Don’t Fear the Custom Theme: How to build a custom WordPress theme with only four files

Commercial WordPress themes have to be ready to handle thousands of use-cases, but your custom theme doesn’t. Reducing a theme to its essential components – index.php, style.css, and functions.php – gets your design into the browser as quickly as possible and allows for rapid prototyping based on client feedback. It’s also an easy way for beginners to start developing with WordPress, without getting lost in dozens of files.

With Linn Øyen Farley

Learning Outcomes

  1. Convert a HTML & CSS-based design into a WordPress theme
  2. Understand the bare minimum of PHP functions needed to build a WordPress theme