Mar.27.2007
WordPress Theme Checklist
- Filed under: Resource
Note: The following checklist was based on WordPress 2.0. Since WordPress 2.1, WordPress has replaced and introduced new template tags.
Files, functions, and to-dos you need to check-off before using / publishing your own unique WordPress theme:
Files and Templates
- 404.php
- archive.php
- category.php
- comments.php
- footer.php
- functions.php (for widget-ready sidebar)
- header.php
- index.php
- page.php
- search.php
- searchform.php
- sidebar.php
- single.php
- screenshot.png / .jpg / .gif
- style.css
- readme.txt (optional)
Header.php
- Blog’s Title
- Blog’s Description
Footer.php
- wp_footer()
- Footer text and links (usually, copyright message)
Sidebar.php
- Search form – Does the regular search form match the widget search form?
- Pages / wp_list_pages() – Have you styled the second level links? Third level links?
- Categories / wp_list_cats() – Sort by name or ID? In what order? Is hierarchical turned off or on?
- Archives
- Calendar – Does the regular calendar match the widget calendar?
- Links / get_links_list()
- Meta: wp_register(), wp_loginout(), wp_meta()
Index.php, Archive.php, Category.php, Search.php, Page.php, Single.php
- the_ID()
- Post title: the_permalink, the_title()
- the_content
- Postmetadata: edit_post_link(), comments_popup_link(), the_author(), the_category(), the_time(),
- trackback_rdf() [hidden]
- posts_nav_link() – Next/Previous page links
- Else – What to display when there is no content.
Archive.php, Search.php
- the_excerpt() replaces the_content()
Page.php
- link_pages()
- Remove Postmetadata
- Keep edit_post_link()
- Remove posts_nav_link()
- comments_template()
Single.php
- link_pages()
- Remove comments_popup_link()
- comments_template()
Comments.php
- Comments list
- Comment forms and textarea
- ‘No comments’ message
- ‘Comments awaiting moderation’ message
- ‘Must login’ message
- ‘Password protected’ message
- Comments off message
Pages to Validate
- Home page
- Archive pages
- Category pages (if you customize category pages)
- Search result pages
- Pages (i.e: About)
- Single post view page
- Single post with no comments
- Single post with comments
- Single post with must login message
- Single post with no login required message
- Password protected single post with comments
Note: This is not an end-all checklist. It covers just the basics. More items will be added.
great! and then you just combine with html c0de
Sweet checklist. Good idea to put this together, especially after your tutorial series.
I wrote that checklist because I needed one
Excellent work! This concise checklist is a must-have for all theme designers!
Thank you! I was looking for this yesterday.
Everytime I check your site, I gained new things.
Keep it up!
I will save this checklist for future! Thanks and keep it up!
ahhh!! this willl help:) thnx
Great checklist, I tend to use home.php as it gives me more control over the main page.. without altering the archives and tags.
Ah… very nice.. I’ve already copied this into an excel spreadsheet as a checklist
Hey, thanks for the checklist.
I always tend to forget the 404 and page.php
header.php needs to include wp_head(). This is similar to wp_footer() for the footer.php.
Thanks
Sadish
Thanks Sadish. I considered putting wp_header() in, but… the wp_head() isn’t frequently absent from free themes like wp_footer() because the header is often copied and pasted.
Regardless, I’ll add wp_head() for the next round of this checklist.
Bookmarking this.
- MENJ
This will come in handy when I start on my own theme this month. Thank you!
I thought it was easier to create a theme. I guess you need to know much php and sql then html, anyway.
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If it was not for checklists where would we be today. Anything is possible in my opinion if you know how to progress one step at a time. Thank you for taking the time to dig into this and post a great list for creators like me.
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Small Potato:
Thanks for all of the great info. I followed your “How to Code a WordPress theme” tutorial and managed to recreate the wrath blog! Is there a simple way to take my existing website (without having to completely redesign it) and break it into the files I need for a blog? Any tutorial you can point me to or information you could give would be greatly appreciated.
Joelle – I don’t have a tutorial for that because every site is different. If you do it on your own, the steps are pretty much the same as creating it from scratch. Identify which group of codes you can separate a use as a template. Divide your page into multiple templates then link them back to together using get_header, get_footer, etc.
very nice desc. thax for these theme and for this site…
i hope ,you’ll made theme for adsense
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Yo!
Wasjust serfing on net and found this site…want to say thanks. Great site and content!
great content, i am about to make a big WordPress site for my business and this will really help.
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Nice checklist!
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We are creating a new WP theme for out Nanaimo Car Dealership
This advise will come in handy.
Thank you
i dont think would need this check list as long my theme working now. thanks anyway
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Amazing list . You have cover every file of step in detail. It very strange that people like you put such a detail. Keep posting good stuff on web.
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Great Checklist.
There should probably be a checklist for the wordpress theme css file as well.
The http://codex.wordpress.org/CSS is a good place to start.
Also there are sometimes cases when a blogger want to insert a large image into a post which can break the layout. by declaring max-width:100%; and height:auto; on the content container, you could solve that problem. (in most modern browsers)
Thanks again for the list Small Potato
Hey, thanks for the checklist.
Thanks for the check list, really useful.
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more i read more i understand i have to read more:)) thanks, could not leave you a message in the post where you go away, just want to say have a nice trip
Thanks for the check list,
This is a great checklist to use on all of my designer jeans blogs. Thanks for the tip.
Nice checklist before designing wordpress theme
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Nice and handy list. Thanks.
Thank you for your share, articles and themes. I read your articles and I got several ideas for my bloging job. Love your site!
Thank you for your share, articles and themes. I read your articles and I got several ideas for my bloging job. Love your site!
Thank you for your share, articles and themes. I read your articles and I got several ideas for my bloging job. Love your site!
Thank you for your share, articles and themes. I read your articles and I got several ideas for my bloging job. Love your site!
Thank you for your share, articles and themes. I read your articles and I got several ideas for my bloging job. Love your site!
Thank you for your share, articles and themes. I read your articles and I got several ideas for my bloging job. Love your site!
I read your articles and I got several ideas for my bloging job. Love your site!
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Looks like very detailed information to use, i tried it on following few sites and it worked.
http://www.gpsintegrated.com
Thanks so much for the tuts. We used them to create our own blog which matches our original Nanaimo Dealership site.
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Thanks for the checklist – always nice to have a reference so that when things go wrong, you can get back to where you started!
Hi friend.. Thanks for this check list!!
thanks for this checklist. its usefull for me
true information…
Very Nice List, thank you our
Seo company will send keep this in mind when working with WP themes.
Keep up the great work.
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Useful post. Wish I had your checklist beofre I did my last install…would have saved a lot of time
I read your articles and I got several ideas for my bloging job. Love your site!
Great check list to have a look at.. Thanks for sharing
good contents!!
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