Community Forums › Forums › Archived Forums › General Discussion › Do I Need A Child Theme?
- This topic has 15 replies, 6 voices, and was last updated 9 years, 1 month ago by Brad Dalton.
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June 9, 2014 at 5:47 am #108575PorterParticipant
Hey all,
I'm new to the Genesis Framework, and am highly considering buying it. When it comes to making sites, I've always found a free theme, then created a child theme to create the layout of the site. When it comes to the Genesis Framework, do I need to buy just the "Genesis Framework" for $50~, or do I need that, and a child theme as well? I basically want to customize the hell out of an already existing theme that's using the Genesis Framework, is lightweight (no extra bells and whistles, beyond what Genesis offers), and is roughly the layout I'm looking for (I've never made a theme from scratch, I just do heavy editing).
I guess I just don't entirely understand the relationship between the core Worpdress files, the Genesis Framework, and a Child theme - it kind of seems to me that the Genesis Framework is the child theme. If anyone could clear the air on this, and let me know what they think my best route would be considering my needs, that would be much appreciated!
June 9, 2014 at 7:18 am #108590Brad DaltonParticipantGenesis is the parent theme framework which extends WordPress and makes it easier to modify and style the appearance of your WordPress site.
StudioPress child themes customize the theme specific functions and unique appearance of each child theme using PHP and CSS code.
SP child themes are not affected when the Genesis is updated meaning your custom coding is saved.
You can change child themes in one click and your Genesis settings remain the same on every child theme with your content unaffected
June 9, 2014 at 7:37 am #108594PorterParticipantThanks for the information, a few more questions.
When you make a Genesis child theme, do you simply copy the Genesis Framework and create a new child theme as you would with Theme A, and child of Theme A? What I'm really wondering is, can I simply take the Genesis Framework (is this technically a theme itself?) and copy / paste a child theme folder from that, and edit that to create my child theme? I'm still unsure if I need a SP child theme of Genesis to start customizing, or if I can do it myself as described above.
June 9, 2014 at 7:56 am #108597eamonmoriartyParticipantThere is a free 'Genesis Sample' child theme which you can customoze as you wish.
Eamon Moriarty
EM DzineJune 9, 2014 at 10:33 am #108625Brad DaltonParticipantUse an existing child theme like Sample or any of the 63 on offer.
Otherwise, create a child theme yourself and start adding code.
June 13, 2014 at 3:30 pm #109633touchstoneMemberI actually had the same question as far as creating Genesis child themes. Is it as simple as taking the Genesis Sample child theme, copying it, making changes, and voila you have your own child theme? Is this kosher for if you wanted to have a child theme featured in the Studiopress store one day?
June 13, 2014 at 3:36 pm #109634Brad DaltonParticipantCreating a child theme yes.
As far as the StudioPress store goes, you would need to ask them directly.
June 13, 2014 at 3:41 pm #109635touchstoneMemberThanks for the quick reply.
Got it about the SP store, I understand that something like that would need to be approved. I'm just starting so wasn't sure if starting with a sample theme and editing was standard practice for creating a new theme or not.June 13, 2014 at 4:50 pm #109637PorterParticipantGreat to see almost all of my questions answered. One more thing:
All of the themes for me right now show Genesis Framework + Theme for somewhere in the price range of $90 - $100~. If I buy just the Genesis Framework now, I assume all of the themes will appear for sale as just the themes on my account? Furthermore, is the cost the same, or would I be saving decently if I bought the framework and a theme all at once?
I'm fairly confident I can build on just the framework / Sample theme, but there was a theme that stood out as a good starting point, so if I decide I do want it, I don't want it lose out on a $20 or so savings.
June 13, 2014 at 5:05 pm #109640Brad DaltonParticipantDepends on your skill level and experience however many of the designers use the code from different themes to build unique child themes as the code all runs on Genesis.
June 13, 2014 at 5:18 pm #109642Brad DaltonParticipantThere's a loyalty discount of 25% you get once you but Genesis so you can do the math and work out the savings.
Personally what i did was buy Genesis and then the Pro Plus package because i wanted all the existing themes and latest releases. I see the value in the code which you can mix and match.
March 7, 2015 at 6:22 am #143568worksMemberGuys, as far as i understood the discussion above, i don't need to create a child theme for any of the Pro Plus package themes because they all already function as child themes, yes??
So what happens when not the genesis framework, bu the Theme from the Pro Plus package that i chose to use on my site, gets updated? do i lose my customizations after the update?Thank you!
March 7, 2015 at 6:26 am #143569Brad DaltonParticipantAll SP themes are child themes which don't get updated. Only Genesis is updated.
March 7, 2015 at 7:38 am #143571worksMemberHi, Braddalton, thank you for enlightening me.
I see you have a site that provides help and support to the genesis child themes? I am not sure what exactly "PHP coding" means but do you guys also support new site owners in whatever various questions they have while setting up their new wordpress sites using genesis pro themes?
Awaiting your reply.
Thank you.March 8, 2015 at 11:29 pm #143748coralseaitMemberJust a bit of a jump in, but we really can't overstate the value of the Full Pro Package; You get so many themes and updates that it's really a no brainer if you are going to do more than a handful of sites to go the full route.
March 8, 2015 at 11:34 pm #143752Brad DaltonParticipantYep, Pro pack gives you stacks of great code that works on any Genesis child theme.
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