How to Create a Child Theme in WordPress

Creating a child theme is the recommended best practice for modifying themes to ensure your custom changes are preserved during parent theme updates. high confidence based on 8 community reports

Creating a child theme is the recommended best practice for modifying themes to ensure your custom changes are preserved during parent theme updates.

Based on 8 community reports.

Linked sources: 8.

Known Issues

Using @import in CSS is deprecated
Functionality should ideally be in a plugin

Community Q&A

What is a WordPress child theme?

A child theme is a theme that inherits the functionality and styling of another theme, known as the parent theme, allowing you to make modifications.

Why should I use a child theme instead of editing the parent theme?

If you edit the parent theme directly, your changes will be overwritten whenever you update the theme. A child theme keeps your customizations safe.

Should I use @import in my child theme’s CSS?

No, using @import is no longer considered best practice; it is recommended to use the wp_enqueue_scripts action in your functions.php file instead.

Can I add custom PHP functionality to a child theme?

Yes, you can add PHP code to the functions.php file of your child theme, though complex features are often better suited for a custom plugin.

Reddit Sources

Why is hosting your own email so difficult? (r/webdev)
Am I over my head? Accepted a client job for a Wordpress website having never touched Wordpress and not done PHP/webdev in a few years (r/webdev)
Creating a base theme / framework (r/ProWordPress)
Developer starting to work with wordpress (r/ProWordPress)
Agency refusing to transfer WP Engine site (r/webdev)
Custom search form on site where content is not on the index.php template (r/ProWordPress)
How To Create A Child Theme In Wordpress (r/ProWordPress)
Posted in /r/cscareerquestions but I think it might fit better here. Am I ready for an agency job? How do I go about getting one? (r/webdev)