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Theme Frameworks

What is a theme framework?

Frameworks are for theme developers. They offer a set of standards for theme developers to use in creating their own themes. They’re a set of functions/features created to aid development.

How Frameworks Work?

  • Frameworks come packaged within a single folder.
  • Developers drop the framework folder into a new parent theme and load the framework.
  • Users create a child theme based on the parent theme to house their customizations, allowing both the framework and parent theme to be updated.

Some examples of such frameworks include:

Commercial framework examples:

Functionality Included in Theme Frameworks

Some Theme Frameworks will include pre-defined code to facilitate further Theme development, such as:

  • Custom functions to be used in the Theme
  • Custom action hooks used in the Theme template
  • Custom filter hooks used to output Theme content
  • Theme options page integration
  • Custom callbacks for core WordPress action and filter hooks
  • Script library integration and functionality, e.g. jQuery sliders

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