#psuweb13 WORDPRESS THEMES 101 A WORDPRESS THEME INTRO WORKSHOP

#psuweb13#

DIFFERENT TYPES OF THEMES FRAMEWORKS, PARENTS AND CHILD THEMES

#psuweb13# FRAMEWORKS, PARENTS & CHILDREN Parent Theme A base theme that sets up functionality Can be extended Must be written to allow overrides Child Theme Extends a parent theme Can carry over or override elements from parent Cannot be extended without plugins Framework Not a full theme; more of a plugin for a theme Allows creation of parent and child themes with shared functionality

#psuweb13# EXAMPLES Hybrid Core is a framework. - No theme structure Full package goes inside parent theme Genesis “Framework” is a parent theme - Has a theme structure Can be used on its own Does not go inside of another theme TwentyTwelve is a parent theme - Although it has less of a framework built in, same concept as Genesis “Education” is a child theme - Cannot be used without Genesis (parent theme) installed

#psuweb13 STARTING A THEME BASIC ELEMENTS OF ALL THEMES

#psuweb13# REQUIRED FILES CSS Stylesheet (style.css)* Implements the CSS for the theme Not included by default enqueue it in functions.php or use ”/> in Provides base information about the theme Theme name, URI, version, license, etc. ( Index (index.php) Implements the structure of the theme Can be split out into multiple files Acts as fallback for all pages** * - style.css is the only file required in a child theme; all others fallback to parent theme ** - the Template Hierarchy governs which files are used for each page; index is the final fallback

#psuweb13# TYPICAL THEME FILES Theme Functions (functions.php) Central location for function, variable, constant defintions used in theme Included automatically by theme engine before after_setup_theme action Default Sidebar (sidebar.php) Outputs default sidebar (get_sidebar()) Default WordPress Loop (loop.php) Not included automatically by theme Used to separate “the loop”*** from other structure Comments Template (comments.php) List of comments and comment form; use comments_template() to include Search (search.php) Search results template; automatically used on search results page

#psuweb13# MOAR THEME FILES Automatic Template Files (page.php, 404.php, single.php) Used automatically based on type of page being shown; Overrides index.php (see the Template Hierarchy) Miscellaneous Files (sidebar-[slug].php, etc.) Include with the get_template_part( ‘sidebar’, ‘[slug]’ ) function Sidebar, header and footer files can be included with: get_sidebar( ‘[slug]’ ) get_header( ‘[slug]’ ) get_footer( ‘[slug]’ ) Header and Footer (header.php, footer.php) Not included automatically Call with get_header() & get_footer()

#psuweb13 TEMPLATE HIERARCHY HOW WORDPRESS DECIDES WHAT FILE TO USE

#psuweb13# THE WORDPRESS TEMPLATE HIERARCHY WordPress automatically searches for appropriate theme template file

#psuweb13 THE LOOP THE MAIN CONTENT AREA OF YOUR THEME

#psuweb13# What is “The Loop”? The Loop outputs the main content area Loops through all matching content objects if ( have_posts() ) : while ( have_posts() ) : the_post(); // Output all of your content endwhile; endif; have_posts() and the_post() Global methods of main query object ($wp_query) have_posts() generates array of “post” objects the_post() sets global variables related to current post object

#psuweb13# Other “Loop” Functions Inside the loop, various functions are available the_title() – echoes the title of the current post the_content() – echoes the body of the current post the_post_thumbnail() – echoes the “featured image” for current post

#psuweb13# MOAR LOOP TIPS If you need to use the same query loop more than once: Use rewind_posts() to reset the loop to be used again You can start your own loop with a custom query: $myquery = new WP_Query( ‘[query parameters go here]’ ); if ( $myquery->have_posts() ) : while ( $myquery- >have_posts() ) : $myquery->the_post(); // Your custom loop stuff here endwhile; endif; Don’t alter the global $wp_query or use query_posts() unless you know what you’re doing Use get_posts() or create your own loop, instead

#psuweb13 ON ONE CONDITION USING CONDITIONAL FUNCTIONS IN YOUR THEME

#psuweb13# USING CONDITIONAL FUNCTIONS Identify where you are: is_home() – on the default home page (or the “posts” page if set in Settings) is_front_page() – on the static front page (set in Settings) is_admin() / is_network_admin() – anywhere in the admin area (not on the login page) is_single() / is_page() / is_attachment() / is_singular( $post_type ) –single content entry is_post_type_archive() – a list of content entries from a specific content type is_category() / is_tag() / is_tax() – a list of content entries with a specific taxonomy is_404() – a non-existent page is_search() – showing the list of search results is_feed() – is a structured feed (RSS, Atom, etc.)

#psuweb13# TESTING CONDITIONS Not just where you are, but what features are available: has_post_thumbnail() – whether or not the “featured image” is set has_excerpt() – whether a manual excerpt is set for the content is_active_sidebar() – whether a widgetized area (“sidebar”) has any widgets has_nav_menu() – whether a custom menu location has a menu assigned is_multisite() – whether the site is part of a multisite network is_plugin_active() – whether a specific plugin is active on the site wp_script_is() & wp_style_is() – whether a script/stylesheet has been registered, enqueued, printed, etc.

#psuweb13 PUTTING THINGS TOGETHER USING THIS KNOWLEDGE TO BUILD A THEME

#psuweb13# MAPPING IT OUT Choose what to build Full theme Child theme – only requires style.css; all others are optional Theme based on framework – requirements differ based on framework Fulfill requirements style.css wp_head() wp_footer() Install and test it Don’t be afraid to split things out; use get_template_part() to include additional theme pieces

#psuweb13 CREATING THE THEME TURNING A DESIGN INTO A WORDPRESS THEME

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# STEP 1: DESIGN Identify goals Wireframe and design Layout priorities Final template design Initial HTML layout

#psuweb13# STEP 2: DIVIDE AND CONQUER Identify layout elements Identify content elements Identify visual decoration Determine common elements Identify alternative layouts

#psuweb13# STEP 3: DEVELOP Begin developing basic layout Separate layout elements from content elements Replace content elements with placeholders Create layout structure and style Develop content containers (body, widgets, footer, header, etc.) Develop custom functionality

#psuweb13# QUESTIONS? COMMENTS? Website(s): (Multi-Network Setup) (SVN Repo) (WP resources for Higher Ed) SpeakerRate: