Things You Should Know Before Starting With WordPress Theme Development

A good website is one with an excellent user experience and user-friendly readability. User experience is the result of a website's appearance and styling.

WordPress themes add a lot of functionality in terms of styling. Here are some quick facts about themes.

1. Themes are significant for the look and feel of your WordPress site.

2. There are many ways to create themes, but using a parent and child theme setup is the most popular method.

3. Once you have a solid understanding of theme development, you can start creating your custom themes for clients or for yourself!.

The best thing is that you can have the mobile application version of such platforms.

Why Are WordPress Themes Required?

A theme is a collection of files that work together to produce a graphical interface with specific settings.

Themes can change the overall look of your website, or they can be used to change specific areas like the header or footer.

What Skills Are Needed To Develop WordPress Themes?

To create website templates, you must have a basic knowledge of HyperText Markup Language (HTML) and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). In addition, you will need to be familiar with the WordPress Codex, the online manual for WordPress users.

Also, it would be good if you had a code editor like Adobe Dreamweaver, Notepad++, or Sublime Text installed on your computer. Finally, you will need access to a WordPress server to test your themes.

Also Read: 500 Internal Server Error - What it is & How to Fix it in WordPress?

WordPress Theme Vs. The WordPress Child Theme

In WordPress, a child theme is the one that inherits its functionality from another WordPress theme called the parent theme.

With the help of child, themes are often used when you want to customize an existing WordPress theme without losing the ability to upgrade that theme. When a child theme is activated, it overrides specific files in the parent theme.

How To Develop Your First WordPress Theme?

Creating a custom WordPress theme can seem daunting, but it's not that difficult once you get the hang of it. In this post, we will be explaining five steps to developing your first WordPress theme.

1. Choose A Parent Theme

The first step is to choose a parent theme. This is the framework you'll build your child theme on top of. There are a few different parent themes, but we recommend using Underscores (_s) as a great starter theme.

2. Create A Child Theme

Once you've chosen a parent theme, you'll need to create a child theme. This is where you'll put all of your custom code.

3. Enqueue Your Styles And Scripts

The next step is to enqueue your styles and scripts. This ensures that your CSS and JavaScript will load properly on the front end of your site.

4. Register Your Sidebar

If you want to add a sidebar to your theme, you'll need to register it first. This can be done using the register_sidebar() function.

5. Create Your Template Files

Finally, you'll need to create your template files. These are the files that control the look and feel of your site. The most critical template file is the header.php file, which contains the code for your site's header.

6. Add CTAs To Your Website

A solid call to action is required to ensure value addition and fulfillment.

For example, you can learn how to add a call us now button to your website, a direct call widget like this can allow users to call you directly from the website.

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Trending Types Of WordPress Themes For 2022

As a WordPress theme developer, it's essential to stay up-to-date with the latest trends to build themes that will be popular with users. Here are some of the trending WordPress themes for 2022. They are one of the most used SEO-friendly tools in the IT world.

🔸 Multipurpose WordPress Themes

Multipurpose WordPress themes are becoming increasingly popular as they offer a wide range of features and options that can be used for various types of websites. If you're looking to develop a theme that can be used for multiple purposes, then a multipurpose theme may be the way to go.

Some of the most popular multipurpose WordPress themes for 2022 include:

• Divi	• Avada
• BeTheme	• Bridge

🔸 One-page WordPress Themes

One-page WordPress themes are perfect for businesses or individuals who want to create a simple yet effective website. These themes are typically straightforward and don't require much maintenance.

Some of the most popular one-page WordPress themes for 2022 include:

• OnePage	• Onepager
• Single page

🔸 Minimalist WordPress Themes

Minimalist WordPress themes are perfect for those who want to create a clean and simple website. These themes are typically easy to set up and don't require much maintenance.

Some of the most popular minimalist WordPress themes for 2022 include:

• Minimal	• Simple
• Clean	• Modern

🔸 E-Commerce WordPress Themes

E-Commerce WordPress themes are perfect for those who want to create an online store. These themes typically come with a built-in shopping cart and checkout system, making it easy to sell products and services online.

Some of the most popular eCommerce WordPress themes for 2022 include:

• WooCommerce	• Shopify
• BigCommerce

🔸 VR Optimized WordPress Themes

VR Optimized WordPress themes are perfect for those who want to create a virtual reality website. These themes come with built-in support for VR headsets, making viewing your website in VR easy.

Some of the most popular VR Optimized WordPress themes for 2022 include:

• Oculus Rift	• HTC Vive2
• Samsung Gear VR

🔸 Module-Based Themes

Module-based themes are perfect for those who want to create a website that can be easily customized. These types of themes come with various modules that can be used to add features and functionality to your website.

Some of the most popular module-based WordPress themes include:

• Genesis

• Headway

 

🔸 Drag & Drop WordPress Page Builders

Drag and drop WordPress page builders are becoming increasingly popular as they offer a simple way to create custom pages without learning to code.

Some of the most famous drag-and-drop WordPress page builders include:

• Beaver Builder	• Divi Builder
• Elementor	• Visual Composer

Apart from these names, some commonly used drag-and-drop page builders are:

• Elementor is a highly popular WordPress page builder plugin. It is a drag-and-drop tool that makes it easy to create custom pages without learning to code.

• Beaver Builder is another popular WordPress page builder plugin. It is a drag-and-drop tool that makes it easy to create custom pages without learning to code.

• Divi Builder is one of the many WordPress page builder plugins having various modules that can be used for adding features and functionality to your website.

• Visual Composer is a WordPress page builder plugin with a library of pre-made templates that can be used to create custom pages without learning to code.

Conclusion

As this article explains, WordPress themes are a great source of functionality. Along with great looks and styling, they impact the user experience metrics.

Also, you don't need to be a coding expert to create a WordPress theme, you can create your themes with a few basic skills.

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