148 – How to Properly Modify Genesis Child Themes

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Tools / Plugins

Jim Morrision from [Delime Website Services] has created an amazing resource. It’s a Website Development Agreement package that includes all the text you need for a client contract. Plus, it has an easily importable contact form so you can get the right information from your clients.

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148 – How to Properly Modify Genesis Child Themes

What is a child theme?
A WordPress child theme is a theme that inherits the functionality of another theme, called the parent theme, and allows you to modify, or add to, the functionality of that parent theme.

Why it’s important
It’s important to use child themes because it allows you to make custom changes to your WordPress site without modifying the original theme. This way, if the developer updates the code, you won’t lose all of the custom changes you’ve made.

If you’d like more information about child themes, please check out my Classroom Replay.

Since there is no such thing as a child child theme, here’s what I recommend you do:

• You are only going to most likely make changes to the stylesheet and functions.php file.
• Create a custom.css file
• Use the following code to add your custom.css to the bottom of the style.css

  @import url(‘custom.css’);

• It needs to be at the bottom so that it can over write the default css commands
• Next create a custom_function.php and import into your functions.php file the same way as the stylesheet

  @import url(‘custom_function.php’);

• If you have to create specific page templates, then come up with a naming convention (like page-dh-archive.php)
• Before you update, first back everything up.
• Next copy your custom changes to your local hard drive
• Update your theme
• Add back in your custom files (if necessary)
• Then add in the import commands to the style and functions file

This isn’t the most ideal solution, but you will be able to keep all of your code in the same place and will provide the least amount of hassle when a child theme is updated.

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