Why Use a Theme Framework?

The case for frameworks

• Build sites faster with more features
• Create consistency for easier code re-use
• Get the security update benefits of a much larger team

Other Frameworks

Thesis

Divi

... so many more

Why Genesis?

Why Genesis?

• The best framework for content marketing

• Very developer-friendly

• The most WordPress-y

Out of the Box

Out of the Box Features

• SEO Metadata

• Multi-column Layouts

• Page Templates

• Widget Areas

Great Plugins

Great Plugins

• Genesis Simple Sidebars
• Genesis Simple Edits
• Genesis Simple Share
• ... tons more

(find all of these in the WordPress.org plugin directory)

Developer Features

Developer Features

• Functional Templating (no code duplication)

• Easy to turn off or modify built-in features

• Incredible code reusability

There is a learning curve...

Learning Curve:

• Child Themes

• Hooks & Filters

• Debugging

• Undocumented Hooks

• Functional Templating

Child Themes

Child Themes

A child theme lets you override specific files from a theme without modifying the original theme

This is very useful for modifying CSS

Anatomy of a Child Theme

Anatomy of a Child Theme

• style.css

• functions.php

• templates

All it Takes

(Refers to the folder name of the parent theme)

Warning

Not all base themes will support overriding PHP functionality

But Genesis Does

Genesis Supports Child Themes:

• Theme support
• Helper funtions
• Hooks & filters

Hooks & Filters

Hooks

A hook is an anchor for you to run code during certain events, such as:

• A page is requested

• The scripts are printed in the page header

• The main “loop” for the page is run

Hooks

Actions run during a typical request

Filters

A filter is like a hook, except that you can manipulate incoming data and return a new result

Hooks and filters allow you to modify core behavior (or other plugins or themes) without modifying or overriding the original code.

Genesis Template Hooks

Genesis Template Hooks

• Genesis uses hooks to build up the page template and render the results of the loop

• Now you can modify templates without overriding them

• No longer necessary to duplicate entire templates or manage nested sub-templates just for small changes.

Genesis Templates

Call genesis() at the end of a php file with action hooks and filters.

Which Hooks to Use?

Which Hooks to Use?

• Genesis Visual Hook Guide

• Debug Bar

• Debug Bar Actions and Filters