Learn how WordPress themes are built, what features to look out for, and how to choose a theme in this presentation.

1. The Anatomy of
a WordPress Theme
March 18th, 2014
Header
Sidebar
Body
Footer
Slider Search
Widgets
Copyright

2. Common Types of Themes
Portfolio Themes – Very visual, usually used to display
photographs, designs, or other works.
Magazine Themes – Blocky themes with a strong focus
on featuring content.
Blog Themes – Basic looking themes, usually with a
large header & footer, one sidebar, & one large content
area.
Child Themes – Sub-themes that are used to customize
the design of an existing theme.

3. What is a WordPress Theme?
According to WP.org:
“WordPress Themes are files that work together to create the
design and functionality of a WordPress site. Each Theme may
be different, offering many choices for site owners to instantly
change their website look.”
TL;DR WordPress Themes control how your
website looks & works without altering your
content.*
* #foreshadowing

4. Design
Themes completely control how your
website looks.
This includes basic elements such as:
• Colors
• Fonts
• Images
• Layout

5. Why is Design Important?
Design controls how your content is
displayed, & how visitors interact with your
website.
• Is it easy to use?
• Does it make a good first impression?
• Are you featuring relative content?
• Is your website accessible? Mobile-friendly?
• Does it represent your brand accurately?

6. Functionality
Most WordPress themes have “Functions”.
These act like plugins and allow Themes to
use & extend WordPress’s built-in features.
Functions are often added to extend user
control over a website’s Design.

7. Common Functions
Page Templates allow the user to change how their
content is displayed (change the page layout) on a
per-page basis.
Menu Support allows users to create custom menus
& choose where in the Theme to display them.
Featured Images can be enabled on posts & pages.
They are displayed differently depending on the
theme. They are also used for SEO.

8. Common Functions
Widget Areas, such as sidebars & footers,
can be filled with widgets displaying varying,
user-chosen content.
Theme Options can also be specified,
allowing the user to change backgrounds,
headers, fonts & colors, customizing the
look of their website.

9. (Spoiler: It Doesn’t End Well)

10. Theme Creep – when a Theme
becomes more than a Theme,
incorporating functions & features
that can affect your website’s
content.

11. Why Is Theme Creep Bad?
Many commercial Themes include
shortcodes, sliders, and custom Post types.
While these often allow for a wider variety of
customization options, they can pose a number
of issues when switching themes.
TL;DR If you’re a victim of Theme Creep &
change your theme, you’ll break your website &
lose content.

12. Testing & Fixing Theme Creep
While testing is as easy as enabling a
default WordPress theme, some themes
require customization and set up (not Theme
Creep) & if you disable them, you could
break your website.

13. Choosing a Theme

14. Things to Keep In Mind
When choosing a Theme for your website, it is
important to consider:
• Functions – Will you end up a victim of
Theme Creep?
• Design – Does it display your content how
you want it to? Is it easily customized?
• Mobile-Friendly – Does it look, & more
importantly, work well on your
smartphone/tablet?

15. Sources & Resources
WP Codex: http://codex.wordpress.org/Theme_Development
The Menace of Theme Creep: http://wpshout.com/menace-theme-
creep/
WordPress Themes Directory: http://wordpress.org/themes/
Questions? Comments?
Twitter: @kyrieelayne
Email: info@kyrieelayne.me