template_part( 'loop', 'index' );
  • loop-index.php in child theme
  • loop-index.php in parent theme
  • loop.php in child theme
  • loop.php in parent theme

Play to your strengths

PHP?

Use a framework like Thematic (Over 150 hooks)

CSS?

Choose a theme that has every element you need

Javascript?

Do Magic

Rich?

Hire someone who knows what they are doing

Let's Build a Child Theme

Final Tips

• Version Control
• Read Code that others are writing
• Know what your parents are doing