1.
How to Prepare and Submit Your Theme For the
WPORG Theme Repository
(And get it approved!)
Chip Bennett, WordCamp St. Louis, 06 August 2011
@chip_bennett

2.
How to Prepare and Submit Your Theme For the
WPORG Theme Repository
Audience
Developers
Themes intended to be hosted by WPORG
Agenda
Preparing a Theme for public release
Pre-Submission Theme Testing
WPORG Theme Submission/Review/Approval
Getting your Theme approved
Related
Preparing a Theme for Public Release, David Yeiser (@davidyeiser):
http://www.slideshare.net/davidyeiser/how-to-prepare-a-wordpress-theme-for-public-release
Theming for the Masses, Michael Fields (@_mfields):
http://www.slideshare.net/MichaelFields/theming-for-the-masses
2 WordCamp St. Louis: 06 August 2011

3.
Preparing a Theme for Public
Release
Philosophy and considerations
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4.
Preparing a Theme for Public Release
General considerations for publicly released Themes
Design for universal use
●
Site title/description
●
Navigation/menus
●
Hard-coded vs. configurable
●
Social network links, favicons, copyright statements
●
Core post types, taxonomies
●
Custom post types, taxonomies
●
Filtering core content
●
Enqueueing scripts/stylesheets
Ranges vs. edge cases
4 WordCamp St. Louis: 06 August 2011

5.
Preparing a Theme for Public Release
General considerations for publicly released Themes
Incorporate core functionality: don’t re-invent the wheel
●
Custom Header/Background
●
Navigation Menus
●
Post Thumbnails
●
Post Formats
●
Gallery posts, Aside posts, etc.
Use core APIs wherever possible
●
Hooks API
●
Settings/Options/Theme Mods APIs
●
Widgets API
5 WordCamp St. Louis: 06 August 2011

6.
Preparing a Theme for Public Release
General considerations for publicly released Themes
Plugin integration / graceful degradation
●
Breadcrumb navigation, paginated navigation
●
Provide fallback:
– if ( function_exists( ‘plugin_function’ ) {
plugin_function();
} else {
// fallback functionality
}
●
Remember content vs. presentation
Failure modes for integrated features
●
Navigation Menus: items, hierarchy depth, fallback output
●
Overflow: site title/description, content width
6 WordCamp St. Louis: 06 August 2011

7.
Preparing a Theme for Public Release
Specific considerations for WPORG-hosted Themes
Check your motivation
●
Not wanted:
– Non-free code of any kind
– Unoriginal Themes only intended to generate backlinks
– Sponsored/Spam links
– Up-selling a commercial Theme via cripple-ware
●
Wanted:
– Giving back to the WordPress community
– New developers working into the WordPress ecosystem
– Showcasing unique/original/innovative design and functionality
License
●
100% GPL-compatible
●
Up-sell Themes must also be 100% GPL-compatible
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8.
Preparing a Theme for Public Release
Specific considerations for WPORG-hosted Themes
Presentation vs. content
●
Plugin Territory
– Adding/modifying content
– Shortcodes
●
Custom Post Types/Taxonomies
– Theme lock-in
– Consider companion Plugin
●
Exception?
– Niche Themes
8 WordCamp St. Louis: 06 August 2011

9.
Preparing a Theme for Public Release
Specific considerations for WPORG-hosted Themes
Child-Theme friendliness
●
Bad:
– Using get_template_directory_*() everywhere
– Using few template files/no template-part files/no context
●
Good:
– Proper use of get_template_directory_*() /
get_stylesheet_directory_*()
●
Better:
– Pluggable (override-able) functions
– Using get_template_part( $file, $context)
●
Best:
– Functions hooked via add_action()
– Content filtered via add_filter()
●
Above and beyond:
– Custom hooks
9 WordCamp St. Louis: 06 August 2011

10.
Preparing a Theme for Public Release
Specific considerations for WPORG-hosted Themes
UI Consistency
●
Settings Page UI
●
Core-bundled scripts (e.g. jQuery)
Implementation assumptions
●
Document, document, document!
●
Include a readme.txt (or equivalent)
Future-proofing your code
●
Pay attention to function deprecation
●
Use core functions/template tags
– get_search_form()
– Settings API
10 WordCamp St. Louis: 06 August 2011

11.
Pre-Submission Theme Testing
Testing your Theme against WPORG Theme Review
Guidelines before submission
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12.
Pre-Submission Theme Testing
Setting Up A Test Environment
Clean WordPress Install, plus Plugins
●
Theme Check, Log Deprecated Notices, Debug Bar, Debug Bar
Extender, Debogger, FixPress, WordPress Beta Tester
WordPress settings and Theme Mods
●
wp-config.php: define( ‘WP_DEBUG’, true )
●
Settings:
– General (Site Title, Tagline), Reading (# Posts per page)
– Discussion (Threaded comments, Depth, # Comments per page)
– Media (defaults), Permalinks (Pretty)
●
Create custom menus (long, short)
Theme Unit Test Data
●
Install latest test data from the Codex
– Check for updates periodically
12 WordCamp St. Louis: 06 August 2011

13.
Pre-Submission Theme Testing
Testing Process
Guide:
http://www.chipbennett.net/2011/04/20/a-guide-to-reviewing-themes-for-the-wordpress-theme-repository/
Policy Requirements:
●
License, Credit Links, Theme Name, Screenshot
Automated Tests:
●
Theme Check, Log Deprecated Notices
Code Quality
●
HTML document head, scripts/stylesheets enqueued/hooked
●
Template files, template tags, file includes
●
functions.php
Theme Unit Tests
●
Activation tests/custom functionality
●
Front-end tests
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14.
WPORG Theme Submission/Review/Approval Process
How it works and what to expect
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15.
WPORG Theme Submission/Review/Approval
Resources
WordPress.org Theme Uploader
Themes Subversion (SVN)
Themes-Trac
WordPress.org Extend/Themes
WordPress Theme Review Team (WPTRT)
Process
Prepare/Upload Theme Package (developer)
Generate Theme-Trac ticket (SVN/Trac)
Theme Review/Approval (WPTRT reviewers)
Synchronize SVN with Extend (WPTRT admins)
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16.
WPORG Theme Submission/Review/Approval:
Resources
WordPress.org Theme Uploader
Only way to submit Theme to the
Repository
●
(No SVN-commit access for
themes.svn, at least, not yet)
Includes several automated
scripts/tests
●
Synchronized with Theme Check
Plugin
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17.
WPORG Theme Submission/Review/Approval:
Resources
Themes SVN
Where uploaded Theme files are
stored, after the Theme ZIP archive is
unpacked by the Theme uploader
Perpetual repository: files are never
deleted, except for extraordinarily
egregious reasons
SVN-checkout access
17 WordCamp St. Louis: 06 August 2011

18.
WPORG Theme Submission/Review/Approval:
Resources
Themes-Trac
Theme Review ticketing/tracking
system
Uploader assigns each uploaded
Theme a new ticket
Theme Review process takes place
within Trac tickets
Theme Review progress tracked via
Trac reports
Theme developers can post
comments using WPORG login
credentials
18 WordCamp St. Louis: 06 August 2011

19.
WPORG Theme Submission/Review/Approval:
Resources
WordPress.org Extend/Themes
Front-end for access/download of
Repository-hosted Themes
Heavily-modded bbPress install
Must be manually synchronized with
SVN after Theme is approved in Trac
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20.
WPORG Theme Submission/Review/Approval:
Resources
WordPress Theme Review Team (WPTRT)
Who are they?
●
All-volunteer team of WordPress community members
●
Mostly self-directing, under the WPORG umbrella
●
Varying degrees of WordPress experience/expertise
●
Undergo training period before gaining ticket resolution/closure
privileges
What is their purpose?
●
Review and approve Theme tickets as quickly and as completely as
possible
●
Provide an educational resource for the WordPress Theme
Developer community
●
Encourage and establish community standards for Theme quality
and best practices
Anyone can get involved, and anyone interested is encouraged to do so!
20 WordCamp St. Louis: 06 August 2011

21.
WPORG Theme Submission/Review/Approval:
Process
Prepare/Upload Theme (Developer)
Remove any extraneous files
●
.git or .svn directories, MACOSX files, backup files, etc.
Compress the Theme as a ZIP file
●
Filename doesn't matter; it is re-packaged by SVN upon upload
Upload the ZIP file, using the WordPress.org Uploader.
Generate Trac Ticket (SVN/Trac)
If the uploader script finds no warning or required issues, the
Theme is uploaded, and Trac ticket generated.
●
Note: ensure that your Themes-Trac user profile includes an
email address, so that you receive automated notification emails
If the uploader script does find such issues, the upload fails,
and the script returns a report of all detected issues
21 WordCamp St. Louis: 06 August 2011

22.
WPORG Theme Submission/Review/Approval:
Process
Theme Review/Approval (WPTRT reviewers)
A WPTRT Reviewer assigns himself the Trac ticket, and
proceeds with the review.
Any issues noted during the review are listed in a comment
to the Trac ticket.
●
Noted issues are indicated as either REQUIRED (must be fixed
for Theme approval) or RECOMMENDED.
●
Some Reviewers will attach screenshots to help clarify Theme
issues, or may give additional information, suggestions, etc.
If the Theme has any REQUIRED issues, the ticket is closed
as “not-approved”. Otherwise, the ticket is closed as
“approved”.
22 WordCamp St. Louis: 06 August 2011

23.
WPORG Theme Submission/Review/Approval:
Process
Synchronize SVN with Extend (WPTRT admins)
When a Trac ticket is closed, the version of the Theme
included in the ticket must be synchronized with Extend.
●
Approved Themes are synchronized as “approved”
●
Not-Approved (or Newer-Version-Uploaded) Themes are
synchronized as “old”
This synchronization is a manual process, usually performed
by a WPTRT admin at least once per day
Once a Theme is synchronized as “approved”, it becomes
the version available for download in Extend.
●
Note: Extend is comprised of several servers; due to caching, it
may take some time for the new version to propagate
23 WordCamp St. Louis: 06 August 2011

24.
Getting Your Theme Approved
Tips, tricks, and practical suggestions
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25.
Getting Your Theme Approved
While developing your Theme
Don’t fork Kubrick/Default/Classic!
Identify (and document) your assumptions
If you have questions: Ask!
●
Theme-Reviewers mail list, IRC, WPTRT Website
Before you submit your Theme
Pre-submission testing is critical
Dry-run your Theme from the user’s perspective
Volunteer to review other Themes
After you submit your Theme
Interact in the Trac Ticket
25 WordCamp St. Louis: 06 August 2011

26.
Recap
Whew! That was a lot!
26 WordCamp St. Louis: 06 August 2011

27.
The WordPress Theme Repository
Recap:
Preparing a Theme for public release
Pre-Submission Theme Testing
WPORG Theme Submission/Review/Approval
Getting your Theme approved
Questions?
27 WordCamp St. Louis: 06 August 2011

28.
Feedback
You’ve heard from me; now I want to hear from you
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29.
The WordPress Theme Repository
Open Forum
Feedback, criticism, and ideas for the WordPress Theme Repository:
●
Theme Repository:
– Theme Selection,
– Theme Quality,
– Child Themes/Theme Frameworks
– etc.
●
Theme Review
– Submission/Review/Approval Process
– Theme Review Guidelines
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30.
Resources
Sites and information referenced, and further reading
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31.
The WordPress Theme Repository
Resources
Theme Development/Testing
● Theme Review Guidelines: http://codex.wordpress.org/Theme_Review
● Theme Unit Tests: http://codex.wordpress.org/Theme_Unit_Test
● Theme Review Setup: http://make.wordpress.org/themes/about/how-to-join-wptrt/
● Theme Review Plugins:
– Theme Check: http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/theme-check/
– Log Deprecated Notices: http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/log-deprecated-notices/
– Debug Bar: http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/debug-bar/
– FixPress: http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/fixpress/
– WordPress Beta Tester: http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wordpress-beta-tester/
● Guide: http://www.chipbennett.net/2011/04/20/a-guide-to-reviewing-themes-for-the-wordpress-theme-repository/
Theme Submission/Review
● Theme Uploader: http://wordpress.org/extend/themes/upload/
● Themes SVN: http://themes.svn.wordpress.org/
● Theme-Trac: https://themes.trac.wordpress.org/
WordPress Theme Review Team
● Theme-Reviewers Mail List: http://lists.wordpress.org/mailman/listinfo/theme-reviewers
● WPTRT: http://make.wordpress.org/themes/
● More Resources: http://make.wordpress.org/themes/guidelines/resources/
Editorials/Tutorials
● Theme Review: http://www.chipbennett.net/2010/10/20/in-defense-of-the-wordpress-theme-review-guidelines/
● Theme Quality: http://www.chipbennett.net/2010/10/19/in-defense-of-the-wordpress-theme-review-process/
● Settings API: http://www.chipbennett.net/2011/02/17/incorporating-the-settings-api-in-wordpress-themes/
31 WordCamp St. Louis: 06 August 2011