- Themes control the appearance of your WordPress site on the front-end, so what people see when they visit your site. But how do they work? Understanding the basics of theme construction will make it easier for you to find a theme that fits your site, and troubleshoot your theme when things don't work as expected. A WordPress theme is a series of templates, style sheets, and script files contained within a dedicated folder. When you add a new theme to your WordPress site, you're actually just adding a new folder to the themes folder in your installation. WordPress automatically recognizes the theme, and makes it available to you.
The templates in your theme are based on something called the WordPress Template Hierarchy. Now, you don't have to know how this works exactly, you just need to know it exists. It's a system the application uses to pick the right template for the right type of content. In simple terms, a theme works like this: A browser is told to visit a URL that points at a specific database entry. So you see, here, we have a standard human-readable URL that the computer will interpret as a database entry, in this case, 1706.
We then go to the database and find the entry for 1706, and recognize that this is a post. Then, WordPress will go to the theme, and grab the single.PHP template, which is the template for regular posts, pop up the template, and find what's necessary, then pull the content that's necessary, so in this case, the post title, and place it into the post title area within the template, and finally build the page. This is the process that takes place every time someone visits your site. And all of this happens in a fraction of a second.
The themes applies all the components to make up a view: The header, the main content area, the sidebar, the footer, and all of it ties together seamlessly in the browser so it looks like one cohesive page. This is why you can configure a header image, a main menu, and sidebar widgets independently, and why some themes will display different headers or sidebars, and other content depending on what you're looking at. Your theme is like a Lego kit, and the theme designer and developer has put it together to best reflect the different types of content on your site.
Your job is just to pick the right kit, and the right theme.
Author
Updated
6/11/2018Released
8/17/2015Note: This course covers an older version of WordPress, which features the Classic Editor. Watch this course only if you are using the Classic Editor plugin or using WordPress 4.9 or earlier. Otherwise, watch WordPress 5 Essential Training, which covers the new Block Editor experience.
- Creating posts and pages
- Formatting text
- Publishing and scheduling posts
- Adding images, audio, and video
- Bulk editing posts and pages
- Customizing themes and menus
- Using widgets
- Extending WordPress with plugins
- Editing users profiles
- Configuring settings
- Getting new readers
- Keeping WordPress up to date and secure
Skill Level Beginner
Duration
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Introduction
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Welcome1m 30s
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What's new in 4.7?1m 45s
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1. Getting to Know WordPress
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What is WordPress?3m 30s
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2. Getting Started
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How WordPress works2m 34s
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Using the WordPress toolbar3m 28s
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3. Creating Posts
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Understanding posts1m 59s
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Posts vs. pages in WordPress2m 19s
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Creating a new post1m 38s
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Creating and editing links5m 37s
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Using categories and tags6m 10s
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Using revisions3m 30s
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Using post formats3m 52s
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4. Adding Images and Media
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Creating image galleries5m 30s
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Using featured images3m 44s
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Working with audio and video2m 18s
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5. Creating Pages
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When to use pages1m 59s
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Creating a page2m 4s
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Using page templates2m 10s
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6. Managing Content
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Navigating the admin panel4m 25s
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Using the Media Grid5m 11s
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Using attachment pages5m 44s
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7. Changing the Appearance of Your Site
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Introducing the Customizer7m 15s
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Customizing your theme8m 33s
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Using widgets6m 44s
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8. Extending WordPress with Plugins
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9. Users and User Profiles
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How WordPress handles users1m 34s
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Editing your user profile7m 42s
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Adding and managing users5m 33s
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10. Configuring Settings
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11. Getting, and Interacting with, Readers
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12. WordPress: Behind the Curtain
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13. Maintenance and Security
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Keeping up to date6m 59s
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14. Diving Further into the World of WordPress
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Going further with WordPress2m 29s
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Video: What are themes and how do they work?