How to Create a Child Theme in WordPress?

Creating a child theme in WordPress is an essential skill for anyone looking to customize their website without losing changes during theme updates. A child theme allows you to modify the appearance and functionality of a parent theme while keeping your customizations separate and safe. This method is highly recommended for anyone who wants to make tweaks to their site without touching the original theme files. That’s why we create the child theme as it is the best and the safest way to make changes to the existing theme. In this article, we will guide you through the simple steps to create a child theme in WordPress, ensuring your website remains up-to-date and uniquely yours.

A parent theme in WordPress is a complete theme that includes all the necessary template files and assets required for the theme to function. It serves as the foundation for a child theme, which inherits and can modify the styles, templates, and functionality of the parent theme without altering the original files. This approach allows for easy updates and customization while maintaining the core features of the parent theme.

Child theme in WordPress is a theme that inherits the properties, functions, and everything which is included in the parent theme, or we can say that the child theme is a duplicate or extension of the parent theme. child theme makes it easier for making the changes in the theme as when we make the changes in the child theme the parent theme doesn’t get affected and yet it is the safest method for making the changes in the theme.

For applying the changes the child theme must be activated and the parent theme doesn’t get affected as the changes don’t get overwritten by the child theme in the main theme.

Creating a child theme in WordPress offers several benefits:

1. Preserves Customizations: Allows you to make changes to your theme without altering the parent theme’s files, ensuring your customizations are not lost during updates.
2. Easier Updates: This enables you to update the parent theme without losing your custom modifications, ensuring your site remains secure and up-to-date.
3. Organized Code: Keeps your custom code separate from the parent theme, making it easier to manage and debug.
4. Enhanced Flexibility: Provides the ability to override specific template files and functions, giving you greater control over the design and functionality of your site.
5. Learning Opportunity: Serves as a great way to learn about WordPress theme development by experimenting with a parent theme’s structure and features.

Let’s see how we can create the child theme WordPress for any theme by using the plugin step by step –

Step 1: Hover over the plugin in the Dashboard of your website and then click on Add New.

Step 2: Search the “child theme” in the search box and the plugin named “Child Theme Configurator” will appear then click on Install Now.

And then click activate.

Step 3: Hover over the Tool section and then click on Child Themes.

and the Child Themes dashboard will appear on the screen.

Step 4: Child Theme Configurator plugin will automatically detect which plugin is currently active on your WordPress website.

and then click on the Analyse button, Child Theme Configurator starts analyzing your theme.

Step 5: After clicking on Analyze button, the setting wizard will appear on your screen, don’t change any settings make them remain as a default, and scroll down to step 9 and then click on “Create New Child Theme“.

Now, the child theme of our main theme will be created successfully.

Step 6: Now, hover over the appearance section and then click on Theme to see your parent and child theme.

  Step 7: Now both the themes are ready to go. 

and now you can activate your child theme by just clicking on the Activate button.

Your child theme is activated now.

This is how you can create the child theme of any theme that you are using in your WordPress website.

Creating a child theme in WordPress is a straightforward process that offers significant benefits for anyone looking to customize their website. By following the steps outlined in this article, you can easily set up a child theme that preserves your modifications and ensures they are not lost during updates. This approach provides a flexible and secure way to enhance your WordPress site, allowing you to make it truly your own. With a child theme, you can confidently update your parent theme while maintaining your unique design and functionality, making your site both up-to-date and personalized.

What is the difference between WP theme and child theme?

A WordPress theme is a complete design and functionality package for a website, including templates, styles, and features. A child theme is a secondary theme that inherits the parent theme’s functionality but allows you to customize it without altering the original theme files. This ensures updates to the parent theme won’t overwrite your modifications.

How to create a child theme in WordPress 2024?

To create a child theme in WordPress 2024, first, create a new folder in the “wp-content/themes” directory and name it after your child theme. Inside this folder, create a “style.css” file with a header pointing to the parent theme and an “functions.php” file to enqueue the parent and child theme styles. Finally, activate your child theme through the WordPress dashboard.

What files are required for WordPress child theme?

A WordPress child theme requires at least two files: style.css and functions.php. The style.css file contains the theme’s information and any custom styles, while the functions.php file enqueues the parent theme’s styles and allows for additional custom functionality. Optionally, you can include other template files to override specific aspects of the parent theme.