Advanced WordPress Tips: How to Use Child Themes for Customization

You might be using WordPress for a while now, but are you still confused regarding the ways to use your child themes for customization? This hesitation is common, and you are not alone in it. You might know that if you directly make changes to a theme, your entire website composition might change in just a single update, and that is where you use a child theme.

This theme gives you the freedom to make slight tweaks to the designs and functionalities of your website. It allows you to customize your website while you keep your data intact. This guide will teach you exactly the same, and you’ll learn to use child themes for customization like a pro.

What Is a Child Theme and Why Use It?

A child theme in WordPress is a type of sub-theme consisting of all the features, functionality, and design elements that a parent theme has. It is just like a copy of the parent theme but allows you to make customization without changing the parent theme’s core codes. This makes things easier because you can update and make minute changes to your website without worrying about losing anything or damaging your website’s look.

This setup is also perfect for developers who work with numerous clients and demand specific settings.

How to Create and Use a Child Theme in WordPress

To use a child theme in WordPress, follow these steps:

Create a Child Theme

Creating a child theme is easy. You can do it manually, using a plugin, or using the required files.

Step 1: Manually

You just need to create a new folder within the wp-content/themes/ directory of the parent theme and paste the codes there.

Step 2: Using a Plugin

For this, you need some plugins like “One Click Child Theme”. This will automatically create a child theme, simplifying the setup process for your website.

Step 3: Required files

Here, you will have to use a style.css file with the parent theme so that you can state their relationship. You also need a function.php file so that the parent theme’s stylesheet is enqueued to the custom function.

Customize the Child Theme

Customizing the child theme can be a task, but you can do it by adding your CSS rule to the same style.css file that you created a while back. You can also do it by using the function.php file in your child theme so that you can add custom filters, functions, or even actions to it easily. For example, a non-profit might customize a modern charitable organization WordPress theme as a child theme to create a unique website.

Enqueue the Parent Theme’s Stylesheet (Optional)

This is an optional step, but you can still try it if nothing works. Here, you can enqueue scripts and styles from the parent theme by using get_stylesheet_directory_uri() instead of just get_template_directory_uri() in that file of your child theme named function.php.

Activate the Child Theme

After you are done with the setting up of your child theme, you just need to activate it from the WordPress dashboard by going to appearance>themes.

Conclusion

Now that you are aware of how to use your child theme on WordPress, you must have understood that it is the smartest way of customizing your website safely. It is perfect for non-profits, bloggers, and developers. In case you’ve installed a charitable organization WordPress theme on your website, you can even use it as a child theme option and customize your site easily.