WordPress Customization
By Justin Laing
2008-01-09
Structure Of A WordPress Theme
Theme Templates
There are a couple different types of pages in WordPress. Each type
of page can have a customized look and feel. This customization is done
by templates. Templates are how themes work. Each template is a
seperate PHP file inside the theme’s directory. Here are the standard
templates:
- 404 Template = 404.php - It’s handy to create a custom 404 page
(Page Not Found) template. You can list common links and ways for users
to find what they are looking for.
-
Archive Template = archive.php
-
Archive Index Page = archives.php
-
Comments Template = comments.php - This template defines how comments look under individual posts on the “Post Template”.
-
Footer Template = footer.php - HTML that is placed at the bottom of each page, saves you time and produces less duplicate HTML code in your templates.
-
Header Template = header.php - HTML that is placed at the top of each page, usually has the <head> section in it.
-
Links = links.php
-
Main Template = index.php - Usually this page lists your most recent posts. This is the “home” page of your site.
-
Page Template = page.php
- Used for single pages, instead of blog posts. Your “About” page uses
this template. This is the default page template, you can make your own
custom page templates. I’ll cover this more in detail later.
-
Popup Comments Template = comments-popup.php
-
Post Template = single.php
- This is where you customize pages that display single posts. Click on
a post title (permalink) and you will be at it’s single post page using
the post template.
-
Search Form = searchform.php
-
Search Template = search.php
-
Sidebar Template = sidebar.php
- Usually the right hand side bar of the page. Some themes have more
than one side bar so you’ll see templates like left_sidebar.php.
-
Stylesheet = style.css
- Default place to put your CSS. It also contains the name and
description of the theme. You must always have this file with the name
and description of your theme. Many themes will have multiple CSS files
that are linked to from the header.php file or the individual page
templates to customize individual pages with different style rules.
Tutorial Pages:
»
Introduction To WordPress
»
WordPress Themes
» Structure Of A WordPress Theme
»
Making Your New Theme
»
Modifying The Header
»
Blog / Post Templates
»
The Post Loop
»
Page Templates
»
Sidebars
»
Meta Data / Custom Fields For Page Customization
Originally posted on Makebeta
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