WordPress Custom Theme Development Bootcamp

The 4-hour WordPress Custom Theme Development Bootcamp introduces participants to the fundamentals of WordPress themes, including theme hierarchy, essential files, and development tools. It guides attendees through setting up a local development environment, creating a basic theme with custom headers, footers, and navigation menus, and building main template files while customizing The Loop and adding widget areas. The bootcamp emphasizes hands-on exercises, encourages active participation, and concludes with a Q&A session to reinforce learning, making it an engaging and practical introduction to WordPress theme development.

What will you Learn?

Introduction & Setup

  • Introduction to WordPress Themes
    • What is a WordPress theme?
      • Difference between themes and plugins
        • Overview of theme hierarchy
        • Setting Up the Development Environment
          • Installing WordPress locally using XAMPP/localwp
            • Introduction to PHP, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript in WordPress
              • Tools: Code editors (e.g., VS Code), Browser DevTools, etc.
              • Understanding the Structure of a WordPress Theme
                • Essential files: style.css, index.php, functions.php
                  • Overview of other template files: header.php, footer.php, sidebar.php, etc.

                  Creating a Basic Theme

                  • Starting a New Theme
                    • Creating a new theme folder
                      • Setting up style.css and index.php
                        • Adding the functions.php file
                        • Basic Theme Setup
                          • Enqueueing styles and scripts (wp_enqueue_style, wp_enqueue_script)
                            • Adding a custom logo, title, and favicon
                            • Building the Header and Footer
                              • Creating and customizing header.php
                                • Creating and customizing footer.php
                                  • Adding navigation menus

                                  Building the Theme

                                  • Creating the Main Template Files
                                    • Setting up page.php and single.php
                                      • Creating and customizing archive.php and search.php
                                        • Adding custom template parts with get_template_part()
                                        • Working with the Loop
                                          • Understanding The Loop and its role in WordPress
                                            • Customizing The Loop in different template files (index.php, single.php, etc.)
                                              • Using WP_Query for custom queries
                                              • Adding Widget Areas
                                                • Creating widgetized areas (sidebars, footers)
                                                  • Registering and displaying widgets in the theme