This document outlines a workshop on building custom responsive WordPress themes. The workshop will be led by Joe, a self-taught web developer with 17+ years of experience including 5 years working with WordPress, and David, a web developer with 2+ years of WordPress experience. The topics that will be covered include why to build a custom theme, available responsive themes, the basic framework for a responsive theme, theme building tips, and a code demo.

1. Custom Responsive Theme
Workshop
WordCamp Columbus 2015 #wccbus | #wcthemedev

2. About Joe
 Self taught Web Developer for 17+ years
 WordPress experience last 5 years
 Built 8+ themes
 Migrated 4 complete sites to WordPress,
built from scratch many more.

3.  Web Developer for 7+ years.
Including 2+ years of Wordpress
experience
 Built 4+ Wordpress themes with
theme specific plugins
 Migrated and designed 3
complete sites with Wordpress
About David

4.  Why Build a Theme?
 Available Responsive Themes
 Basic Framework For a Responsive Theme
 Theme Building Tips
 Code Demo
Topics

5. Why Build a Theme?
 Unable to find a theme that can either be modified or have a child
theme created for it.
 Work with a number of sites, tend to use the same type of theme
code over and over.
 Rapid build out of new sites.
 Just to see if you can!

6.  Free Themes from WordPress.org Respository
 Select Responsive from feature filter – 1,205 themes.
 Premium Themes
 StudioPress – Genesis
 Woo Themes – Canvas & Storefront
Available Responsive Themes

7.  CSS Framework
 Bootstrap
 Foundation
 WordPress Starter Theme
 Underscores
Basic Framework For a
Responsive Theme

8. Theme Building Tips
 Wireframe
 Plan features
 Configure a Dev environment
 CSS or SASS?
 codex.wordpress.org
 www.wphierarchy.com – Cool Resource
 Before using the theme or submitting to the repo, make sure the
header of the CSS stylesheet is filled out.

9. Theme Building Tips
 Theme Check – Plugin from Repository
 Theme Unit Test – codex.wordpress.org/Theme_Unit_Test
 Functions - Theme vs Plugin
 If the function is for the content, put it in a plugin
 If it doesn’t matter where the function is placed, put it in a plugin.
 Very rarely is there a good reason to add a function to the theme.
 Keep your dev environment updated, core and plugins!

10.  Download a fresh copy of
 Underscores - http://www.underscores.me
 Foundation 5 - http://foundation.zurb.com
 Unzip underscores into a directory for your theme.
 Create a foundation directory inside of your theme directory, and unzip
the foundation download here.
 Optional - Configure Grunt (but highly recommended)
 Open functions.php in your favorite code editor
How To Build Your Responsive Theme

11.  Find the stylesheet enqueues.
 Search for “Enqueue scripts and styles”
 Add the following two lines.
How To Build Your Responsive Theme
wp_enqueue_style( 'foundation-normalize',
get_stylesheet_directory_uri() . '/foundation/css/normalize.css' );
wp_enqueue_style( 'foundation', get_stylesheet_directory_uri() .
'/foundation/css/foundation.css' );

12.  Add a call for your custom styles
How To Build Your Responsive Theme
wp_enqueue_style( ‘demo-custom-style', get_stylesheet_directory_uri() .
'/custom.css', array(), '1' );
 Add the calls for the foundation js files
wp_enqueue_script( 'foundation-js', get_template_directory_uri() .
'/foundation/js/foundation.min.js', array( 'jquery' ), '1', true );
wp_enqueue_script( 'foundation-modernizr-js',
get_template_directory_uri() . '/foundation/js/vendor/modernizr.js',
array( 'jquery' ), '1', true );
 Add a call for the foundation init
wp_enqueue_script( 'foundation-init-js', get_template_directory_uri() .
'/foundation.js', array( 'jquery' ), '1', true );

13. How To Build Your Responsive Theme
 You now have Foundation plugged into Underscores!
 Build your design out!

14. Code Demo

15. Bonus: Theme Framework
 Rapid build out of new theme(s) / site(s)
 Reusability
 Build a Child Theme on top of the framework

16. Building a Child Theme
/* Add Parent Theme Styles */
wp_enqueue_style( ‘demo-framework-style',
get_template_directory_uri() .'/style.css' );
/* ----- Add Foundation Support From Parent Theme ----- */
/* Add Foundation CSS */
wp_enqueue_style( 'foundation-normalize',
get_template_directory_uri() . '/foundation/css/normalize.css'
);
wp_enqueue_style( 'foundation', get_template_directory_uri() .
'/foundation/css/foundation.css' );

17. Building a Child Theme
/* Add Foundation JS */
wp_enqueue_script( 'foundation-js', get_template_directory_uri()
. '/foundation/js/foundation.min.js', array( 'jquery' ), '1',
true );
wp_enqueue_script( 'foundation-modernizr-js',
get_template_directory_uri() .
'/foundation/js/vendor/modernizr.js', array( 'jquery' ), '1',
true );
/* Foundation Init JS */
wp_enqueue_script( 'foundation-init-js',
get_template_directory_uri() . '/foundation.js', array( 'jquery'
), '1', true );

18. Building a Child Theme
wp_enqueue_style( ‘demo-style',
get_stylesheet_directory_uri().'/style.css' );
}
add_action( 'wp_enqueue_scripts', ‘demo_scripts' );
 Start Building your Child Theme
 Files can be opened from the Parent Framework, saved to
the child theme folder and then modified.
 Only the files you need to change, need to be copied over.

19. Questions?
Joe Querin
Twitter: @joequerin
Github: joecue
David Brattoli
Twitter: @DavidMBrattoli
Github: dabrattoli

20. Resources Mentioned
 underscores.me – Automattic Starter Theme
 foundation.zurb.com – Foundation5 CSS Responsive
Framework
 foundation.zurb.com/docs – Foundation Documentation
 foundation.zurb.com/docs/components/kitchen_sink.html –
Foundation Examples
 wphierarchy.com – Clickable Template Hierarchy
 wordpress.org/plugins/what-the-file – Plugin that display which
template file is being used to display the content.

21. Resources Mentioned
 pxtoem.com – Pixels to EM convertor
 brackets.io – Multi-Platform Code Editor Enviroment
 gruntjs.com – Grunt (Command Line Automation Tool)
Code Examples
Sample GruntFile and package.json –
gist.github.com/joecue/6d1e65a660ab647906d0
Sample Functions.php file –
gist.github.com/joecue/5e6d9bf3ec497786e4d6
Sample Child Theme Function File –
gist.github.com/joecue/30814d49ef6091bf0d5a