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WordPress child theme generator

Create a child theme for your existing WordPress theme. Review the files, download the ZIP and keep your customisations separate.

  • Four stylesheet options
  • Optional theme.json
  • ZIP made in your browser

Free, no sign-up. It runs in your browser, so nothing you type is sent to this site.

Nothing you enter leaves your browser.

This tool runs in your browser and needs JavaScript. Turn JavaScript on and reload the page.

Child themes

Using the child theme

Which stylesheet option should I choose?

WordPress has no single way every parent theme loads its CSS. Check the parent’s enqueue code or developer documentation, then pick the option that matches it.

  • Child style.css only: the parent loads its own styles but not the child stylesheet. Also the right choice when adding CSS to a block child theme.
  • Parent style.css only: for parents that load the active theme’s stylesheet with get_stylesheet_uri(), which is what then loads the child stylesheet. The parent’s own style.css is added first, at priority 5. Parents that load their own file with get_template_directory_uri() and /style.css, such as Twenty Twenty-One, need “Child style.css only” with the parent handle (twenty-twenty-one-style) instead. With the wrong choice the parent CSS loads twice and the child CSS never loads.
  • Parent and child style.css: neither stylesheet is loaded yet. Confirm the parent’s real CSS lives in style.css, because many themes use other files.
  • No extra stylesheet loading: the parent loads everything it needs, or a block child theme only needs theme.json changes.

The optional parent handle only applies to the child-only option. These choices cannot guarantee compatibility with every theme.

How do I install it?
  1. Back up the site and try the theme on a staging copy first.
  2. Install the parent theme and keep it installed. Use its exact folder name in the form.
  3. Download the ZIP. In WordPress, open Appearance, Themes, Add New, Upload Theme and choose the ZIP itself. It already holds the correctly named theme folder.
  4. Activate the child theme, then check the front end, the editor, menus, widgets and theme settings.
  5. Put your CSS in style.css and your PHP hooks in functions.php. Raise the version after changing CSS.

Activating a child theme does not move Customizer settings, an older child theme’s changes or Site Editor changes stored in the database. Uploading a ZIP with the same folder name can replace an existing child theme’s files, so back them up first.

What you can do

  • Parent folder, child theme name and details

  • Four ways to load the stylesheets

  • style.css, functions.php and readme.txt

  • Optional theme.json and custom CSS

  • File previews and a ZIP built in your browser

How to use it

  1. Name the parent theme

    Check the parent theme is installed and enter its exact folder name, then set the child theme name, folder and version.

  2. Choose how styles load

    Pick the stylesheet option that suits the parent theme, add CSS or theme.json if you need them, and review every file in the preview.

  3. Install and test

    Download the ZIP, upload it in Appearance, Themes, Add New, Upload Theme, and test activation and styling on a staging site first.

Keep theme customisations in their own files

This free child theme generator builds and previews the files of a WordPress child theme in your browser. Enter the exact parent folder and your theme details, then choose how the stylesheets load. The ZIP is made in your browser too, so the files are never sent to this site.

Know the limits

The parent theme is not included. This tool cannot look at your installed parent, prove the child theme works with it, or move existing Customizer and Site Editor settings. Choose the stylesheet option after checking the parent's documentation or code. The ZIP is a starting point without parent templates, a screenshot or licence text.

Read the WordPress guides to child themes and theme headers for more detail.

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