Support ForumWhat is a child theme and how, but mainly why to use it? – Support Forum

What is a child theme and how, but mainly why to use it?

IshYoBoy — Wed, 17 Dec 2014 06:12:41 +0000

Hey,

Could you please explain more in detail what a child theme is and how to use it? Isn’t it enough to edit the theme’s “functions.php” file and add all the our code we need in there?

Cheers

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Reply To: What is a child theme and how, but mainly why to use it?

IshYoBoy — Wed, 17 Dec 2014 06:34:28 +0000

Hey,

First of all, to better understand what a child theme is you need to read this WordPress Codex Article https://codex.wordpress.org/Child_Themes

1. Why use Child Theme for all custom code changes

In short. Making any changes to the main theme or plugin files like editing PHP files (e.g. “functions.php”), editing CSS files (e.g. “Style.css”) or any JavaScript files will immediately do the changes you need. This is a very bad idea, however.

Editing the theme or plugin files directly is a very bad practice! You may loose all changes.

If the theme or the plugin gets an update in the future it will delete all the files with your changes and replace them with their newest versions once you apply the update.

You will have to reproduce all the changes you once did. If you still know what they are. You might think that you will not need to apply any updates as the current version of the theme or plugin is fine but trust us you will have to. What if WordPress gets a newer version incompatible with the current theme. Will you be ensuring theme compatibility yourself?

2. How to use a Child Theme

It is quite easy actually. Either create your own following the steps in the Codex article or use the starter child theme we provide along with all our themes. It can be found in the Zip Archive containing “All files & Documentation” (not the installable theme zip only).

To make it super easy for you, we have created a starter Child Theme which you can use for all your modifications.

You can edit its files e.g. functions.php, child-theme.css, etc… and add all the changes you need and then either upload the child theme folder via FTP or zip the whole folder into an archive and use the built-in WordPress Theme installation interface.

successfully uploaded, navigate to “Appearance -> Themes” and activate the Child theme.

3. Will the changes I already made to parent theme be lost?

If you have imported data, edited, created pages and posts, edited all Theme Options, added CSS into the “Custom CSS” field under “Theme Options”, created widgets and sidebars, etc.. all these will remain untouched :) So there is no need to worry.

All content and back-end changes will remain untouched.

The thing you will have to do is to navigate to “Appearance” -> “Menus” and choose which navigation will be used as Main Navigation. The Navigation Menu from the parent theme will be available untouched, but it will not be set as main navigation any more. So with a single click you will have the exactly as it was before.

Cheers

A 5 star rating is always a great motivation for us if you are happy with our theme or support!
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Reply To: What is a child theme and how, but mainly why to use it?

Qattaj — Thu, 19 Feb 2015 13:02:44 +0000

Hello, isn’t the “Custom CSS styles” on the /admin.php?page=ishyoboy_framework a perfect child theme alternative already?

Reply To: What is a child theme and how, but mainly why to use it?

IshYoBoy — Thu, 19 Feb 2015 13:32:51 +0000

Hey,

It is :) but only for CSS Styles. Sometimes you might need to tweak a PHP file, Override a function, change something in the JavaScript. Add some new filters or actions to control WordPress. Then Child Theme is needed so you don’t have to edit the theme files and risk loosing your changes with next theme update.

Cheers

A 5 star rating is always a great motivation for us if you are happy with our theme or support!
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Reply To: What is a child theme and how, but mainly why to use it?

diannahelm — Mon, 23 Feb 2015 19:49:51 +0000

I am still not clear of the advantages of using the child theme.
I uploaded the parent and child theme for Boldial, but am not sure I should use to make my website.
I don’t know how to edit CSS or anything, so which theme should I use.
Thanks,
Dianna

Reply To: What is a child theme and how, but mainly why to use it?

IshYoBoy — Tue, 24 Feb 2015 07:48:03 +0000

Hey Dianna,

The only advantage of a child theme is when you need to modify something in the code of the parent theme. If you modify any file inside the parent theme directly, it will be overwritten upon the next theme update. So your changes will be lost and you will have to reproduce them. Child theme separates such changes as you never update the child theme.

Moreover if you search for some tweaks online and you get a response like “put this code into functions.php” then you are in the same situation. The “functions.php” file is located in the parent theme and if you modify it you might loose the changes later.

If you however do no changes the Child Theme is irrelevant for you. In any case you can switch from parent theme to child anytime. So use the parent and once you come to a point where you need to modify a file then you can activate the child theme. You will not use anything you have set in the parent one.

Cheers

A 5 star rating is always a great motivation for us if you are happy with our theme or support!
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Reply To: What is a child theme and how, but mainly why to use it?

bravadov — Sun, 08 Mar 2015 10:56:12 +0000

I need to make changes in the file /boldial/assets/functions/nav.php. Can I use the child-theme for it? How to do it? Thanks

Reply To: What is a child theme and how, but mainly why to use it?

IshYoBoy — Mon, 09 Mar 2015 07:00:20 +0000

Hey,

Sure you can. This is exactly what it is for. You have two possibilities:

1. Override only a function from the file. Copy the function’s definition to the “functions.php” file of your child theme. E.g.:

function FunctionName(){
	...
}

function FunctionName(){

...

}

2. Override the whole file by copying it to the exact same folder structure as in the parent theme. You will need to create new folders.

Overriding a function only is better as when you override the whole file, if there are changes in the next update to other functions in the same file, then they will not be loaded as the whole file will be loaded from the child-theme instead of the new updated parent theme.

Cheers

A 5 star rating is always a great motivation for us if you are happy with our theme or support!
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Reply To: What is a child theme and how, but mainly why to use it?

Web_Browser — Wed, 25 Mar 2015 18:13:23 +0000

Hi,

In option 1 above:

1. Override only a function from the file. Copy the function’s definition to the “functions.php” file of your child theme. E.g.:

Do we still have to create new folders in the child theme and just have the specific function in the new file we create here?

Thank you

Reply To: What is a child theme and how, but mainly why to use it?

IshYoBoy — Thu, 26 Mar 2015 06:23:39 +0000

Hi Rizwan,

Whenever you override a function you need to put it in the child theme’s “functions.php” file. There is no need to create new folders or files. The functions.php file is known by WordPress and it loads it before the rest of the parent theme files are loaded.

To better understand what a child theme is you need to read this WordPress Codex Article https://codex.wordpress.org/Child_Themes

To make it super easy for you, we have created a starter Child Theme which you can use for all your modifications. So there is no need to create it from scratch.

Cheers

A 5 star rating is always a great motivation for us if you are happy with our theme or support!
Themeforest | MojoMarketplace | Creative Market