Advantages and Disadvantages of using WordPress Child Themes
Before starting this blog let us discuss What is a child theme?
A child theme is basically a theme that has similar looks and functionalities as similar to the parent theme. The functionality can be customized independently of the parent theme.
An important feature of WordPress is it allows you to change the website appearance with just a few clicks. When you install a theme you can also switch off back and forth as many times as you want. A child theme allows you to make modifications without interrupting the primary files. The use of child themes in WordPress gives you the ability to make modifications and keep them apart from the parent. In this blog, we will share some of the advantages and disadvantages of using child themes and why one should opt for making modifications.
What are the advantages of using child themes?
1) A big problem while modifying a theme occurs when it’s time for an update. Many of the times the update deletes any modifications made which results in performing the coding again and again. When someone uses a child theme then they get protected from this issue and their coding gets protected from such issues.
2) Some of the developers also face the issue of accidentally damaging the theme at the time of repair. As you are using the child theme’s style.css file for making the changes you need not have to worry. You can reinstall the originals to revert after the damages occurred. It is easier and faster to use the child themes.
3) The use of child themes gives you a platform for making the development much faster. You can use the parent as a backbone and make changes instead of using coding. It will take more time to code an entire WordPress theme while using a child theme allows you to make changes as you like which in result make the development faster and cost-effective.
4) When someone codes an entire WordPress theme from scratch there may be a chance of getting the errors. This can result in getting a faulty website and even the website can have lack functionalities. The files should be kept updated regularly. It’s an important part of website security. The developers who have developed popular themes often deploy updates to confirm they are safe.
5) FTP is a common process in which the website developers make adjustments using different tools. You don’t need to invest a lot of time using FTP while modifying a child theme. It’s only that you need to create a file from the CPanel File Manager and the rest can be done directly in WordPress.
What are the disadvantages?
1) If you are using a child theme then you need to have a good understanding of how the original theme operates. You need to know what files are controlling different aspects of the website.
2) The use of child themes often results in the site making call to another file. Depending on the changes made on the website could result in decreasing the performance of your website. However, most of the changes remain unnoticed by the visitors and search engines regarding the speed.
3) Many themes come with a variety of preloaded features and options. Mainly these themes are being created to reduce the amount of coding a website for customizing the appearance.
4) If the customization you want to make is functional and you want to keep them if you wish to change the theme in the future using a plugin will be a better idea.
5) You have to learn hooks and other functions that are used by the parent themes.
Concluding this blog:
A child theme has several advantages as well as disadvantages. You can use child themes especially when you are working on customizing the themes. Child themes are perfect to make changes to the design and layout of an existing theme without affecting the functionality of the original theme.
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