Tag: themes

Genesis: Static Nav Bar
One of my sites got a facelift, and mid-stream I thought “This site would be the perfect place to have one of those floating nav bars.” You know, like how Twitter has this?

Well guess what? It was easy! Presuming you already have a Primary Navigation Menu (like the one I have here with the Genericons), it’s two steps. Of note, you don’t have to do this in your functions.php, but since this will be a part of your theme, it probably belongs there. I tested, and it works in an mu-plugin as well. I should also point out that there are some official directions in the My.StudioPress.com site, but I didn’t use them. I like making it hard.

Step One: Put the nav menu above your header

This one was super easy, it’s even in one of the official Genesis Snippits under Navigation Menus. Put this in your functions.php file:
```
//* Reposition the primary navigation menu
remove_action( 'genesis_after_header', 'genesis_do_nav' );
add_action( 'genesis_before_header', 'genesis_do_nav' );
```
That puts the primary navigation menu above the header. If you want to use the secondary menu, it would be genesis_do_subnav but you can sort that out.

Step Two: Make it stick

This is pure CSS, so into your style.css goes:
```
.nav-primary {
    position:fixed;
    z-index:99;
    top: 0;
    width: 100%
}
```
At first I didn’t add in the top: 0; but I found out that without it, a fixed position meant my header was suddenly under the navbar all the time. Oops. So I moved that to on, after spending an hour trying to math out the permutations with margins, and ended up with my navbar under the WordPress toolbar! Don’t worry, CSS to the rescue!
```
body.admin-bar .nav-primary {
    top: 28px!important;
}
body.admin-bar .site-container {
    margin: 30px 0 0 0;
}
```
This simply says that for the body class of admin-bar, bump everything down by 28 pixels.

Step Three: Return to Top

I know, I know, I said two steps. This one is optional. I made a menu item called ‘Top’ with a link of #top and a CSS label of ‘top’ and it looks like this:

Now since I called this menu ‘primary’ and I’m using Genericons, I made this my CSS (keep in mind .nav-primary would also work):
```
.menu-primary top {
    float: right;
}

.menu-primary li.top a {
    font-size: 0;
}

.menu-primary li.top a::before  {
    vertical-align: middle;
    padding: 0 5px 0 0;
    font-family: 'Genericons';
    content: '\f435';
}
```
This gives me a happy little top arrow that, when clicked on, takes people to the top. If you want to mess with colors, remember that to be specific for just the before calls, it’s a:hover:before (the pseudo-element is last).
17 October, 2013
WP Comments ReplyTwo
WPTavern has this cool thing where, without threaded comments, you still have a reply link, AND it creates an automatic link back to the original comment.

Let me rewind. If you have threaded comments, then you get a ‘reply’ link on the bottom of a comment, and it lets you make a threaded reply. Yay! There are problems with this, though, as after a while, if you get nested deep enough, you can’t reply under anymore, and have to go up to click reply on the previous post and on and on.

Back eons ago, WPTavern solved this with a function, and like all great sites documented it! The problem? The documentation was busted. Now, yes, I did ping Jeff about this and asked him how it went, but in the meantime, I was impatient and looked up a plugin that almost fit my bill.

Enter @ Reply (aka Reply To), which add in a reply link to all comments! Plus is gives you ‘Twitter like’ @replies, so when you comment, it starts “@foo:” automatically. This is just like what WPTavern has, perfect! Except… not quite.

My problems became two:
1. I want all comments to have a ‘reply’ link.
2. I don’t want the hover over image.
And I solved this with two code chunks: a plugin and a theme.

See, by default WP stops showing you the ‘reply’ link when you can’t nest anymore. To change that, you have to edit how your theme calls comments. Or rather, you have to change the comment_reply_link() call.

The Theme Code

I’m already customizing my comments in Genesis so this was surprisingly simple.

What was this:
```
&lt;div class=&quot;comment-reply&quot;&gt;
    &lt;?php comment_reply_link( array_merge( $args, array( 'depth' =&gt; $depth, 'max_depth' =&gt; $args['max_depth'] ) ) ); ?&gt;
    &lt;/div&gt;
```
Becomes this:
```
&lt;div class=&quot;comment-reply&quot;&gt;
    &lt;?php comment_reply_link( array_merge( $args, array( 'depth' =&gt; 1, 'max_depth' =&gt; 2 ) ) ); ?&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
```
Basically we’re lying to WP and saying we always show the link. I got that idea from this stackexchange post, and as I understand it, we’re tricking WP by saying that every post is depth of 1, and has a max of 2, instead of letting it figure it out on it’s own. This is probably inelegant, but I couldn’t find another way to have the reply link always on.

The Plugin Code

This was easier, in that I took the existing code, cleaned it up and removed the reply image, and that was pretty much it. Downside is that this does not work on every site. Notably, it doesn’t work unless threaded comments are turned on. When they’re not, it does a double-refresh.

That said, this is probably never going to be a plugin for the masses, so I’m content with having it work this way for me. Even if I only thread one comment at a time, it would let me group them together and get the @-reply. It’s already rather popular on the site I intended it for, and people like it.

So here’s the code:
```
class AtReplyTwoHELF {
    public function __construct() {
        add_action( 'init', array( &amp;$this, 'init' ) );
    }

    public function init() {
		if (!is_admin()) {
			 add_action('comment_form', array( $this, 'r2_reply_js'));
			 add_filter('comment_reply_link', array( $this,'r2_reply'));
		}
	}

	public function r2_reply_js() {
	?&gt;
		&lt;script type=&quot;text/javascript&quot;&gt;
			//&lt;![CDATA[
			function r2_replyTwo(commentID, author) {
				var inReplyTo = '@&lt;a href=&quot;' + commentID + '&quot;&gt;' + author + '&lt;\/a&gt;: ';
				var myField;
				if (document.getElementById('comment') &amp;&amp; document.getElementById('comment').type == 'textarea') {
					myField = document.getElementById('comment');
				} else {
					return false;
				}
				if (document.selection) {
					myField.focus();
					sel = document.selection.createRange();
					sel.text = inReplyTo;
					myField.focus();
				}
				else if (myField.selectionStart || myField.selectionStart == '0') {
					var startPos = myField.selectionStart;
					var endPos = myField.selectionEnd;
					var cursorPos = endPos;
					myField.value = myField.value.substring(0, startPos) + inReplyTo + myField.value.substring(endPos, myField.value.length);
					cursorPos += inReplyTo.length;
					myField.focus();
					myField.selectionStart = cursorPos;
					myField.selectionEnd = cursorPos;
				}
				else {
					myField.value += inReplyTo;
					myField.focus();
				}
			}
			//]]&gt;
		&lt;/script&gt;
	&lt;?php
	}

	public function r2_reply($reply_link) {
		 $comment_ID = '#comment-' . get_comment_ID();
		 $comment_author = esc_html(get_comment_author());
		 $r2_reply_link = 'onclick=\'return r2_replyTwo(&quot;' . $comment_ID . '&quot;, &quot;' . $comment_author . '&quot;),';
		 return str_replace(&quot;onclick='return&quot;, &quot;$r2_reply_link&quot;, $reply_link);
	}
}

new AtReplyTwoHELF();
```
Most of the javascript stuff is copy/pasta for me (just left of witchcraft), and I left it barebones (no configurations) on purpose. Simple is as simple does.

Suggestions and tweaks welcome!
10 October, 2013
To Fork Or Not To Fork

Sometimes the question you have to ask yourself is if you should fork. With a plugin, this is a fairly easy conversation. You want functionality, the original author doesn’t, you fork. But when you look at a theme, you start getting into messier territory.

In many ways, a theme is ‘simpler’ than a plugin. Theme devs, don’t shoot me! What I mean is that a plugin can be or do anything, but a theme is always a theme. While it may change how your site looks in amazing ways (and I am constantly in envy of people who can visualize like that), it really is just a theme. This is why reviewing themes is easier to monitor and manage than plugins. But that’s another conversation. The point here is that when you want to extend a theme, you make a child theme. Done.

What happens when you’re already using a child theme, though? StudioPress, a theme shop I love, makes child themes and sells those. This site is using a child theme, though it’s currently one of my own devising. Previously, it was using a child theme called Streamline, however, and it had a lot of changes.

So when do you make a child theme, and when do you extend it in other ways? It really depends on what you’re doing. While I sat and tried to figure out where my personal breakpoints were, I realized that since the best themes know they are a theme, and not a plugin, it was really easy. A great theme lets you seamlessly use a plugin to add in functionality. They may even tell you what the best ones are. Recently, Coen Jacobs wrote about how good themes never bundle plugins and he’s right. A plugin is a plugin, a theme is a theme. Keep ’em separate, keep ’em safe.

I’ve done it in three different ways for three different sites, and I’ll explain my rational below.

The Simple

One site is simple. Every ounce of functionality I needed, and more, was in the core code of StudioPress, not even a child theme was needed. All I wanted was to change some colors and add in a couple CPTs and shortcodes. That was easily done via Jetpack, which has a CSS editor, and a couple plugins. Actually, 99% was the CSS, once I sat down and looked at it. All the weird stuff was normal plugins.

Sometimes simple is a teeny bit complicated, and when that happens, I may make a custom mu-plugin or two, but in general, not so much needed unless I want a Custom Post Type. And anyway, I never put a CPT in my theme if I can help it.

The Complicated

On the other hand, one site is hella complex. I found a theme I really, really, liked. Almost. And worse, this was a child theme. It was exactly what I was afraid of. There was no way I would get what I wanted out of this theme unless I edited the functions.php file, a lot of the CSS, and a ton of the images. Could I still have done this via CSS and a couple plugins? No. Well, the CSS yes, but not the code. I had need for some crazy functions, a total re-write of comments, and the list went on.

In this case, I forked. I ripped out the small amount I never wanted. I added in the medium amount I did want. I directly edited the theme’s CSS, added in a post template, and changed all the images to my chose color. I even added in a different font. Could I have re-written from scratch? Of course, but the theme had 90% of what I already wanted to do.

There actually is a step before forking, and that would be using plugins. I know I mentioned plugins before, with the simple themes, but actually most theme frameworks are extra special. They often have custom plugins like Simple Hooks, which fundamentally lets me do everything I might do in a functions.php file for that theme. This means most of the time, I don’t fork. But. This theme really was so complex that I needed more than just the simple hooks. Genesis Complex Hooks may have done it, or another plugin to make a transient functions.php (ala CSS editing). And that would have done it except for when I wanted to change a lot of images, add in JS, and then a custom page template …

Well you see how it goes. The point here, however, is that I sat and thought about it, studied my setup, and made a long term decision. Originally I was using the plugin way, but when it stopped being extendable, I decided to do this, and I regret nothing.

The Original

The last option I had was I theme I kind of liked, but it was old. It was pre-HTML5, it didn’t have microformats, but more-over, it wasn’t aging as well as I would have liked. I made a list of what I liked about it, what I didn’t, and what I really wanted. While the list was short, it was also clearly not going to just be CSS. I wanted a custom front page, an extra page template, images, and Genericons built in. In short, I wanted this theme to be something that could carry me onward, regardless of a plugin, even one I wrote.

I have not made my own, 100% from scratch, child-theme in a long while, and this one may not really count since I was designing it to look like something else. This took me an afternoon to bang out the basics, and a couple days of minor fixes here and there to perfect them. Release and iterate, as they say. Certainly, I could have taken someone else’s theme, but it was going to be a surprising amount of work to do that. Instead, I made a list of my needed features and my desired options, and went to town. It’s still a pretty simple child-theme (which speaks well to the inherent extensibility of the parent), but now it’s mine, and it’s easy to extend it and expand it.

The Rest…

What about you? What do you think about when deciding how to handle a theme that needs changing?

17 June, 2013
A Theme By Any Other Name
When I redesigned my sites earlier this year I struggled with some concepts that later drove me away from child themes and into the arms of custom plugins. The issue at heart is that the term ‘theme’ is used in far too broad and encompassing a manner, which confuses people when they find out there are different types of themes. And no, I don’t mean responsive vs static vs mobile. I touched on this earlier in the year when I reviewed the very concept of managed themes, but apparently I didn’t do it well enough.

After some talks on WP-Hackers, I’ve got a better list.
- Theme – The traditional theme.
  - Child/Parent Themes
- Theme Framework – Can be used as a traditional theme, normally used as a parent.
  - Starter Theme – Never used as a standalone theme, only used to build themes.
  - Managed Theme – A theme that acts like a framework and a child at the same time.
So let’s look at them in order.

Theme

Example: TwentyEleven, Buttercream, pretty much anything in wordpress.org

This is the most basic, simple, normal theme in the world. It works right out of the box. You can make a child if you have to, but most people don’t. Themes may or may not be built off of a Theme Framework, but they can all be used as is, no alterations needed.

Child / Parent Themes

The short version here is that child themes are built off a parent. A parent can be any of the themes here (Theme, Managed, or Framework). A child theme can never be a ‘theme’ however, it can never stand on it’s own. And there are some themes that don’t support children at all. The parent/child relationship muddies the waters quite a bit when it comes to understanding what type of theme you have, but I would go with the basic rule of “If a theme requires another theme to be installed separately, it’s a child theme.”

Theme Framework

Examples: Hybrid, Genesis

These themes are crazy robust. It’s like taking a normal theme, giving it steroids, and then handing you toolkits to expand it. Theme Frameworks can be used as a theme themselves, but often are treated as either Starters or Managed (see below). Frameworks come with a bunch of new, extra functions, along with documentation. Oh yes, these babies are documented so the theme guru can carry on, or the newbie can learn all about how themes work.

There are two types of Frameworks (and this is where people will disagree with me a lot).

Starter Theme

Example: _s, Bootstrap, Hybrid

These are used to build a parent theme off of, and cannot stand on their own as a theme (they’re skeletons). No one actually uses the theme as a theme on it’s own without forking and adding in their bells and whistles. These are turned into full-blown themes, and use the normal parent/child relationships from there out (which is why they’re a subset of frameworks). The starter theme itself is not a stand-alone theme, however, and the person who builds their parent theme off these ‘framework’ is responsible for updating their theme when the framework is updated.

Managed Theme

Example: Genesis, Thesis

A managed theme is usually built on a framework, but unlike a starter theme, these can be used as is if you want. The real difference is not that, however, but that everything that you should be doing is within the WP Dashboard. All CSS tweaks, and even functions, can be added there-in, and not the functions.php files. Sometimes these are just parent themes that you don’t make children off of, ever, and others are children themselves of a framework. The best ones have a way to export your theme settings. To make things easier, you’ll find a lot of plugins that do what most people want, and they never need to edit code.

Drawing The Lines

What is a theme and what is a plugin, then? I was trying to explain this to a non-techy the other day, and jokingly said “You know how Barbie has all those clothes you can put on her, like the ski outfit? That’s a theme. A plugin is the Barbie Camper.” As horrific as the metaphor is, it’s not inaccurate. The theme changes the design, the plugin changes the function. Many theme developers hate putting code like Custom Post Types into their themes, because they feel that code should be separate from theme, and you should be able to keep your content, no matter what theme you’re using.

For a long time I never used ‘starter’ as a theme designation, because to me the word ‘framework’ meant ‘a frame I build off of.’ With the conversations I had on wp-hacker in mind, I have reclassified themes into two types. Themes and Theme Frameworks. That’s it. That’s all you get. And yes, that means I think a Starter Theme is a framework. Look, Genesis, Hybrid-Core, and Bootstrap are all themes that someone uses to build other themes. They’re all frames that people can use to paint their own masterpiece.

When you start looking at managed vs starter, it gets clearer. I call Genesis managed because that’s how the end users will see it. It’s not a starter, because people don’t fork Genesis to make a new theme, they use it and make children.

The following explanation is using the two frameworks I’m most familiar with.

Hybrid is a Starter Theme Framework. People download it, extend it into their own theme (see Oxygen, News, etc, all of which are stand-alone themes in the repository), and use those themes as full born ‘traditional looking’ themes. They can make children theme, but the point is not that Oxygen (built off Hybrid) is a theme or not, but that Hybrid, it’s source, is not a theme, but a Framework. They are separate things.

Gensis is a Managed Theme Framework. It remains a separate parent theme, and technically can be used as is (it’s a very nice basic theme), so in that way it’s a Framework, but people don’t take that as a base theme and extend it like they do Hybrid. When you make a child theme of Genesis, it’s a true child theme, and never a copy of Genesis, renamed, and extended. Thus, Genesis could be a framework, but it’s really a managed theme because you never fork it, you always manage it via the dashboard or a child theme. Genesis is a theme built off a framework, and no one else uses that framework but Genesis.

If you treat everything like a nail, you’ll always use a hammer. And a nail will go wherever you want if you hit it hard enough. I don’t suggest that, by the way, and as a principle of forcing your way on everyone, it’s not a good one. Treating all theme types as exactly the same will get you into trouble. If I extend one the nail/screw metaphor, one reason themes take on so much is that they can’t install plugins. Managed themes are a great example of themes crossing the line between being a hammer (theme) and a screw (plugin).

A starter theme framework is Home Depot. All the tools are there, there’s even some help, but you’re going to pick out your tools and your lumber and build what you want. When you need more, you can invent and create anything you want. You may have to go back to the store and buy more nails and screws, but your limit is your own ability and imagination.

A managed theme framework is Ikea, with that Ikea Toolkit. It has all the parts you need, and while you can hack the bookshelf into a standing desk with little work, and no extra parts, you’re meant to use it out of the box and follow their directions to design differently. And when you need more, there are plugins to add on to what you have to make it more. Within limits.

My Recommendation

Use what you like, but understand what you’re using.

Themes are very personal. A plugin is easy, you want something to fit a specific niche, you find it, you use it. You may pick one over another based on ease of personal usability, but the final function is the real deal breaker. A theme, on the other hand, has to look right and feel right to use, and that’s very, very hard. No matter which one I use, and I use a theme, a framework, and a managed all on my sites, I make sure it meets my feel-good and my needs. I know I’m perfectly comfortable hacking functions to bend to my whim, but if I was handing over a theme to someone less techy, I would think twice.

When you’re making a site for someone else, think about how much you want to support. The more complex a theme, and the harder for the users to edit it, the more calls you get. Even when you’re making a site for yourself, you have to know what kind of theme you have, and the best way to edit it. If you’re using a stand-alone theme, built on a framework or not, once you know how to use child themes you’re good to go. But a managed theme may be a new learning curve for you, so remember to take time and ask around for how to use this theme the best way.

The best thing about learning to use a managed theme is that they’re usually used to the newbies, so for an experienced theme dev, that learning curve is short and shallow. You already know how to find the docs, read them, and apply them. You know that there will be options, between editing functions.php and using a plugin, and you can weigh the pros and cons for yourself and your clients.

Understand what you’re using, understand how it works, and use what makes you happy.
28 November, 2012
Managed Themes Have A Place
This post is dedicated to Helen Hou-Sandi, who donated to help me get to WCSF. Helen and I like to Pass the Hat, to the amusement of my former firewall team. She also encouraged me to apply for the WP job I got last week. Thanks, Helen!

I’ve been using a managed theme on my main site (ipstenu.org) for the last few months, and I’ve decided I really like it. I’ve also started to sort out the kind of people who should be using it, and it’s not everyone.

Let’s start by breaking down themes into their logical types:
- A Theme – These are things like TwentyEleven, that you simply use as-is.
- A Child Theme – These are for tweaks you can’t make via plugins or css.
- A Parent Theme – This is a theme you know you’re going to extend.
- A Theme Framework – Similar to a parent theme, this is a theme you build off of. It may, or may not, be a parent, however. See ThemeHybrid’s themes, or the Bootstrap theme.
- A Managed Theme – A theme that acts like a framework and a child at the same time.
The differences between these types is slim and sounds like I’m arguing semantics. The weird magic of it all is that themes are themes, and there’s not a whole lot of difference between everything. So maybe I’m looking at themes wrong. The point of themes is that you should be able to make your site look how you want to, no matter your skill level. The problem is that with a low skill level, you don’t know how to do the things you want to. This is where managed themes come in.

A managed theme holds your hands, and takes the burden of knowing ‘code’ off of the user. While I’m not a fan of lowering the bar too much, there’s a point when we need to make the software easy enough in all aspects and not just some. WordPress isn’t perfect, and while it’s amazing a lot of things, there’s really too much going on in others. This is why there’s room for something like Tumblr, where it’s very easy to post (if hard to make your site look ‘right’). I see WordPress needing some improvement on posting, making it much easier for people to just write, and somehow separating that from the ‘managing a website’ part.

But at the same time, managing the website, making it look right, is crazy hard. There are a lot of options and a lot of possibilities. Anyone who’s tried to make a site for someone else knows how much like banging your head on a wall it can be. So when you’re new, and you can’t afford to hire the big guys to make a site, but you want flexibility without having to learn code, where do you go?

Managed Themes.

Look, I love a sexy Theme Framework. I’m a huge fan of ThemeHybrid. But part of why I love it is that I can get into the nitty gritty code, tweak functions, and go to the races. I spend a lot of time tweaking backends and testing layouts and messing with functions. But not everyone likes to do that, nor should they. I’m not a super snazzy theme designer, they’re not super awesome writers, it’s differences that make the world go around.

For the last few months, I’ve been using Genesis Theme and I have to say, if I was going to make a site to turn over to someone who I knew was somewhat savvy but not super technical, I’d pick that. It’s not ‘easy’, but this is something that a middle-of-the-road person could pick up, make their way through, and grow and advance as needed. It’s a perfect way to make your site not look ‘standard’ while still not meaning you have to be all action/hook/function skilled. After all, it takes a while to grow into that.

Managed themes aren’t for ‘me’ most of the time. I know that’s weird to say when you note that I’m using one. I’m really a framework sort of girl. I love the nuts and bolts. But when I don’t want to spend a whole day (like I just did) tweaking a child theme into submission, and just pick up and go and not look like an out of the box site, a Managed Theme is the way to go. I don’t have to worry about telling someone ‘Just edit the functions.php…’ when they want to change something. There’s a nice GUI for them.

I’ve played with a couple, but I have to say the only one that impressed me enough to give them a second chance was StudioPress’ Genesis Theme. Part of why I gave them a shot was because one of my best friends works there. But after half an hour of using it, I thought “This is easy.”

Who are Managed Themes for? They’re not for the newbies, and they’re not for the masters of all they survey. But if you, like me, don’t really like designing themes, and you’re not always wanting to pick apart code, grab a managed theme. I may still lean towards the Parent Theme Templates for myself, but right now, looking at a site my father wants, I’m looking at those managed themes.

They’re pretty darn cool.
13 August, 2012
No Children Necessary
This post is dedicated to Michael Fields, who donated to help me get to WCSF. I envy him his Portland.

Not all of my sites use child themes. In fact, most of them don’t. I work on about 20 WordPress sites and of them I have five child themes, one of which is an unedited child from the theme dev. Even when I have custom-post-types, I rarely need to mess with a child theme, unless it’s needing a special template or page design. That means that most of my child themes are a style sheet, a functions file, and one or two new pages. When I do have to make a child theme, I do my best to make it reusable as much as possible. I have the same child theme on two sites, but they look nothing alike.

But generally, when someone tells me they need to edit a theme, I tell them how to make a child theme, which I fully endorse, but also to step back. Do you really need a child theme? See most people make a child theme to customize their site, and since that’s pretty much what they were invented for, it shouldn’t be a bad thing. But sometimes people are using a child theme for the wrong thing and they ignore all the built-in ways to customize a theme.

The only reason you need to use a child theme is when you have to add a new template, or replace one that cannot be hooked into.

That’s it.

Before we get into this, I’m going to point out that if you are using a Theme Framework, this is not for you. A theme framework is something designed for you to build a child theme off of. This post is for people who use TwentyEleven and want to make it a little special, or even a lot special, because most of what you want to do is something in CSS anyway. Yes, I did just say most of what you’re doing with a child theme can be done with CSS. The rest of it can usually be done with widgets, and after that there are some plugins to help you out.

Ready to customize your theme without a child theme? Here we go.

Themes Have Options

It’s 2012, and the majority of themes have options. Some have too many, but pretty much every theme has some options. The default theme has some basic options. People may call them simple, but these options are huge to make your site just a little different. A single column, no sidebar, TwentyEleven is automatically a different feel than the generic sidebar site. It puts the concentration on your content, which is king, and pulls it back to the importance of it. If you’re running a documentation or essay site, that’s what you want. Most themes also have header options, to pick your text, color, and image, as well as background images and colors. The new theme customizer lets you actually do almost all of that in one go, making it even easier.

Remember. All cars have wheels, windows, and doors: it’s how they’re arranged and styled that attract most people.

I know I said I wasn’t going to mention Theme Frameworks, but themes like Genesis, and even ones like Hybrid, often build their themes with powerful options that let you use them without having to make your own functions files. More on how you don’t need that later.

It’s just CSS

Most of what people want to change is CSS. I said it before, I’ll say it again. If you want to change the color of your site, and it’s not included in the theme options, you want to end your CSS. But how, I hear you ask, without a child theme? WordPress.com Custom CSS (aka Safe CSS) will let you edit your site’s CSS without making a child theme. You can’t use all CSS, there are some moz-radius things that don’t seem to work, but other than that, you can totally change up your site.

CSS is more than just colors. CSS can format your text, move your divs, and completely customize your layout, all with just a few lines. Change the one column from a skinny one to a fat one, indent your paragraphs, and add whitespace to your header without any text. Everything can be moved.

Neglect not your menus

Customize your menus. You can add images and styles to your menus, and you should to make them look like anything you want. Yes, this goes back to CSS, but you’d be amazing how many people just leave them alone. First, remember to customize your menu to look like anything except that list of pages. Change it up right away, and then add in design and style to stand out. The menu is supposed to catch your reader’s attention and direct them where you want to go. Don’t slack off.

Widgets, Widgets, Widgets, Widgets, Widgets, Widgets, yeah!

Do not ignore the power of your widgets. Your widgets control your sidebars in most sites, but also your footers. People think of them as just a way to toss in twitter and search. You can use the amazing, incredible Widget Logic to control when and where a widget shows, to make different pages show different information. An alternative, if you’re really good at php, is the impressive PHP Code Widget, which will let you put any PHP in widget and customize it on it’s own.

The most powerful widget in your arsenal, however, is the text widget. Text drives your site in so many ways, a simple text widget can hold any information, from contact information to a haiku. You can put anything in a text widget, HTML, inline CSS, your special code. Text is insanely powerful and you shouldn’t forget it.

Want to use shortcodes in your widgets? We can do that too with two lines of code:
```
add_filter( 'widget_text', 'shortcode_unautop');
add_filter( 'widget_text', 'do_shortcode', 11);
```
Normally this would go in your functions.php in your theme, but hang on, we’ll get to where to put that in a minute.

Conjunction Junction, Don’t Use Functions

Here’s where a lot of people demand they have to use a child theme. They need to add in functions, like the overriding filters and actions in their parent theme. I very, very, rarely use a functions.php file in any child theme, because I hate having to replace them if I ever switch themes. Instead, I make use of mu-plugins.

Generally I end up with three files:
customposttypes.php functions.php themename.php

Obviously, the first one is for my Custom Post Types. They all live there happily. The second is for anything and everything I’d put in that theme function file. It’s important for me to keep the general functions separate from the theme specific ones, however. In fact, while I originally said I made a ‘subchild’ theme for Genesis’ Balance theme, I’m now using the CSS (mentioned above, SafeCSS), and two MU plugins: ipstenu-functions.php and ipstenu-balance.php. That’s right, all my tweaks, everything I did, are there. I’ve done the same for this domain, and all other sites except for photos. Why? Photos has a CPT that needs a custom template.

On subsites of a network, I wrap my mu-plugin with if ( $blog_id == 2 ) { ... } to ensure it only gets called on that subsite. For the theme, $theme_name = get_current_theme(); and if ( $theme_name == 'Origin' ) { ... } within. Be careful, the theme name is the name, not the slug, so ‘Balance Child Theme’ and not ‘balance’ is what you want. Even straight up theme related actions like add_action('genesis_before_footer', 'ipstenu_before_footer'); work without a hitch. That leaves me with (at most) three ‘plugins’ for each site, and usually not even one. If I wanted to be really lazy with Genesis, I could do most of it internal with a plugin to do it on the dashboard instead.

You can do it all without children

Really the point is that of all the children theme possibilities on this network, the only one that exists is the one that needed it’s own special template. I certainly wouldn’t do this for all sites, but once you pull all the theme specific data out of your functions file, there’s often very little left. When you can do this, you retain a little extra flexibility in that your changes are easy to swap out between themes.

At the end of the day, it doesn’t make things easier or harder, just different.

Put all your non-theme-specific changes into a mu-plugin. Put your CPTs into another. See what’s left. You may be surprised.
19 July, 2012