In this article, we will try to answer the questions of what is a child theme in WordPress, when and why should you create a child theme? We hope that after reading this article, you will have a clear understanding of what a child theme is and whether you should use it.

The WordPress parent theme is designed to be used as a parent theme template where all the functionality is located. For this reason, parent topics are also known as the thematic framework. This framework is actually a library of code that is used to facilitate the development of a theme. This allows for the existence of a centralized location where all functions are located.

What is a child theme in WordPress?

A child theme is a WordPress theme that inherits its functionality from another theme, the parent theme. Child themes are mostly used when you want to customize an existing WordPress theme without losing the ability to upgrade or update that theme. In the old days of WordPress, there were major problems with the way themes were developed and maintained. There was no good way to upgrade and update WordPress themes, without losing all the theme customizations that had been made up to that point. This prompted the WordPress community to correct the above problem by introducing the concept of parent and child themes.

The problem that existed before the introduction of this concept, as we have already mentioned, was that any eventual update of the theme would lead to the loss of all the adjustments that had been made to the theme until then. On the other hand, if the detected errors in the code were not corrected, the sites became easy prey for hacking and abuse.

The existence of a parent theme allows for the release of new updates, but which will not affect the child theme or any settings on it. If there is a need to fix a bug or omission, it has become very easy to release a new update without modifying anything on the child theme.

The Relationship Between Parent and Child

The Child theme inherits all the functionality of the parent theme without any changes to the parent theme. This allowed users to change the style of the parent theme and add or modify features without losing the ability to update the parent theme.

Theoretically, every WordPress theme can have a child theme, but still not all themes are good themes for a parent theme. In many cases, however, programming knowledge is needed to determine if the theme is suitable for a child theme or if everything will work as it should.

When to use a child theme?

The decision to use a child theme largely depends on your needs. A child theme is recommended if you are constantly adding new features to your website or frequently changing the style.css on the theme. In these cases, we strongly recommend that you use a child theme. Child themes solve this problem by allowing you to add your own customizations to them. This way, when you update the parent theme, all your changes will remain intact.

The discomfort you may have is that using a child theme still requires some knowledge of the code. This is a necessary prerequisite if you want everything to work properly and for all the potential of the child theme to be used.

Installing a child theme is no different from the usual WordPress theme installation we wrote about here. What should be emphasized is that you don’t have to activate the parent theme to use the child theme.

It is important to keep in mind that although you can always make a child theme, sometimes you will not really need it. Always think about the number and size of changes you intend to make to your site. If you have a lot of them, then the child topic is the right solution for you. Otherwise, there is no need for it.

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