So I’ve been doing a lot of work with child themes lately, and I realized that there’s no easy to understand, definitive guide to understanding child themes. This article aims to clear up the confusion of what a child theme is, and what a headway child theme is.
What is a Child Theme?
A child theme is a WordPress theme that adds functionality and styling to a parent theme, without being influenced or affecting the core files of that parent theme.
Think of it as a piece of clothing for your website. That great pair of jeans you own makes your legs look longer and has enough pocket space for both your wallet and your cell phone.
A child theme works in the same way. It doesn’t alter the structure, but provides extra styling and features. For example, a commercial child theme could provide an elegant look with a few features such as an affiliate box and an author bio. These are features that aren’t easily created without a child theme.
Do You Have to Use a Child Theme?
No. It’s completely possible to build a website in Headway without a child theme. However, child themes give you the ability to edit an actual style.css file and use hooks to add functionality to your existing site. Child themes can also be used to carry designs from one site to another.
The Best Times to Use a Child Theme with Headway
A child theme is best used if you want to…
- Use the same design on multiple websites.
- Develop websites for clients without using the Visual Editor (to avoid client modification)
- Code CSS in an actual file.
- Use headway’s hooks.
Where to Buy Child Themes for Headway 3.0
Child themes for headway are available in the Headway Extend marketplace, but there are third party developers springing up. You can buy all of Headway101′s child themes directly from the site if you want.
How to Build a Child Theme
If you’re interested in learning how to build your own child theme, click here to get started.
Any Questions?
What questions do you have about child themes? Are you using a child theme with Headway?
I like the clothes explanation you give. I’m sure it is very simple but how exactly can I transfer my child theme schematic that I bought and also keep it on the website I am currently using it on? Thanks
I sent you an email but this post is a perfect example of what I was asking. is this outdated? Headway does not seem to offer child themes anymore…so what else has changed here?
Headway doesn’t offer child themes but you can still make your own. They are useful if you need to add custom PHP functions and work with hooks.