Understanding the child / parent theme relationship

1. What is a child theme vs parent theme?
2. What is a parent theme?
3. Can you make a child theme of a child theme?
4. How does a child theme work?
5. When should you use a child theme?
6. What is a child theme in Divi?
7. Is a child theme Necessary?
8. How do I install a child theme?
9. How do you create a child theme?
10. How do I make a child theme for OceanWP?
11. How do you edit a child theme?
12. How do I make a child theme path?

What is a child theme vs parent theme?

A child theme, as defined by the WordPress Codex, is a theme that “inherits the functionality and styling of another theme, called the parent theme.” Child themes are recommended to modify existing themes while still maintaining their design and code.

What is a parent theme?

A parent theme in WordPress is a theme that is declared parent by a another theme, child theme. ... The parent/child theme functionality allows users to easily upgrade their themes without worrying about losing any custom styling that they have added to their site.

Can you make a child theme of a child theme?

You can't really create a "grandchild" theme in the normal sense - i.e make it the child theme of a child theme.

How does a child theme work?

A child theme, on the other hand, works as an additional layer on top of the parent theme. It allows your developer to tweak, add, remove an existing WordPress theme without worrying about losing your customizations. Child themes require a parent theme to properly work because they inherit part of their files.

When should you use a child theme?

Advantages of Using a Child Theme

1. Keeping Changes After Updates. One of the biggest problems with modifying a theme is when updates occur. ...
2. Keeping Original Safe. ...
3. No FTP Required. ...
4. Faster Development. ...
5. Creating Similar Websites. ...
6. Easier to Modify Popular Themes. ...
7. Possible Slower Site Speed. ...
8. Requiring Knowledge of Theme Files.

What is a child theme in Divi?

A Divi child theme is a theme that inherits the functionality and styling of another theme, called the parent theme. The child theme files will override any files that are also found in parent theme, allowing you to change how your website looks and functions without having to edit any of the parent Divi theme files.

Is a child theme Necessary?

For users we recommend child themes only if you find yourself constantly adding new functions to your theme's functions. php file and/or constantly adding/modifying the style. css file of your theme. In these cases, we highly recommend that you use a child theme.

How do I install a child theme?

Install the child theme

1. Navigate to Appearance → Themes and click Add New.
2. Click Upload Theme.
3. Click Browse and choose the file you just downloaded, then click Install Now.
4. Once it is installed, click Activate.

How do you create a child theme?

Create a Folder in wp-content/themes

php file. We will start with the folder. Like any theme, child themes are located in wp-content/themes in your WordPress installation. So, navigate there now and create a new folder for your child theme.

How do I make a child theme for OceanWP?

Go to Theme Panel > Import/Export and export your settings in a . dat file and save on your computer. 2. Install and activate the OceanWP Child Theme.

How do you edit a child theme?

Simple steps:

1. Copy footer. php from the Filtered theme to your child theme folder.
2. Edit the footer. php file that you copied. Changes that you make here overwrite the original footer. php.
3. Add the appropriate css to your custom css in the theme admin panel.
4. Upload the new files to your site.

How do I make a child theme path?

In my child theme I declared a variable CHILD_DIR so I can add custom JS and CSS files to the my child theme's folder structure. I did this in my functions. php file in my child theme by doing this: define( 'CHILD_DIR', get_stylesheet_directory_uri() );