This is a directory child theme setup from Templatic. We have realized that more and more customers want customization in theme and tend to highly modify the design and features and functions in their site to suit their requirements.

Now, these customization can be done in two ways:

1. Directly apply the changes in the theme itself
2. Create a personalized child theme that layers the changes.

Advantages of using a directory Child theme for customization

Using the child theme instead of directly making change to the parent theme has its own benefits. Here are the two most important benefits that it provides:

• Loss-less update :
  Update your parent theme very freely, without worrying about the loss of your customization you have preformed. You can update the parent theme and the changes in the child theme will remain intact. This is the main benefit of using a child theme for customization instead of changing the files of the parent theme itself.
• The vital files are safe :
  When you create a child theme for you can have the main theme intact and the chances of messing up the original code files is eliminated. The only changes made are in the child theme file which will be reflected on the site without interrupting the files of the parent theme.

So it is a wise, to have a child theme and make customization to it.

For this we have developed a “Free Directory Child theme template” that eases the customization of this kind. This theme readily provides the files for developing a child theme and is easy to install and use. All you need to do is to install it and then customize the files available in the child theme instead of the main Directory theme. The changes made in the child theme files will overshadow the codes in the Directory theme files and the customization will be applied without affecting the original files in Parent theme.

Installation and activate

Installation of child theme is as easy as installation of any other theme. Follow the simple steps below and get started with the child theme.

1. Download the “Directory” theme from the templatic memebers area. Also download the FREE Directory child theme template.
2. Now, login to your WordPress dashboard and navigate to Appearance ⇨ Themes ⇨ Add new ⇨ Upload theme ⇨ browse for the Directory zip file you have downloaded and select it >> Install now.
3. Similarly download the child theme template from the members area install the Directory child theme template.
4. This will install your parent as well as child themes. Now activate the child theme. You DO NOT have to activate the Directory theme.
5. Once the theme is activated go to Appearance ⇨ Themes ⇨ and press ”Install Sample Data”. This will install the dummy data, making your site look like our demo.

With this steps your child theme is ready. Make changes into it according to your needs and requirements. You can also add your codes files to the child theme to enhance the functionality of your website. To change the appearance of the site you can change the style.css  and to re-define the features you may use the function.php file. You can also add your code files to the child theme at appropriate locations so that the code result is reflected on your site.

To know about setting up basic features of directory theme, Refer the Directory Guide.