How do I create a child theme in WordPress?

How do I create a child theme in WordPress?

Creating a child theme in WordPress involves a few simple steps. First, create a new folder in the 'wp-content/themes' directory. Name it something like 'yourtheme-child'. Next, create a style.css file in that folder and add the following header:

/*
 Theme Name: Your Theme Child
 Template: yourtheme
*/

Make sure to replace 'Your Theme' and 'yourtheme' with your actual theme name. Then, enqueue the parent theme's stylesheet in a functions.php file in the same folder. Would you like more details on any of these steps?

Yes, how do I enqueue the parent theme's stylesheet?

To enqueue the parent theme's stylesheet, you need to create a functions.php file in your child theme folder. Add the following code:

<?php
function my_theme_enqueue_styles() {
    $parent_style = 'parent-style'; // This is 'twentytwentyone-style' for the Twenty Twenty-One theme.
    wp_enqueue_style($parent_style, get_template_directory_uri() . '/style.css');
    wp_enqueue_style('child-style', get_stylesheet_directory_uri() . '/style.css', array($parent_style));
}
add_action('wp_enqueue_scripts', 'my_theme_enqueue_styles');
?>

This code ensures that the parent theme's styles are loaded before your child theme's styles.

What if I want to add custom functions to my child theme?

You can add custom functions directly in the functions.php file of your child theme. Just make sure to use unique function names to avoid conflicts with the parent theme. For example:

function my_custom_function() {
    // Your custom code here
}

This way, your custom functions will be preserved even if the parent theme is updated.

Thanks! This was really helpful.

You're welcome! If you have any more questions about WordPress or anything else, feel free to ask!