WordPress Child Theme Generator

WordPress is the most popular blogging software that is frequently used for various types of websites. One of the best things about WordPress asides from being open-source and can be used for any purposes, WordPress is supported by tens of thousands themes that can rock your website appearance.

The looks and feel of your website depending on the theme you are using, so you'd like to customize it all around until it fits your desire. One of the best ways to customize or modify your site looks is by using WordPress Child Theme, in which you can host all of your tweaks or custom modification codes without being overridden by the parent theme's update.

So go in-depth about the two, parent and child relations in using WordPress, let's get to know what is parent and child theme.

In WordPress, what is a parent theme?

A parent theme is a whole theme. That is, it contains the WordPress template files and assets necessary for the theme to function.

The only needed template files are index.php and style.css (the primary template and style files, respectively). Most themes, on the other hand, will comprise PHP files, localization files, images, Javascript, and/or text files.

Except for kid themes, all themes are considered parent themes. Let's look more closely at what a child theme is and the advantages it provides WordPress site owners below.

What is a WordPress Child Theme?

A child theme is a sub-theme that inherits the parent theme's appearance, feel, and functionalities. When you make changes to the child theme, they are maintained separate from the files in the parent theme.

The Advantages of Creating a WordPress Child Theme

First and foremost, building a child theme allows you to update the parent theme while retaining your adjustments. Without a child theme, you'd have to alter your theme files directly, and any updates to the theme would wipe all your adjustments. As a result, you'd be forced to make an untenable choice: either not update your theme, which poses a significant security risk, or lose your modifications and the time you spent building them.

The second and third advantages of establishing and modifying a child theme are similar to the first. Keeping these changes distinct from your theme makes them simple to copy or transfer from one site to the next.

It also allows you to begin learning about and experimenting with theme creation in a low-risk setting. If you start customising your child theme and something goes wrong or you are dissatisfied, you may simply disable it. This will return the parent theme and your website to their original state.

However, creating a child theme is not always the best solution. Creating a child theme is useful if you're largely implementing custom CSS. However, if you're making major changes to the theme's functionality, you'll be better off establishing a parent theme or picking an option that already has a child theme that you can alter right away.

Let's walk through the process of generating and modifying a child theme now that we understand the benefits and optimal usage cases.

How to Create a Child Theme in WordPress

It merely takes a few steps to create a child theme in WordPress. You can create a WordPress Child Theme using the free WordPress Child Theme Generator. Just enter all fields and click the Generate WordPress Child Theme button. Your child theme will be generated instantly in no time and ready to download as a .zip file, containing all the minimum required files.

After downloading the child theme's .zip file, just follow these simple steps to upload your newly generated WordPress Child Theme:

How to upload your WordPress Child Theme

1. Login to your WordPress dashboard.
2. Inside admin area, go to Appearance menu then click the Themes submenu.
3. At the top section, click Add New button then click Upload Theme button.
4. Now upload your newly generated Child Theme's .zip file.
5. The process should be done immediately, now you can modify it however you want.
6. The modifications you make in your Child Theme won't be overridden if your Parent Theme is updated, so it's really safe to make modifications using WordPress Child Theme.

That's all there is to it. Modify the child theme as much as you want, but don't forget to modify it on localhost or backup your site first to prevent things go wrong.