{"id":40628,"date":"2020-06-29T11:33:32","date_gmt":"2020-06-29T11:33:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/elementor.com\/blog\/?p=40628"},"modified":"2025-12-04T03:32:50","modified_gmt":"2025-12-04T01:32:50","slug":"wordpress-child-theme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/elementor.com\/blog\/wordpress-child-theme\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Create and Customize a Child Theme"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"40628\" class=\"elementor elementor-40628\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-3c1744b elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"3c1744b\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-b5b408e\" data-id=\"b5b408e\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-582be5a elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"582be5a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>If you want to <a href=\"https:\/\/elementor.com\/features\/theme-builder\/\">make changes to your WordPress site&#8217;s theme<\/a>, you&#8217;ve probably seen people tell you to use a WordPress child theme.<\/p>\n<p>But what is a child theme, and why are child themes so important?<\/p>\n<p>In this post, we&#8217;ll give you the answers to those questions with an introduction to child themes and how they benefit you.<\/p>\n<p>Then, we&#8217;ll show you step-by-step how to create and customize your own child theme using plugins or code.<\/p>\n<p>Let&#8217;s dig in.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9776478 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"9776478\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">What Is a WordPress Child Theme?<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-14d7f3f elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"14d7f3f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>A WordPress child theme is not a standalone theme. It&#8217;s a &#8220;child&#8221; of an existing parent theme, hence the name.<\/p><p>You&#8217;ll install it alongside your parent theme, but it gives you a chance to safely make changes to your parent theme without needing to edit the parent theme itself.<\/p><p>The child theme will pull most\/all of its design settings from the parent theme. However, in situations where you make a change to the child theme, that change will override the settings in the parent theme.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cddb3b4 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"cddb3b4\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Advantages of a Child Theme\n<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e4bb3e7 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"e4bb3e7\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>At this point, you might be wondering why you can&#8217;t just make your changes directly to the parent theme?<\/p><p>The main reason why that isn&#8217;t a good idea is <strong>theme updates<\/strong>.<\/p><p>If you want to keep your WordPress site secure and well-functioning, you need to promptly apply updates as they come out, including updates to your theme.<\/p><p>If you customize your site by directly editing your theme (without a child theme), then that means you will overwrite all of your changes every time you update the theme.<\/p><p>That means you either:<\/p><ul><li>Update your theme and lose your work. Not a very fun experience, right?<\/li><li>Don&#8217;t update your theme so that you don&#8217;t lose your work&#8230;which isn&#8217;t good for your site&#8217;s security and functioning.<\/li><\/ul><p>With a WordPress child theme, you can make all of your changes in the child theme. Then, you&#8217;ll be able to update the parent theme without losing any of your work.<\/p><p>Beyond helping you safely update, using a child theme is also just generally convenient for making customizations. Because it segregates all of your changes in one spot, it&#8217;s easy to track all of your edits and tweak them as needed.<\/p><p>It also makes it easy to go in reverse. For example, if you want to stop using your edits and go back to the &#8220;vanilla&#8221; parent theme, all you need to do is disable your child theme.<\/p><p>Some off-the-rack WordPress themes even use this parent\/child approach by default. For example, if you want to use the Genesis Framework, you&#8217;ll need both the parent theme (the basic framework) and a child theme to control the design.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a6d3e99 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"a6d3e99\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">When to Use a Child Theme\n<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-72e8116 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"72e8116\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Other than a few exceptions that we&#8217;ll list below, you should <strong>always <\/strong>use a child theme if you&#8217;re planning to make your own edits to an existing WordPress theme.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d627f15 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"d627f15\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">When You Don't Need to Use a Child Theme\n<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-03e3ce4 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"03e3ce4\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>In general, using a child theme is a good best practice whenever you&#8217;re customizing your WordPress theme.<\/p><p>However, there are some exceptions to the rule where there might be a better option than using a child theme.<\/p><p>First, if you just want to make a few minor CSS modifications, it might be overkill to create a child theme just for a few tweaks.<\/p><p>Instead, you can add your custom CSS using the built-in <strong>Additional CSS<\/strong> feature in the WordPress Customizer. Or, you can use a free plugin such as Tom Usborne&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/plugins\/simple-css\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Simple CSS plugin<\/a>.<\/p><p>Second, if you&#8217;re making changes that you want to be theme-independent, a child theme might not be the best option.<\/p><p>For example, if you&#8217;re registering a custom taxonomy or custom post type, you probably don&#8217;t want to use your child theme&#8217;s <strong>functions.php<\/strong> file (because you&#8217;d want to keep those even if you switch themes). Instead, you should just add the code outside of your theme entirely with a plugin such as <a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/plugins\/code-snippets\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Code Snippets<\/a> or your own custom plugin.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d975b65 read-more-link elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"d975b65\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\"><a href=\"https:\/\/elementor.com\/blog\/wordpress-custom-fields\/\" target=\"_blank\">Learn Everything You Need to Know About Custom Fields<\/a><\/span>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-8117673 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"8117673\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">How to Create a WordPress Child Theme\n<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cb1ef8f elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"cb1ef8f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNow that you know why child themes are important, let&#8217;s get into how you can actually create a child theme for your WordPress site.\n\nFirst off, if you&#8217;re using the <a href=\"https:\/\/elementor.com\/hello-theme\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Hello Elementor theme<\/a>, we already created a child theme for you &#8211; you don&#8217;t need to do it yourself. You can <a href=\"https:\/\/github.com\/elementor\/hello-theme-child\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\u201cnoopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/github.com\/elementor\/hello-theme-child&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1612518739388000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHX3reUAQDShzxTFBG1Eo4Phy01og\">grab the Hello Elementor child theme from GitHub<\/a>. You can install it just like any other WordPress theme (we&#8217;ll also show you how to install a child theme later in this post).\n\nIf you&#8217;re using a different theme, it&#8217;s still worth a quick Google to see if your theme&#8217;s developer provides a pre-made child theme. For example, Astra, GeneratePress, and OceanWP all have tools\/files to help you download a child theme.\n\nIf your theme doesn&#8217;t already have a child theme, there are two ways that you can create a child theme for any WordPress theme:\n<ol>\n \t<li>Use a free WordPress child theme generator plugin.<\/li>\n \t<li>Manually create your own child theme.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\nWe&#8217;ll show you how to perform both methods.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ac7fc6a elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"ac7fc6a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">How to Use a WordPress Child Theme Plugin\n<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-95ef81e elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"95ef81e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>A child theme generator plugin lets you create a child theme without leaving your WordPress dashboard.<\/p><p>The most popular option here is <a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/plugins\/child-theme-configurator\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the free Child Theme Configurator plugin<\/a>, which is active on over 300,000 sites.<\/p><p>Child Theme Configurator not only helps you create the basic child theme files, but it will also scan whichever theme you&#8217;re using and enqueue theme and font style sheets as needed.<\/p><p>It also includes other helpful features if you&#8217;re trying to create a child theme on a site where you&#8217;ve already added content. For example, it can copy your existing widgets and Customizer options to the child theme.<\/p><p><strong>However, if you&#8217;re planning to use the <\/strong><strong>plugin<\/strong><strong> on a live website, we recommend that you take a full backup before proceeding. Or, ideally, set everything up on a staging site.<\/strong><\/p><p>Once you have your backup ready, get started by installing and activating the free Child Theme Configurator plugin from WordPress.org. Then, go to <strong>Tools \u2192 <\/strong><strong>Child Themes<\/strong> to create your child theme.<\/p><p>In the <strong>Select a <\/strong><strong>Parent Theme <\/strong>drop-down, select the theme for which you want to create your child theme. Then, click <strong>Analyze<\/strong>:<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a4b0210 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"a4b0210\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"720\" height=\"464\" src=\"https:\/\/elementor.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/f=auto,w=720,h=464\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/create-wordpress-child-theme-1-plugin-method.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium_large size-medium_large wp-image-40641\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/elementor.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/f=auto,w=720\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/create-wordpress-child-theme-1-plugin-method.jpg 720w, https:\/\/elementor.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/f=auto,w=300\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/create-wordpress-child-theme-1-plugin-method-300x193.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-095adfa elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"095adfa\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>The plugin will then analyze your parent theme for any dependencies.<\/p><p>Once it&#8217;s done that, you&#8217;ll see some additional options to configure how to create your child theme. If you&#8217;re not sure what a specific setting means, you can just leave it as the default:<\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9d80370 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"9d80370\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"720\" height=\"872\" src=\"https:\/\/elementor.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/f=auto,w=720,h=872\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/create-wordpress-child-theme-2-configure-child-theme.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-40642\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/elementor.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/f=auto,w=720\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/create-wordpress-child-theme-2-configure-child-theme.jpg 720w, https:\/\/elementor.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/f=auto,w=248\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/create-wordpress-child-theme-2-configure-child-theme-248x300.jpg 248w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-edab599 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"edab599\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Once you&#8217;ve finished making your choices, click the button at the bottom to <strong>Create <\/strong><strong>New Child Theme<\/strong><strong>.<\/strong><\/p><p>And that&#8217;s it! The plugin will then create the child theme for you. However, it will <em>not<\/em> activate the child theme.<\/p><p>To activate it:<\/p><ul><li>Go to <strong>Appearance \u2192 Themes.<\/strong><\/li><li>Preview what your site looks like with your child theme (to make sure it&#8217;s working &#8211; if your site looks odd, it&#8217;s likely because of a CSS issue).<\/li><li>Activate your child theme like you would any other WordPress theme. Make sure to leave your parent theme installed, though.<\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ff0e9ed elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"ff0e9ed\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"720\" height=\"477\" src=\"https:\/\/elementor.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/f=auto,w=720,h=477\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/create-wordpress-child-theme-3-activate-child-theme.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-40643\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/elementor.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/f=auto,w=720\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/create-wordpress-child-theme-3-activate-child-theme.jpg 720w, https:\/\/elementor.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/f=auto,w=300\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/create-wordpress-child-theme-3-activate-child-theme-300x199.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1657cf4 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"1657cf4\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Once you&#8217;ve activated your child theme, the Child Theme Configurator plugin also includes some other useful tools to help you manage your child theme. For example, if you go to the <strong>Files<\/strong> tab of the plugin&#8217;s settings, you can view all of the associated files in both your parent theme and child theme.<\/p><p>Then, you can copy files from the parent theme to the child theme.<\/p><p>For example, if you wanted to make some edits to <strong>single.php<\/strong>, you could copy that file to your child theme so that you can safely edit it:<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-498d34b elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"498d34b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"720\" height=\"559\" src=\"https:\/\/elementor.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/f=auto,w=720,h=559\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/create-wordpress-child-theme-4-other-tools.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-40644\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/elementor.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/f=auto,w=720\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/create-wordpress-child-theme-4-other-tools.jpg 720w, https:\/\/elementor.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/f=auto,w=300\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/create-wordpress-child-theme-4-other-tools-300x233.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-22e28ab elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"22e28ab\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>You&#8217;ll also find lots of other tools to help you work with CSS.<\/p><p>We&#8217;ll cover why these tools are useful later on.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-8af4773 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"8af4773\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">How to Manually Create a Child Theme\n<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-8ab649e elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"8ab649e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>For this section, we&#8217;ll assume that you know a little bit about PHP and CSS. If you feel overwhelmed by the instructions here, we would recommend sticking with the free plugin from the previous section.<\/p><p>To manually create a child theme, you need to create two files (these are the bare minimum for a child theme):<\/p><ul><li><strong>style.css <\/strong>&#8211; at the beginning, all you need to add is some boilerplate code.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li><strong>functions.php<\/strong> &#8211; this lets you enqueue the stylesheet from the parent theme. Without this, your child theme wouldn&#8217;t be able to apply your parent theme&#8217;s CSS, which would make your site look super ugly!<\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ab2a78d elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"ab2a78d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">style.css<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ce94dc8 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"ce94dc8\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>First, create a file named <strong>style.css<\/strong> and add the following code:<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1bb2910 elementor-widget elementor-widget-code-highlight\" data-id=\"1bb2910\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"code-highlight.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"prismjs-tomorrow copy-to-clipboard \">\n\t\t\t<pre data-line=\"\" class=\"highlight-height language-css line-numbers\">\n\t\t\t\t<code readonly=\"true\" class=\"language-css\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<xmp>\/*\n\nTheme Name: Hello Elementor Child\n\nTheme URI: https:\/\/github.com\/elementor\/hello-theme\/\n\nDescription: Hello Elementor Child is a child theme of Hello Elementor, created by Elementor team\n\nAuthor: Elementor Team\n\nAuthor URI: https:\/\/elementor.com\/\n\nTemplate: hello-elementor\n\nVersion: 1.0.1\n\nText Domain: hello-elementor-child\n\nLicense: GNU General Public License v3 or later.\n\nLicense URI: https:\/\/www.gnu.org\/licenses\/gpl-3.0.html\n\n*\/<\/xmp>\n\t\t\t\t<\/code>\n\t\t\t<\/pre>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ebf27ea elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"ebf27ea\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>\u00a0<\/p><p>Make sure to replace everything that comes after the colons with your actual information:<\/p><ul><li><strong>Theme Name <\/strong>&#8211; the name for your child theme.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li><strong>Theme URI<\/strong> &#8211; the website for your theme and its documentation.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li><strong>Description<\/strong> &#8211; a short description of the theme.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li><strong>Author<\/strong> &#8211; the theme author&#8217;s name.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li><strong>Author URI:<\/strong> &#8211; the theme author&#8217;s website.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li><strong><a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/elementor.com\/library\/all-categories\/\"   title=\"Alle categorie\u00ebn\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"25914\">Template<\/a><\/strong> &#8211; the name of your parent theme&#8217;s folder (as named inside your wp-content\/themes folder). This is the most important line as your child theme won&#8217;t work without this.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li><strong>Version<\/strong> &#8211; the version number of your child theme.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li><strong>Text Domain<\/strong> &#8211; this is used for internationalization. You can just append &#8220;-child&#8221; to the end of the template name.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li><strong>License<\/strong> &#8211; leave this as the default.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li><strong>License URI<\/strong> &#8211; leave this as the default.<\/li><\/ul><p>Excluding the <strong>Template<\/strong> line, it&#8217;s not really important what you enter, so don&#8217;t stress too much. Just make sure to properly enter your parent theme&#8217;s folder name for the <strong>Template<\/strong>.<\/p><p>If you want to add your own custom styles in the future, you can add it to this stylesheet below the boilerplate code.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-05b59e6 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"05b59e6\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">functions.php\n<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0f707d8 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"0f707d8\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Next, you need to create the <strong>functions.php<\/strong> file for your child theme. Again, this is what lets you enqueue the full CSS stylesheet from your parent theme.<\/p><p>In the <strong>functions.php<\/strong> file, add the following code:<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2240d94 elementor-widget elementor-widget-code-highlight\" data-id=\"2240d94\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"code-highlight.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"prismjs-tomorrow copy-to-clipboard \">\n\t\t\t<pre data-line=\"\" class=\"highlight-height language-php line-numbers\">\n\t\t\t\t<code readonly=\"true\" class=\"language-php\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<xmp><?php\n\n\/* Function to enqueue stylesheet from parent theme *\/\n\nfunction child_enqueue__parent_scripts() {\n\n    wp_enqueue_style( 'parent', get_template_directory_uri().'\/style.css' );\n\n}\nadd_action( 'wp_enqueue_scripts', 'child_enqueue__parent_scripts' );<\/xmp>\n\t\t\t\t<\/code>\n\t\t\t<\/pre>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d4e5e7b elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"d4e5e7b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Upload Files to WordPress Site\n<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c7dee23 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"c7dee23\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Once you have your <strong>style.css<\/strong> file and <strong>functions.php<\/strong> file, you need to upload them to your WordPress site as a new theme.<\/p><p>To do so, connect to your WordPress site using FTP.<\/p><p>Then, browse to your site&#8217;s theme directory (<strong>wp-content\/themes<\/strong>) and create a new folder for your child theme.<\/p><p>For example, if your parent theme&#8217;s folder is <strong>hello-elementor<\/strong>, you could name the child theme folder\u00a0<strong>hello-elementor-child<\/strong> to help you remember it.<\/p><p>Then, upload your <strong>style.css <\/strong>and <strong>functions.php<\/strong> file inside of that folder:<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-48365fb elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"48365fb\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"720\" height=\"476\" src=\"https:\/\/elementor.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/f=auto,w=720,h=476\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/create-wordpress-child-theme-5-manually-upload-files-via-ftp.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-40645\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/elementor.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/f=auto,w=720\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/create-wordpress-child-theme-5-manually-upload-files-via-ftp.jpg 720w, https:\/\/elementor.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/f=auto,w=300\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/create-wordpress-child-theme-5-manually-upload-files-via-ftp-300x198.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f5efce8 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"f5efce8\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Once you&#8217;ve uploaded both files, you can go to <strong>Appearance \u2192 Themes<\/strong> and activate your child theme just like you would any other WordPress theme.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7459fe3 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"7459fe3\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">How to Install a WordPress Child Theme\n<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-11ddfb4 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"11ddfb4\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>We touched on some of this above in the specific methods, but let&#8217;s go through how to install a WordPress child theme one more time.<\/p><p>This will also be useful if you downloaded a pre-made child theme from your theme&#8217;s developer, rather than creating it yourself.<\/p><p>You can install a WordPress child theme just like you would any other WordPress theme:<\/p><ul><li>Go to <strong>Appearance \u2192 Themes<\/strong> in your WordPress dashboard.<\/li><li>Click on <strong>Add New<\/strong>.<\/li><li>Upload the ZIP file for your child theme.<\/li><\/ul><p>During the installation process, WordPress will detect that you&#8217;re uploading a child theme and check to make sure that the parent theme exists:<\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7e49f5a elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"7e49f5a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"720\" height=\"312\" src=\"https:\/\/elementor.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/f=auto,w=720,h=312\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/install-wordpress-child-theme-1-upload-file.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-40646\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/elementor.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/f=auto,w=720\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/install-wordpress-child-theme-1-upload-file.jpg 720w, https:\/\/elementor.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/f=auto,w=300\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/install-wordpress-child-theme-1-upload-file-300x130.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7ad47b1 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"7ad47b1\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Once you upload the file, make sure to <strong>Activate<\/strong> it.<\/p><p>Remember, in order for your child theme to work, you need to install <strong><em>both<\/em><\/strong> your parent theme and the child theme.<\/p><p>Your child theme should be your active theme, but you still need to have your parent theme installed.<\/p><p>Here&#8217;s what it should look like:<\/p><ol><li>The child theme is the active theme<\/li><li>The parent theme is still installed, but not active<\/li><\/ol>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e903e57 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"e903e57\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"720\" height=\"333\" src=\"https:\/\/elementor.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/f=auto,w=720,h=333\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/install-wordpress-child-theme-2-activate-child-theme.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-40647\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/elementor.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/f=auto,w=720\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/install-wordpress-child-theme-2-activate-child-theme.jpg 720w, https:\/\/elementor.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/f=auto,w=300\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/install-wordpress-child-theme-2-activate-child-theme-300x139.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0cd3c49 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"0cd3c49\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">How to Customize a Child Theme\n<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f094afe elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"f094afe\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Just as with customizing a regular WordPress theme, you have multiple options for how to &#8220;customize&#8221; a child theme.<\/p><p>To be more accurate, you&#8217;re not really customizing the child theme <br \/>\u2014 you&#8217;re using the child theme to customize the existing theme (the parent).<\/p><p>First, we&#8217;ll show you some ways in which you can use code to customize your child theme. Then, we&#8217;ll share a simpler way to customize things with Elementor Theme Builder.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f09834a elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"f09834a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Customize a Child Theme With Code\n<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-677d787 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"677d787\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>If you want to customize your child theme with code, you will need to have a good working knowledge of CSS, HTML, and PHP.<\/p><p>Here are some of the things that you can do:<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6207a5e elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"6207a5e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Add Custom CSS\n<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d7ea11a elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"d7ea11a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>To customize your child theme with CSS, you can add CSS directly to your child theme&#8217;s <strong>style.css <\/strong>file.<\/p><p>Add CSS below the existing code at the top of the file.<\/p><p>Any CSS that you add to your child theme will override your parent theme as long as you&#8217;re using the same selectors.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-77e6638 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"77e6638\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Override Existing Templates\n<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1271636 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"1271636\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>If you want to override your parent theme&#8217;s templates, you can:<\/p><ul><li>Copy the template file from your parent theme to your child theme.<\/li><li>Edit the template file in your child theme.<\/li><\/ul><p>For example, if you want to edit <strong>single.php, <\/strong>you would first copy the <strong>single.php<\/strong> file from your parent theme to your child theme (making sure to preserve the same directory structure, if applicable).<\/p><p>Then, you can edit the code in your child theme&#8217;s version of <strong>single.php<\/strong>.<\/p><p><strong>Note: <\/strong>WordPress will use the template from your child theme as long as it has the same name. Because of that, you&#8217;re essentially &#8220;overwriting&#8221; the existing template in the parent theme.<\/p><p>If you use the Child Theme Configurator plugin that we mentioned above, it can help you copy files to your child theme without leaving your WordPress dashboard.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-92db59e elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"92db59e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Add New Templates\n<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-512285a elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"512285a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>In addition to copying and editing your parent theme&#8217;s existing templates, you can also create new custom templates in your child theme.<\/p><p>For example, if you want to create a template for a <a href=\"https:\/\/elementor.com\/blog\/wordpress-custom-post-types\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">custom post type that you added<\/a>, you could add that template in your child theme.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a46850c elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"a46850c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Customize a Child Theme With Elementor Theme Builder\n<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1f1d0fd elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"1f1d0fd\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>If you&#8217;re not familiar, <a href=\"https:\/\/elementor.com\/features\/theme-builder\/\">Elementor Theme Builder<\/a> lets you customize some or all of your WordPress theme using a visual, drag-and-drop interface.<\/p><p>With Elementor Pro and Theme Builder, you can create custom templates for your site&#8217;s:<\/p><ul><li>Header<\/li><li>Footer<\/li><li>Singles (e.g. a single blog post or a page)<\/li><li>Archives (e.g. the page that lists all of your blog posts)<\/li><\/ul><p>These templates will work with both your child theme and your parent theme.<\/p><p>With Elementor Theme Builder, you won&#8217;t need to work directly with code. There&#8217;s no adding custom CSS or copying your PHP template files &#8211; you just do everything with drag-and-drop.<\/p><p>For example, let&#8217;s say you want to customize the header of your child theme. Instead of needing to copy your <strong>header.php<\/strong> file to your child theme and then edit the PHP, you could just design a new header using Elementor&#8217;s visual, drag-and-drop interface. Then, you can apply that header everywhere on your site or just to specific parts of your site.<\/p><p>If you don&#8217;t know CSS, HTML, and PHP, this code-less approach makes it possible for you to still customize your child theme. And even if you do, this visual approach can still save you a lot of time vs trying to work directly with the PHP in your template files.<\/p><p>For a detailed look at how to use this feature, check out <a href=\"https:\/\/elementor.com\/blog\/customize-your-theme\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">our full guide on how to customize your WordPress theme<\/a>. Here&#8217;s the short version, though.<\/p><p>When you create a new template with Elementor Theme Builder, you&#8217;ll be able to choose the type of template. For example, a header.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-333af89 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"333af89\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"720\" height=\"410\" src=\"https:\/\/elementor.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/f=auto,w=720,h=410\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/customize-child-theme-1-create-template.png\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-40648\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/elementor.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/f=auto,w=720\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/customize-child-theme-1-create-template.png 720w, https:\/\/elementor.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/f=auto,w=300\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/customize-child-theme-1-create-template-300x171.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9cdf0e5 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"9cdf0e5\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Then, you can either start from a blank slate or choose one of Elementor Pro&#8217;s pre-made templates:<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-15438ea elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"15438ea\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"720\" height=\"363\" src=\"https:\/\/elementor.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/f=auto,w=720,h=363\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/customize-child-theme-2-premade-templates.png\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-40649\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/elementor.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/f=auto,w=720\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/customize-child-theme-2-premade-templates.png 720w, https:\/\/elementor.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/f=auto,w=300\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/customize-child-theme-2-premade-templates-300x151.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1127463 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"1127463\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>From there, you can use drag-and-drop and the sidebar options to control how your header looks:<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2a19f9c elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"2a19f9c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"720\" height=\"274\" src=\"https:\/\/elementor.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/f=auto,w=720,h=274\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/customize-child-theme-3-customize-header.png\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-40650\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/elementor.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/f=auto,w=720\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/customize-child-theme-3-customize-header.png 720w, https:\/\/elementor.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/f=auto,w=300\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/customize-child-theme-3-customize-header-300x114.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4d084d2 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"4d084d2\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Once you&#8217;re finished, you can choose exactly where you want to use this header template:<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-11e4b81 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"11e4b81\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"720\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/elementor.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/f=auto,w=720,h=480\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/customize-child-theme-4-display-conditions.png\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-40651\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/elementor.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/f=auto,w=720\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/customize-child-theme-4-display-conditions.png 720w, https:\/\/elementor.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/f=auto,w=300\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/customize-child-theme-4-display-conditions-300x200.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-15803ae elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"15803ae\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>To learn more, <a href=\"https:\/\/elementor.com\/features\/theme-builder\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">check out everything that Elementor Theme Builder can do<\/a>.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-21d1e48 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"21d1e48\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">How to Remove a WordPress Child Theme\n<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1874b65 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"1874b65\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>If you want to stop using your child theme, you can deactivate it just like you would a regular WordPress theme.<\/p><p>That is:<\/p><ul><li>Go to <strong>Appearance \u2192 Themes<\/strong>.<\/li><li>Activate another theme. Either the parent theme or a brand new WordPress theme.<\/li><\/ul><p>Just remember &#8211; if you deactivate the child theme and move back to your parent theme, all of the changes that you added via your child theme will no longer be there.<\/p><p>Instead, you&#8217;ll be back to the &#8220;vanilla&#8221; design of your parent theme.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3f435b3 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"3f435b3\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Start Using a WordPress Child Theme Today\n<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-421091c elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"421091c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>A WordPress child theme helps you safely make changes to your WordPress theme.<\/p><p>Your child theme will inherit all of its styles from your parent theme, but any changes that you make to the child theme will override the parent theme. This means that you can safely update your parent theme without losing the changes that you&#8217;ve made in your child theme.<\/p><p>To start using a WordPress child theme, you can:<\/p><ul><li>Check to see if your theme&#8217;s developer already offers a pre-made child theme. If you&#8217;re using Hello Elementor, you can <a href=\"https:\/\/github.com\/elementor\/hello-theme-child\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">download a child theme for it from GitHub<\/a>.<\/li><li>Use the free Child Theme Configurator plugin.<\/li><li>Manually create your child theme.<\/li><\/ul><p>From there, you can customize your child theme using CSS, HTML, and PHP. Or, you can skip the code and use Elementor Theme Builder to customize your theme using a visual, drag-and-drop interface.<\/p><p>Do you still have any questions about working with a WordPress child theme? Let us know in the comments section and we&#8217;ll try to help!<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What is a child theme and why is it so important? In this post, we&#8217;ll give you the answers to those questions and show you step-by-step how to create and customize your own child theme using plugins or code.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":50988,"featured_media":40629,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[81],"marketing_persona":[51],"marketing_intent":[48],"class_list":["post-40628","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wordpress","tag-create"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How to Create and Customize a WordPress Child Theme | Elementor<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This article explains what a child theme is, why it&#039;s so important, and guides you step-by-step how to create and customize your own WordPress child theme easily.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/elementor.com\/blog\/wordpress-child-theme\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Create and Customize a WordPress Child Theme | Elementor\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This article explains what a child theme is, why it&#039;s so important, and guides you step-by-step how to create and customize your own WordPress child theme easily.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/elementor.com\/blog\/wordpress-child-theme\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/elemntor\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-06-29T11:33:32+00:00\" 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