A WordPress child theme is a theme that inherits the functionality, features, and style of another theme, called the parent theme. Child themes allow you to modify or add to the functionality of that parent theme without directly altering its files. As we assume responsibility for updating the themes on WordPress websites that we host and maintain, we ensure that child themes are installed and active on every site.
Using a child theme ensures that your customizations are safe from updates. When the parent theme is updated, any modifications you made directly to its files would be overwritten. A child theme keeps your custom changes intact, as WordPress only updates the parent theme.
Child themes make development faster and more efficient. Instead of creating a theme from scratch, a child theme allows you to build upon a solid foundation provided by the parent theme. This can save you significant time and effort, enabling you to focus on more specific customizations or features.
Finally, using child themes facilitates troubleshooting and debugging. If an issue arises, you can easily trace it back to either the parent or child theme, helping to narrow down the source of the problem. This separation also means that restoring the site to a previous working state is simpler and less risky.
WordPress child themes provide a smart, efficient, and secure way to extend and customize your website. By making the use of a child theme standard on every website that we host and maintain, we ensure that your customizations are update-proof, streamline the maintenance process, and make troubleshooting easier. For these reasons, we ensure that every Managed WordPress website incorporates a child theme.
