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WordPress How to Make a Website with WordPress Customizing WordPress Themes How to Make Child Themes

Posted by Vitalijus Samsonovas
Vitalijus Samsonovas
Courses Plus Student 253 Points

Do i have to create a child theme ?

Hello,

I'd like to ask to is it necessary to create a child theme when using a custom template not from wordpress.org webpage. Let's say I've downloaded some template from the web and installed it into my themes. Then wordpress recognized it (f.e. woothemes are associated with wp), but will it automatically update it later or will it ask me for a permission to do this ? Is this child mode is sort of a backup or a necessity ? I haven't really caught the idea.

Thank You

3 Answers

Zac Gordon
STAFF
Zac Gordon
Treehouse Guest Teacher
Zac Gordon
Zac Gordon
Treehouse Guest Teacher

It is best to build a child theme.

The exceptions are:

  1. You know you will never need to update the theme and no one will accidentally update it
  2. You build the theme from scratch

The main idea is that if you edit a theme and then it get's update it will overwrite all of your work. With a child theme you can update the parent theme without breaking your code.

Vitalijus Samsonovas
PLUS
Vitalijus Samsonovas
Courses Plus Student 253 Points
Vitalijus Samsonovas
Vitalijus Samsonovas
Courses Plus Student 253 Points

Thank You both ! I guess I'll have to use it.

Melanie Day
Melanie Day
5,540 Points
Melanie Day
Melanie Day
5,540 Points

Hello Vitalijus,

Child themes are recommended to customise, adapt, and build on top of an original theme. There could be an up-date to the master theme later on down the line to enhance features or up-date something that might have had issues etc. If you work directly on customising the files from the master theme folder rather than creating a child theme with your customised files, then you would loose your work when up-dating the theme. Of course WP still asks you first before you up-date a theme, so if you don't choose not to up-date then you will not loose your work.

I think it is best practise to use child themes so you can keep the master theme up-dated. It also helps that if you are working in a child theme and make a mistake, you can refer back to the master theme to try to fix it or get things working again. If you are working on the master theme then there is nothing to easily refer back to.

I hope this helps.