WordPress Theme Editor Cheat Sheet

Cheat Sheet on WordPress Theme

A listing of the multiple parts to your WordPress theme to easily locate and make changes to your site.

Header

The header.php file accounts for everything at the top of your page to the end of the theme’s top navigation.

Loop

The loop is the controlling part of your main content area of the theme between the header and footer. It consists of four primary files.

1. Index.php – The index file controls how your homepage looks.

2. Archive.php/Category.php – These files control the results, category, tags, and other listing pages of your site.

3. Page.php – Controls how a page such as “About Us” and “Contact Us” pages will look like.

4. Single.php – This controls what the page of a single blog post will look like as opposed to the archive page that displays the loop of many posts.

Sidebar

The sidebar.php file operates the narrow vertical column on the side of your blog website.

Footer

The footer.php file accounts for the area below the body and includes additional information such as a content-rich footer, additional resources, and copyright statement.

Additional Parts

Functions.php – This file allows you to include your own custom php code to modify core parts of your theme.

Comments.php – This section controls all the comments section that appears on pages and blog posts.

Style.css – This is the main css style sheet for your theme and contains text at the top that tells WordPress who the author is and what the URL of your site is.

Plugins – These are tools that extend the functionality of your site. A variety of paid and free plugins are available online.

Custom Fields – This allows you to create your own options which can then be displayed in the theme, including thumbnail images and javascript.

Widgets – These are modules placed within the sidebar.