Build a Custom WooTheme

[notice]Want to learn how to develop themes? Take a look at our WordPress Developers Guide where we are looking at the tools and methods to build great custom child themes.[/notice]

Last night at the Skiff I gave a talk to the Brighton WordUp gang about how to build a custom theme. Specifically, how we build using WooThemes Canvas.

It was great to see such a big turnout – possibly one of the biggest in a while. I had set myself up with a very ambitious topic. How to build a WordPress site, is not something easily skimmed over.

It’s a huge topic. Where to start?

I condensed the talk down to the importance of process, structure and tools. In particular I gave examples about how we build using our WooThemes Canvas module called Bamboo and Canvas Child theme Bambino, both of which are available for anyone to download on GitHub.

Listen to the talk

I think the lapel microphone slipped off my collar after about five minutes, so I’m afraid the quality suffers a little.

Custom Theme Presentation Slideshow

A few items we discussed

• The importance of working within a consistent structure
• The Bamboo principles of simplicity, consistency and speed
• Ideal development environment and workflow
• How Bambino’s template structure is set out
• How we manage styling with Sass
• How CodeKit compiles the SCSS (Sass) files into a single minified CSS file
• How to set up your JavaScript
• Responsive styling
• Setting up a testing environment

I whittled on for an hour and a quarter. Thanks for everyone’s patience, especially when the AppleTV decided to play up!