How to Build WordPress Themes

Topher DeRosia · August 29, 2016

This is our main WordPress theme class. This class guides you through a detailed WordPress theme project. Follow the lessons, and we’ll take you from an initial design to a completed theme.

Old-fashioned WordPress design classes started with PSD file. Students learned to slice up the PSD and convert it to HTML. Then, they would code a WordPress theme that exactly matched the original design.

Today’s designers take a different approach:

  • They work in the browser, rather than in Photoshop. 
  • They think deeply about how their designs appear in different screen sizes.
  • The modern web is complex, so they use lightweight frameworks, rather than re-inventing the wheel each time.

This WordPress theme design class reflects that new approach.  videos are based on 

The initial design is taken from HTML5Up.net, a very popular site that showcases some of today’s best designers.

The WordPress code is based on Underscores, a very popular and lightweight starter theme. We chose Underscores because it will save you many hours of work. Rather than starting from scratch, you can rely on code written by some of the very best WordPress theme developers. Underscores is supported by Automattic, the company run by Matt Mullenweg, and has an active community with over 100 committers on Github. Because it’s backed by the biggest company in WordPress, it’s unlikely to disappear. Any time you spend learning Underscores will be a good long-term investment.

About Instructor

Topher DeRosia

Topher is an accomplished programmer, having written his own content management systems and managed some very large websites. He loves to help people and believes playing with WordPress is fun. Topher lives in Michigan, USA.

33 Courses

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Course Includes

  • 47 Lessons
  • 2 Quizzes
  • Course Certificate