WordPress Theme Cheat Sheet for Beginners

There are many codes to memorize just to modify a WordPress theme, so it helps to have a mini cheat sheet if you are looking to make minor changes or even developing your own theme. This is why we have decided to list a few codes that you can probably use for reference when editing themes. Bookmarking this page, or print this article and paste it on your desk.

Basic Template Files

Below is the list of basic files that every theme should have.

• style.css
• header.php
• index.php
• sidebar.php
• footer.php
• single.php
• page.php
• comments.php
• 404.php
• functions.php
• archive.php
• searchform.php
• search.php

Codes in Header.php

These codes are mostly seen in header.php although some of these might be seen throughout your template files. Codes like Location of Site’s Theme Files are used to call for image URLs all over the template, same goes with the exact url of the site code. But most of these codes will be found in your header.php file.

<?php bloginfo('name'); ?> – Title of the Blog, or Blog Name

<?php wp_title(); ?> – Title of a Specific Page

<?php bloginfo('url'); ?> – Exact URL for the Site

<?php bloginfo(%u2019description%u2019); ?> – Site’s Description

<?php bloginfo('template_url'); ?> – Location of Site’s Theme File

<?php bloginfo('stylesheet_url'); ?> – Link to the Style.css location

<?php bloginfo('rss2_url'); ?> – RSS Feed URL for the Site

<?php bloginfo('pingback_url'); ?> – Pingback URL for the site

<?php bloginfo('version'); ?> – WordPress Version Number

Codes for Other Template Files

Codes below will be seen across all template files such as single.php, index.php, page.php and so on. Its really easy to call on these codes to make your theme dynamic when coding it.

<?php get_header(); ?> – Displays Header.php file content

<?php get_footer(); ?> – Displays Footer.php file content

<?php get_sidebar(); ?> – Displays Sidebar.php file content

<?php comments_template(); ?> – Displays Comment.php file content

<?php the_content(); ?> – Displays the Content of the Post

<?php the_excerpt(); ?> – Displays the excerpt that is used in Posts

<?php the_title(); ?> – Title of the Specific Post

<?php the_permalink() ?> – Link of the Specific Post

<?php the_category(', ') ?> – Category of a Specific Post

<?php the_author(); ?> – Author of the Specific Post

<?php the_ID(); ?> – ID of a Specific Post

<?php edit_post_link(); ?> – Edit link for a Post

<?php next_post_link(' %link ') ?> – URL of the Next Page

<?php previous_post_link('%link') ?> – URL of the Previous Page

<?php get_links_list(); ?> – Lists all links in Blogroll

<?php wp_list_pages(); ?> – Lists all Pages

<?php wp_get_archives() ?> – List Archive for the Site

<?php wp_list_cats(); ?> – Lists all Categories

<?php get_calendar(); ?> – Displays the Built in Calendar

<?php wp_register(); ?> – Displays Register Link

<?php wp_loginout(); ?> – Displays Login/Logout Link only to Registered Users

Hopefully this has helped you guys. Please spread it around by sharing it with your friends. Bookmark this page to delicious and tweet it.