Creating a Child Theme Using a Plugin

Child Theme Configurator is an easy to use WordPress plugin that lets you create and customize child themes quickly without using code.

The first thing you need to do is install and activate the Child Theme Configurator plugin.

On activation, you need to navigate to Tools » Child Themes in your WordPress dashboard.

On the Parent/Child tab, you’ll be asked to select a parent theme from a drop down menu. We’ll select the Twenty Twenty-One theme.

Select a Parent Theme

 

Once you click the Analyze button the plugin will make sure the theme is suitable for use as a parent theme. Twenty Twenty-One is OK.

Click the Analyze Button

 

Next, you will be asked to name the folder the child theme will be saved in and choose where to save the styles. We’ll leave the default settings.

Name the Folder for the Child Theme

 

In the following section, you’ll be asked to choose how the parent theme stylesheet will be accessed. Again, we will go with the default setting.

Choose How the Parent Theme Stylesheet Will Be Accessed

 

When you get to Section 7, you’ll need to click the button labeled ‘Click to Edit Child Theme Attributes’. You can then fill in the details of your child theme.

Click to Edit Child Theme Attributes

 

When you create a child theme manually, you lose the parent theme’s menus and widgets. Child Theme Configuratator can copy them from the parent theme to the child theme. Check the box Section 8 box if you’d like to do this.

Click the Button to Create Your New Child Theme

Finally, click the button to create your new child theme. The plugin will create a folder for your child themes and add the style.css and functions.php files you’ll use to customize the theme later.

Before you activate the theme, you should click the link near the top of the screen to preview it and make sure it looks good and doesn’t break your site.

Preview the Child Theme Before You Activate It

If everything seems to be working, click the Activate & Publish button and your child theme will go live.

Click the Activate & Publish Button

At this stage, the child theme will look and behave exactly like the parent theme. Next, we’ll begin to customize it.

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