The Carrington Core framework aims to create maintainable WordPress websites by establishing conventions over code and using a template structure that makes functionality and features more obvious. It follows WordPress' core structure and uses context-based templates located in different directories to display content for posts, pages, comments, and general sections. Templates can be further customized based on additional context like author, category, tag, or post format. The framework is intended to make WordPress theme development more accessible to front-end developers.

1. Carrington Core
For Maintainable WordPress Websites
Alex King

2. Goals
• Create maintainable websites
• Make functionality and features more
obvious
• Make WP theme development more
accessible to front-end devs

3. Principles
• Convention over code (it’s a framework)
• More templates > More conditional code
• 100% addative
• Developer-friendly abstraction levels

4. Lots of Directories!
• DON’T PANIC
• This is the same WordPress structure you
know and love

5. Structure
Posts
Single
Header
Loop
Content/
Excerpt
Sidebar
Comments
Page
Footer

6. Context Types
• COMMENT
= comment & user info
(dir: comment)
• POST = individual post/page info
(dirs: content, excerpt - single)
= type of page
• GENERALsidebar, footer, loop, posts)
(dirs: header,

7. General Templates
Header, Sidebar, Footer
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
{dir}-default.php
home.php
search.php
single.php
page.php
author.php
author-{username}.php
role-{role}.php
type-{post-type}.php
•
•
•
•
•
category.php
•
•
tax-{taxonomy-slug}.php
cat-{slug}.php
tag.php
tag-{slug}.php
tax-{taxonomy-slug}-
{term-slug}.php
single-{content}.php
(cat, tag, author, meta, etc.)

8. Post Templates
Content, Excerpt
•
•
•
•
•
•
{dir}-default.php
author-{username}.php
meta-{key}-{value}.php
meta-{key}.php
format-{slug}.php
tax-{tax-slug}-{termslug}.php
• cat-{slug}.php
• tag-{slug}.php
• type-{post-type}.php
• role-{role}.php
• parent-{slug}.php
• page.php
• {feed-}(template).php

9. Single & Feed (Post Context)
You can use the Post context template
selection:
• on single pages by
prefixing with {single-}
• in RSS and Atom feeds by prefixing with {feed-}
(cat, tag, author, meta, etc.)
(feed-format-status.php, etc.)

10. Comment Templates
•
•
•
•
comment-default.php
author.php
user-{username}.php
role-{role}.php
• ping.php
• meta-{key}-{value}.php
• meta-{key}.php

11. Child Themes
• Available templates are merged
• Templates in child theme stomp those in
parent theme

12. Example

13. Resources
•
GitHub Repos
github.com/crowdfavorite/wp-carrington-core
github.com/crowdfavorite/wp-carrington-core-docs
github.com/crowdfavorite/wp-carrington-blueprint
• Example Theme: FavePersonal
crowdfavorite.com/favepersonal/
• Future: Tutorials and Reference Docs
crowdfavorite.com/carrington-core/