WordPress has become the world’s most popular CMS (Content Management System) for many reasons. One of them is that it gives its users the ability to customize almost every aspect of a website according to their wishes. Customization can be done with plugins, but for more extensive changes, using a WordPress child theme is a better option.
In this article, we’ll explain the advantages of using a child theme and cover several different ways how to set up a child theme in WordPress:
What are WordPress child themes and why do you use them?
A WordPress child theme is one that inherits the stylization and functionality of its parent theme. With a child theme, you can make a variety of changes, from minor CSS tweaks to overriding existing parent theme functions or adding new ones. Applying changes using a child theme depends on your previous coding experience and the desired look of the website.
Changes you add to a child theme are not overridden by parent theme updates. Normally, if you add the same changes to your (parent) theme’s files, for example function.php, all of these will be lost. All theme files are invalidated during updates (please note this has no effect on the database). Therefore, using child themes is one of the recommended and safe ways to add custom code to your website. There are also a few other reasons why you should use a WordPress child theme, but the reasons we mentioned are the most common reasons why users create a child theme.
As an added bonus, child themes are very lightweight as they usually only contain a few files. Thus, they do not slow down your website performance as much as some plugins.
How to install a WordPress child theme
Now that the advantages of using a WordPress child theme are a little clearer, let’s explain how you can install it on your website. Up to this point, we’re assuming you’ve created your child theme manually or using a plugin and are ready to install it.
Child themes cannot function properly without their parent theme. If you install a child theme without its parent loaded, you will see a notification similar to the one below during the installation process.
Also, when navigating Themes In the section of your admin control panel you will see a notification that the installed child theme is broken.
You shouldn’t worry though, because after installing the parent theme these error notifications will disappear and the child theme will work properly. As long as you have both themes installed, the order of installing them doesn’t really matter. However, the most common scenario involves the child theme being loaded after the parent theme has been uploaded to the website, so we’ll go with that assumption for this tutorial.
We will cover three different methods of installing a child theme: the upload method via FTP and using cPanel. Having said that, let’s move on.
To first install a child theme from your admin dashboard Sign in using your WordPress admin credentials. back then Go to Appearance > Themesand click add new button Near the top of your screen.
On the screen below, click Upload Theme button.
You will then be able to upload a .zip file of your child theme. If you haven’t zipped the folder of the child theme you want to install, make sure you do it now. Next, click choose file button, will open a file dialog. In this file dialog, select the .zip file of your child theme and Press Install now buttonafter that.
You will have to wait a bit until the child theme loads. During the installation process, you will see a notification that a parent theme is required for the child to work. After verifying that the parent theme exists, the child theme will be installed successfully.
Then you can see a live preview, activate the theme or Themes The page where you can see all the themes installed on your website. From here, you can safely start customizing your new child theme.
Uploading a child theme via FTP requires an FTP client and knowledge of how to use FTP. If necessary, refresh your knowledge, then login to your server using your FTP credentials. Later, go to root WordPress directoryusually called public_html.
Go to /wp-content/themesyou will see the folders of all the themes you have currently installed.
From the left side of your FTP client, which represents the file and folder structure on your computer, Find the uncompressed folder of the child theme you want to install. Right click on the folder and Press To upload button.
The installation process should finish quickly, as the child theme usually doesn’t contain many files. You will be able to monitor which files have been uploaded At the top of your FTP client. When the download is complete, You will see the folder of your child theme in /wp-content/themes/ on the right.
Then you can login to your admin dashboard and preview or activate the Installed child theme in Appearance > Themes. From there, you can begin your customization work.
You must have access to cPanel to use this method. To start, login to cPanel using your credentials and click File Manager choicecontained in Folders section near the top.
find your website in the list on the left and go to root WordPress directoryusually called public_html.
At that time, Go to /wp-content/themes and Press To upload button from the option bar at the top.
This will open a new tab called File upload. by clicking on Select file button will open a file dialog where you need to select the .zip file of the child theme you want to install. If you haven’t zipped your child theme’s folder make sure you do it now and then proceed as outlined above. The installation process should only take a few seconds.
After that, return to previous tabwith the appearance of your website /wp-content/themes/ directory. Find the .zip file you just uploaded right click onand choose Remove choice.
As with most folder operations within File Manager, you will be asked to confirm your choice. do by print Extract Files button in the pop-up window that appears. Following this, you will see the results of the extraction i.e. which folder was extracted as well as its contents. Press Close button after reviewing the results.
The child theme folder will now appear unzipped next to the parent theme’s folder. To finish this installation process, Delete the .zip file as it is no longer needed. You can do this by right-clicking and selecting. Erase choice from the menu that appears.
Similarly, Press To approve button to confirm your action i.e. to delete that .zip file.
Then you can log in to your admin dashboard and go to Appearance > Themes to preview or enable the child theme and start your customization work.
final thoughts
WordPress child themes offer the chance for almost endless website customization that doesn’t disappear after parent theme updates. The number and variety of changes you choose to include depends on your website design and your coding knowledge. To start developing your custom site, first, choose your preferred method of installing child themes in WordPress from the three different methods we provide in this article. Then follow our instructions and make sure you have successfully installed your child theme within minutes. Note that using a child theme requires the appropriate parent theme to be installed, so be sure to install the parent theme as well. After that, the sky is your limit.
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