WordPress Theme Release Rulebook – The Works

The demand for customized websites developed with the latest Content Management Systems (CMSs) has seen an exponential rise. Right at the top of the CMS lot is WordPress. As we speak (or rather, type!), there are countless individuals and companies looking to hire WordPress programmers to conceptualize and develop their websites for varied purposes, such as Ecommerce, informative portals, company intranets, etc. Specially designed themes play a significant role in the WordPress development. What’s in a theme, some would say. Maybe, but its more about what should be borne in mind before setting up a WordPress theme for sale on popular marketplaces such ThemeForest.

First up, do you like protected posts, where unauthorized viewing is restricted via password? Inserting a simple post_password_required () check in the comments.php file will ensure this. Creating an attachment.php file, even if a template does not exist, is advantageous as it helps visitors to your site view images in full screen mode with the site navigation still accessible. Modifying the rtl.css file will override the main style.css file and set WP_LANG variable to accommodate right to left written languages, such as Arabic and Hebrew. This helps keep your site flexible and open to posts from visitors across the globe. You can even supply an editor style by setting up the TinyMCE editor on WordPress. To ensure that your visitors can read paginated entries, insert the wp_link_pages tag within the loop.

Additionally, check that all the default widgets displayed by WordPress are visually appealing and have the best display resolution. Never forget to insert the wp_footer() before closing the body tag and the wp_head() before closing the head tag. Custom menus and custom backgrounds are supported by WordPress 3.0, which means you have to take extra care when posting a theme. You can also ensure that user-strings are translatable to languages other than English. After completing the design, make the theme consistent and run the WordPress.org Theme Unit Test for       ironing out any creases left behind.