Vous vous demandez ce qu’est un framework de thème WordPress et si vous devriez en utiliser un ?
Les frameworks de thèmes WordPress aident les développeurs/développeuses à créer de beaux thèmes enfants plus rapidement. Cependant, ils présentent des avantages et des inconvénients que vous pouvez prendre en compte.
Dans cet article, nous allons expliquer exactement ce qu’est un cadre de thème WordPress. Nous expliquerons également les différents types de cadres de thème, passerons en revue les avantages et les inconvénients de leur utilisation, puis partagerons nos cadres de thème préférés.
Qu’est-ce qu’un cadre de thème WordPress ?
Un cadre de thème WordPress contient plusieurs fichiers utilisés pour créer un thème de site web. Il comprend les fonctions cœurs d’un thème mais pas le style et le design.
Vous pouvez considérer un cadre de thème comme un thème parent qui doit être installé avec un thème enfant. Le thème enfant détermine alors l’apparence du site.
Cependant, au lieu de diviser le thème en plusieurs parties, telles que « parent » et « enfant », les développeurs/développeuses incluent simplement tout le code dans une seule installation, qui est le framework.
Les développeurs/développeuses aiment utiliser les cadres de thèmes car ils leur permettent de réutiliser une grande partie du même code pour de nombreux sites différents. Ils peuvent facilement créer de nombreux thèmes enfants différents pour des sites qui doivent être stylisés différemment sans avoir à réécrire une grande partie des mêmes fonctions.
C’est parce que les thèmes enfants sont créés par le cadre de travail pour hériter de toutes les fonctionnalités du cadre de travail du thème sans le danger de perdre la personnalisation ou la fonctionnalité.
Vous voyez, dans les premiers jours de WordPress, il y avait quelques problèmes cruciaux avec la façon dont les thèmes WordPress étaient développés/développés.
L’un des principaux problèmes était qu’il n’existait aucun moyen efficace de mettre à jour les thèmes WordPress sans perdre le code personnalisé ajouté au thème par les utilisateurs/utilisatrices.
Avant l’existence des frameworks, la seule façon pour les développeurs/développeuses de réutiliser le même code était de le copier et de le coller dans tous leurs thèmes.
Cela a créé un problème de sécurité pour WordPress. Par exemple, s’il y avait un exploit de sécurité dans un thème, il n’y avait pas de moyen rapide d’appliquer un correctif à tous les autres thèmes basés sur le même code.
Pour remédier à ce problème, le cœur de l’équipe WordPress et la communauté ont imaginé des thèmes parents et enfants.
Avec les frameworks, il est extrêmement facile de pousser une mise à jour sans modifier quoi que ce soit de personnalisé dans le thème client/cliente. Cette méthode vous autorise à conserver la solidité du « cadre » de votre site sans en modifier l’apparence.
Quels sont les avantages et les inconvénients de l’utilisation de thèmes ?
L’utilisation d’un cadre de thème WordPress sur votre site présente quelques avantages et inconvénients. Examinons les deux.
Avantages (pour)
- Communauté – La plupart des cadres de thèmes populaires ont d’énormes communautés derrière eux. Il est donc beaucoup plus facile d’obtenir des réponses à vos questions de support. Par exemple, vous pouvez voir les forums de support pour des thèmes spécifiques sur WordPress.org et obtenir une réponse à vos requêtes.
- Fonctionnalités intégrées – Les thèmes sont souvent livrés avec des widgets, des blocs et d’autres fonctionnalités intégrées. Vous avez plus de contrôle sur la personnalisation et pouvez facilement modifier les polices et les couleurs et essayer différents styles. De nombreux cadres et constructeurs de thèmes comme SeedProd sont également livrés avec des modèles prédéfinis et offrent un constructeur par glisser-déposer.
- Qualité du code – Souvent, les frameworks de thème sont évalués par des pairs, ils sont donc beaucoup plus susceptibles de suivre toutes les meilleures pratiques. Ceci est essentiel car le thème de votre site sera responsive et léger. Un site à chargement rapide stimulera également le référencement de votre site WordPress.
- Passer à la version – La possibilité de passer à la version supérieure sans perdre les personnalisations de style est un grand avantage. Cela est également utile lors de la restauration des sauvegardes de votre site. Les personnalisations de votre thème restent intactes et vous n’avez pas à les effectuer à nouveau.
Inconvénients (Cons)
- Code inutile – Les versions sont souvent livrées avec des tonnes de fonctionnalités intégrées que vous n’utiliserez peut-être pas. Si le framework est bien codé, cela ne devrait pas affecter votre site.
- Limites du framework – Les frameworks ont souvent des limites. Si vous souhaitez fortement personnaliser votre site, vous devrez peut-être surcharger les fichiers du cœur en installant un thème enfant spécial, même si le framework s’en charge pour vous.
- Prix – La plupart des thèmes ne sont pas gratuits ou offrent des fonctionnalités limitées dans la version gratuite. Il y a soit des frais uniques, soit des frais annuels pour recevoir les mises à jour et le support. Cependant, si vous allez pour les constructeurs de thèmes, alors vous obtenez plus de valeur pour l’argent, et les offres de départ ne sont pas non plus si chères.
Faut-il utiliser un thème-cadre ?
Si vous êtes un développeur/développeuse qui apprend à créer ses propres thèmes WordPress, alors vous pouvez utiliser un framework de thème pour réduire votre temps de développement.
En revanche, si vous êtes une petite entreprise, vous pouvez acheter un cadre de thème et un thème enfant à utiliser sur votre site. Souvent, l’achat d’un cadre de thème vous donne accès à de nombreux thèmes enfants différents en une seule fois.
Par exemple, Genesis dispose d’excellents thèmes enfants pour différents secteurs d’activité que vous pouvez utiliser et personnaliser facilement pour vos propres besoins.
Un autre avantage de l’utilisation d’un cadre pour votre site est qu’une fois que vous avez appris à l’utiliser, vous pouvez facilement changer de design sans avoir à apprendre un tout nouveau thème ou cadre.
Notre choix des meilleurs thèmes WordPress
Il y a des tonnes de thèmes WordPress disponibles. Voici quelques-uns des meilleurs frameworks de thème que nous recommandons pour différentes utilisations.
1. Thème Genesis
Sur la base de notre propre expérience, nous recommandons d’utiliser Genesis Theme Framework de StudiPress. Il est livré avec une bibliothèque de code solide comme le roc qui est hautement optimisée pour la vitesse et la performance de WordPress.
Genesis n’est pas encombré de nombreuses fonctionnalités supplémentaires, ce qui vous permet de choisir les extensions WordPress spécifiques dont vous avez besoin pour votre site.
Il existe des dizaines de thèmes enfants disponibles pour Genesis qui peuvent être facilement installés et personnalisés. De plus, si vous vous inscrivez à WP Engine pour votre hébergeur WordPress, alors vous avez accès à Genesis et à tous les thèmes enfants gratuitement.
StudioPress fait désormais partie de WP Engine, l’entreprise d’hébergement WordPress la plus populaire. Vous pouvez obtenir ce thème et plus de 35 autres thèmes StudioPress lorsque vous vous inscrivez à l’hébergement WP Engine pour créer votre site.
Bonus : Les utilisateurs/utilisatrices de WPBeginner bénéficient d’une réduction supplémentaire de 20%. Premiers pas avec WP Engine aujourd’hui !
2. Divi
Divi est un thème WordPress populaire, basé sur le principe du « glisser-déposer ». C’est vraiment un cadre de thème, bien qu’il n’utilise pas de thèmes enfants réels. Au lieu de cela, il utilise un constructeur de thème et des mises en page, qui conservent vos personnalisations en toute sécurité lorsque le cadre est mis à jour.
Grâce au puissant constructeur de pages par glisser-déposer, vous pouvez facilement importer des modèles personnalisés ou utiliser des centaines de mises en page prédéfinies pour créer vos propres pages et sites selon vos besoins.
3. SeedProd
SeedProd est le meilleur thème WordPress et constructeur de page d’atterrissage. C’est une extension conviviale pour les débutants qui vous aide à créer des thèmes personnalisés sans toucher une seule ligne de code.
Le meilleur est que vous obtenez plus de 300 kits de modèles de thèmes, plus de 90 blocs pour la personnalisation, le constructeur de thème drag and drop, et plus encore. De cette façon, vous pouvez créer des sites pour tout type de niche.
SeedProd est une solution terminée pour le lancement de sites d’entreprises. Dans chaque kit de modèles, vous obtenez une page d’accueil, des pages d’atterrissage, une page de contact, et plus encore. Vous pouvez simplement remplacer le texte et l’image factices pour commencer.
4. Themify
Themify est un framework de thème WordPress drag-and-drop avec 42+ thèmes, un constructeur de page puissant, beaucoup de modules et de modèles supplémentaires, et plus encore.
Cela permet aux développeurs/développeuses et aux propriétaires de sites web de faire un site sans écrire le moindre code. De plus, vous obtenez 11 extensions et des fichiers Photoshop pour tous les thèmes.
5. Constructeur Beaver
Beaver Constructeur est un constructeur de page WordPress populaire qui est livré avec un module complémentaire Beaver Themer, qui l’aide à fonctionner comme un cadre complet. Cela vous autorise à créer des pages d’atterrissage personnalisées ainsi que des thèmes WordPress personnalisés entiers sans écrire de code.
Il propose des modèles de thèmes avec différentes mises en page. Vous pouvez également créer des mises en page pour les produits WooCommerce, les pages 404, les pages de recherche, et plus encore. En plus de cela, Beaver Constructeur vous permet de construire différentes parties comme les en-têtes, les barres d’annonce, les boutons d’appel à l’action, et plus encore.
6. Astra
Astra est l’un des thèmes WordPress les plus populaires sur le marché. Le thème principal peut être utilisé comme un thème autonome lui-même, mais avec leur module complémentaire » Starter Sites « , vous pouvez également importer des conceptions de sites terminés dans votre thème principal avec la fonctionnalité d’un cadre.
Astra est un mélange entre un cadre de thème basé sur une bibliothèque de code comme Genesis et un cadre drag-and-drop comme Divi. Il peut également être utilisé avec n’importe quel constructeur de page de votre choix, ce qui donne aux utilisateurs/utilisatrices une tonne de liberté.
Quel est le meilleur thème WordPress ?
Le meilleur cadre de thème pour vous dépend de votre niveau de compétence et de la quantité de temps et d’argent que vous êtes prêt à investir.
Pour les développeurs/développeuses, nous recommandons d’utiliser Genesis. Ils existent depuis le plus longtemps, et le cadre de thème Genesis est hautement optimisé pour le référencement et la performance.
Pour les utilisateurs/utilisatrices moyens qui veulent construire un site pour leur entreprise ou leur blog, nous recommandons d’utiliser des frameworks drag-and-drop comme Divi, SeedProd et Themify. Ils ne nécessitent aucune compétence en codage pour commencer et sont super flexibles.
Sinon, vous pouvez simplement utiliser un thème WordPress autonome avec des options de personnalisation flexibles comme Astra.
Nous espérons que cet article vous a aidé à en savoir plus sur les frameworks de thèmes WordPress et leurs avantages et inconvénients. Vous pouvez également consulter notre guide sur le coût de création d’un site WordPress et notre comparatif des meilleurs bureaux d’enregistrement de domaines.
If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.
Syed Balkhi says
Hey WPBeginner readers,
Did you know you can win exciting prizes by commenting on WPBeginner?
Every month, our top blog commenters will win HUGE rewards, including premium WordPress plugin licenses and cash prizes.
You can get more details about the contest from here.
Start sharing your thoughts below to stand a chance to win!
Diane Caron says
I’m trying to learn and understand the world of websites and website building as well as blogs and their development.
When the word ‘framework’ is being used, its meaning is a selection of specific code used to build a website or blog.
If I use the analogy between Website framework and house building framing, the wood studs framework is like the framework for website building except it’s code. Whereas the outer perimeter of wood framing is the “parent framework”which generally stays the same. The inside wood framework is the child framework which can be modified wo changing the parent framework.
Is this a good and correct analogy? Is this what you mean when you say parent and child framework when pertaining to websites and blogs?
WPBeginner Support says
It is as close as that analogy would get We would recommend re-reading our guide for the specifics.
Administrateur
Adrian Lightfoot says
Do you edit Genesis itself or the Child Theme added to it.
WPBeginner Support says
You would normally want to edit the child theme
Administrateur
Johanna says
Another disadvantage of using a framework is if the creator is a one man shop who decides to close the shop and cease support and further development.
With the continuous development of WordPress, PHP versions and plugins, it is important that the framework/themes also keep up with the changes to stay compatible.
WPBeginner Support says
While not specific to frameworks, that is something to consider as well.
Administrateur
Krayl says
Great article! Given this article was written in 2012 would you still recommend using the suggested frameworks or are there more current options you would suggest in 2018
.
Thank you in advance!!
WPBeginner Support says
Hi Krayl,
We still recommend Genesis theme framework.
Administrateur
Arif chy says
Thanks a lot sir for more valuable content. i want to know what child theme has been used for wpbeginner from studiopress? please let me know it help me a lot
WPBeginner Support says
Hi Arif,
We use a custom child theme made specifically for our website.
Administrateur
Paul says
Concise and well written article, your site is an excellent resource. Thankyou!
Hiwa says
dear wpbeginner thank you for good help
i have a website at the first it was based by Web2py of Python programming language next i change this to Django from web2py and after i take decide to use wordpress because python take more time at me than wordpress and now i am using the wordpress right now i am agree of wordpress and i want to design a theme for myself but i dont know to use which framework who be good for speed and tools. i read the article but i need more help
which frame work do you suggest to use?
thank you very much
WPBeginner Support says
Hi Hiwa,
You can start with the underscores it is not a framework but a skeleton theme that you can build upon. If you really want to work with a framework, then we recommend Genesis.
Administrateur
Joe Calka says
Hello
I have been using worpress for about 2 years now and I love your site i have learned a ton of things. I use Genesis Framework to build my sites I am not an expert coder but I love the functionality of this framework ….
George says
Hello,
Great post and helpful.
Could someone please advise me what is WordPress framework? I am using free 2016 Theme. Also, what is Genesis framework by studio press? can I use it by itself or I need a child theme with it?
WPBeginner Support says
Hey George,
Genesis is a Theme Framework. You will need a child theme with it.
Administrateur
George says
Great, thanks for the clarification.
Deepak Singla says
Nice post. WordPress theme frameworks are the building blocks of the theme. There are tons of theme frameworks such as Genesis, Cherry Framework, TemplateToaster, Headway available. The choice depends upon your requirements.
Abhishek says
Thank Your for This Post But. Is It possible to develop your own theme framework or not.
Nilanchala says
Some of the comments here are inducing more questions then answering problems. Though I am not having expertise on WordPress development, I believe for high volume traffic websites going with any theme frameworks might not be a best option. It might be good to start with to go live quickly but overtime you will feel to write your own custom theme.
On my site stacktips.com, I have tried many different frameworks. Currently I am stuck at Redux Framework. It just serve the purpose but it comes with the cost. It makes too many DB queries, and lot many useless code blocks it has to go through before rendering a page.
Hence, I am writing my own theme from scratch. Design the layouts you need, and place the templates required. I believe thats the way to go! Having said that, if your client is stuck at low budget, you have no choice but to use some frameworks.
Diane Broadley says
Hi Thank you for this – very helpful. As someone who has tried for years to learn WordPress, the thing i find most difficult is understanding the file scenario behind the site. EG – that you need a folder of wordpress for every site you build. When you download it from your host, why can you not choose where its put, why can’t you move it and does that affect your personal home page which maybe a separate site. I cant make the connection between a starter wordpress theme on your server and using a theme online. Basic information about the file management behind it all is really difficult to find and understand. Beginners courses are frustrating because they rattle on about blogs, which has nothing to do with building a site. Lynda beginner wordpress seems hopeless.
Thats my experience anyway!
Thierry Muller says
I always advise Genesis lovers to take a look at Beans Theme Framework. It is also a fragmented approach but offers even more flexibility without compromising on performances.
That combined with UIkit (only load what you need on a per page basis) pretty much cover any type of layouts we can imagine. The Beans API is incredibly powerful and with the ability to assign fields (post meta) to template pages, it means that we can have an admin side matching the front end on a page template basis.
No bloat, powerful and light weight. Oh and it is also free
Karen says
That sounds VERY interesting! Thank you for the recommendation, Thierry!
Kanishk Kunal says
Having worked with Beans Theme Framework for WordPress theme development, I would second that Thierry! I love how Beans gives you the power to select which UIkit components to load.and intelligently optimizes loading based on page needs.
I have only started to dive into the Beans API and find it quite powerful as well as easy to work with. Since Beans is free and we have a great community building around it, I am sure it is going to turn out to be one of the most favored WordPress theme framework.
Warwick says
A great article – thanks for the comprehensive detail, and thanks Thierry for the tip on Beans. I’m installing as we speak!
sreekanth says
present im using truepixal theme,so here my doubt is can i use the genesis framework parallel to run my website.
Tamara says
Thank you for this article. It’s helping me slowly get my head around all the terminology.
I didn’t even know of the existence of « theme frameworks » until about 10 minutes ago, but I can take any theme that I mostly like and customize it with a Child Theme. So I still don’t quite understand the difference or relationship between a Framework and a Parent Theme.
Or are you saying that the framework is not a theme itself but rather the toolbox that a theme designer uses to create a parent theme? And the average user like me then installs and perhaps modifies the parent theme? Is there any reason I need to be concerned with frameworks if I’m not a designer?
WPBeginner Support says
Exactly, a Theme Framework provides you a set of tools that you can easily use in your theme.
Administrateur
Roberto says
Great article! Finally something that makes sense regarding theme frameworks.
Thanks.
Pete Gregory says
Outstanding article & I especially appreciate you mentioning the learning curve involved to use these frameworks! Many newbies don’t understand the amount of work associated with building any custom website, but these frameworks, once learned do make things easier. Personally, I like iThemes Builder but it is geared more towards a developer type with at least some code experience.
kamlesh sharma says
Nice n meamingful post to let ppl understand what a framework is.
As am new to web developing. Can I still use Genesis framework ?
I have say zero knowledge of codes n all. Can I make a robust n decent website using genesis …. ?
Eric Gross says
Alright leave it to me to reopen a post from 2012, but hey still relevant for those getting deeper into web design. I’ve been using a subscription to Elegant Themes, a super cheap price which gets access to all their themes, but as I understand it no framework. You just install their themes, some of which have the functions you mentioned like sliders, or use ratings plugins. Create a child theme, tweak CSS, they even have an ePanel for adding your analytics code, uploading a logo… But I’m ready for that next step…
From my vantage point I see frameworks as a more robust way to add functions to a site, than say adding plugins. You purchase a framework with the understanding that a team of mad coders are checking to ensure that their php files that enable eCommerce, won’t conflict with their already existing js code that allows a page to be translated into Spanish. Am I right? Perhaps some examples would help. Specifically the « learning curve » to utilize the power of the framework would be nice.
My work is from SEO background, brings up the concern though of page speed. For SEO a faster loading page ranks higher than a slow one. If a site is built on a theme that has numerous capabilities, but your site doesn’t use them is that possibly hurting your page speed? In Disadvantages, you make the statement this « doesn’t directly influence you ». Makes me wonder who this article was written for and who is influenced by unnecessary code?
Thanks in advance, I’m just trying to figure things out, great website. Keep up the good work.
Eric Gross says
So am I right? The benefit of frameworks is that you benefit from the strength of a team who developed the framework, to avoid downtimes.
And what about my speed to load concerns? Thanks.
Patrick says
Quote: Our Pick
There are tons WordPress theme frameworks that are available. ….. Yes, you do need to have development skills to code a child theme for this.
You can use the Genesis Extender Plugin which has a CSS Builder and PHP Builder so that takes care of development skills.
The Genesis Extender Plugin is by Cobalt Apps. You can design any Theme with the Dynamik Website Builder if you don’t have a Genesis Child Theme.
The Genesis Extender Plugin is as Powerful as The Dynamik Website Builder but If you have a Genesis Child Theme then use The Genesis Extender Plugin.
The Dynamik Website Builder has three components: Dynamik Settings, Dynamik Design Options and Dynamik Custom Options. The Genesis Extender Plugin has two comp: Extender Settings and Custom Options which are both the same components as in The Dynamik Website Builder.
I haven’t seen anything that’s as powerful as The Dynamik Website Builder or Genesis Extender Plugin. The next closest might be DMS (Drag And Drop Design Management System) by PageLines.
Shreyans says
Something I wanted to know for long. Thanks.
Kamran Abdul Aziz says
Nice n meamingful post to let ppl understand what a framework is.
As am new to web developing. Can I still use Genesis framework ?
I have say zero knowledge of codes n all. Can I make a robust n decent website using genesis ?
Srihari Thalla says
As you said you « have zero knowledge of code », I wouldn’t recommend Genesis at this point of time. Go on with Headway Themes. It is a complete drag-and-drop framework and you don’t need any knowledge of coding.
Later, when you develop your coding skills, you are ready to move on with Genesis
Kamran Abdul Aziz says
Its been a year now & am ready to go with Genesis.
Melanne says
When you say that you need coding knowledge to create a child theme for genesis, how much coding knowledge do you mean? Right now I create child themes for twenty eleven, and the only files I work with are style.css and occasionally some php files, though only very minor edits. Will I be able to code a child theme for genesis or do I need to know how to actually write php to do that?
Lori says
Hi!
Thank you for sharing this informations. What I can’t understand ’bout framework and parent themes working with child one is:
1) when I’m building a new theme to sell, for example, do i zipped both parent and child theme together and make them two installing as one is based on the other? Or do you develop the new theme overriding the parent one (but in this way all future updates of the parent theme can’t be done correctly)?
2) A framework isn’t actually a theme and i guess is not a standalone theme, so how can developer use it? Pasting code needed? Or putting the framework folder INSIDE the new theme folder and include and calling functions needed?
Sorry, I’m just starting right now developing with wordpress and i’m quite confused
However, i’m building my first personal parent theme
Thank you for anwser!
Editorial Staff says
1. Most companies offer the parent theme as a separate download. If you own both the parent and the child theme, then might as well go the same route as others. If you are selling a child theme of another framework, then you should send people to get that framework (whether it is free or paid).
2. Frameworks are themes themselves, but they have hooks that other developers can use to customize things without overriding a theme file.
Administrateur
Martin says
This is all very well, but you dont actually give a definition of « Theme ». Youve sold me on the framework, but what is it a framework of? What actually IS a theme?
Editorial Staff says
Theme is the design that you see on your WordPress site. It is also called a skin or a template.
Administrateur
Robin Jennings says
Genesis is a great framework. Just ensure you get a mobile responsive theme straight up as not all of them are.
Pat Fortino says
Have used genesis, woothemes, yoothemes, and twentytwelve. Twentytwelve is the is easiest to understand and very fun and easy to work with. Genesis is the most difficult to understand. woothemes canvas and yootheme warp are in the middle. For the life of me, I cannot understand the love for genesis. I hate it. Using genesis is like building a ship in a bottle: you can never get your hands on the code. Instead, you spend most of your development time scouring studeopress site and the web to find out how to do simple code changes. Also, genesis is the most expensive of all and i have not found the support to be anything other than OK.
Yootheme templates are very powerful, but their support is aweful. Mostly volunteer answers.
Utkarsh Bhatt says
The love for genesis is because of its referral program. I have used Genesis, Woothemes and pretty much any framework available for WordPress, and I have to say that Genesis was pretty hard to understand, at least in the beginning, Like you said, the best theme for development is Twentytwelve.
Editorial Staff says
Actually referral program for other themes convert far better than Genesis because most folks buy their themes based on how it looks on the outside rather than the code itself. Ofcourse creating a standalone theme works and is probably easier in the short run to just tweak something like twenty twelve. However, to speed up development time and not reinvent the wheel in every single theme… it is much better to just spend some time on how Genesis works, and then simply start using it across your site.
Administrateur
Bradley says
I use the Woo Framework. I love the themes, they offer a lot of useful plugins (such as WooCommerce) made specifically to work with their themes, support is great, and I can customize the backend for users.
Lara says
Hi. Thank you for the post. I am a beginner web designer and I designed my sites the hard way by modifying other people’s code without too much knowledge of css or php. Can you guys recommend a framework that has visual editor and does not require to much coding. I do not want to modify existing themes. I want to build my own. I checked Headway and genesis. Genesis doesn’t have a demo. Headway is not bad. Is there anything similar to Headway besides the ones mentioned in the comments that you would recommend? My issue with headway is that you can not overlap boxes and there has to be 1 pixel in between them and so I’m a little perplexed as to how to execute certain design elements where overlapping is necessary. Perhaps there is another way to do it? Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks you.
Editorial Staff says
You will NOT find a solution that you are looking for. Headway is the closest you will get. If you are looking to design sites, then we would recommend investing some time in learning the platform. That will vastly improve the overall quality of your work. I learnt by trial and error (exactly the same thing you are doing). Modifying existing themes to make it work for me. After a little bit of time, I was able to create my own themes. I would highly recommend you to not give up. The founder of genesis and StudioPress learnt the same way.
-Syed Balkhi
Founder of WPBeginner
Administrateur
Lara says
Thank you!
Any advice on how to make boxes overlap in headway?
Chris Howard says
Hey Lara
Just stumbled unto this.
If you still want an answer, Headway allows you to « Nudge » blocks. That should solve your problem. Look for it in the block’s Design Mode stylings. http://d.pr/i/NTJA
Also, do you the Headway support forums. You should get an answer there.
All the best
Bernie Roseke says
« There was not a single comprehensive article that explained what is a WordPress theme framework. »
YES! Thank you! I am a small time blogger that read Darren Rowse’s book, « Problogger » and he is a pretty big supporter of the Genesis framework. So naturally I went to check it out, but I could not for the life of me figure out what a framework was. I’ve done probably 3 hours worth of web surfing (over many days). The StudioPress page is the worst. You would think if they wanted you to buy it they should tell you what it is. But all you get is « WordPress is the engine, Genesis the body, and the child theme is the paint job »….. what on earth does that mean?
Thanks for clearing this up. This post deserves higher search engine rank. Good luck.
Mick says
No mention of any Automatic frameworks?
Personally I LOVE the _s framework. Yes it is a little more advanced but it has everything there to start building your own custom themes!
Editorial Staff says
Again, this is not a list of frameworks. There are tons of amazing frameworks out there. The point of this article is to educate users on what is a framework.
Administrateur
Roland says
Ok, you’re right. You have to spend some time to learn the special hooks of the framework. But afterwards the framwork can save you a lot of time. I use Xtreme Theme and I never regret.
Editorial Staff says
Agreed, the first few times it takes longer. But once you get used to it, it speeds up your dev time significantly.
Administrateur
Martin says
As far as frameworks go there is nothing at the moment that is as powerfull as Ultimatum. I have been using it for a while now and the drag and drop part gives you the abillity to create great looking sites but if you want more you can easily add custom styles and so on. I have tried several others, but none of these even comes close to the power of the Ultimatum framework.
I would look out for this new contender in the framework market, because it’s going to be big.
The community is also excellent and very responsive. All in all, the best money I have spend over the last year!
Chris Rouse says
I’ve been using Standard Theme by 8BIT for a while now. It’s a fantastic framework to work with and has taken me from not knowing a thing about CSS to building child themes for it (that are actually being used other Standard Theme users!).
I started off with pre-built free themes and always hated something about them. They were tough to customize because I didn’t know where anything was or how to tweak it, and as you said, upgrades broke everything. Switching to a framework has been a game changer for me. Rather than looking through thousands of crappy free themes, or wishing I could afford the premium theme that looks cool, I can just build the theme that I want for the most part.
Another thing to point out about a number of frameworks, including Standard Theme, is that a number of them are now being built around Bootstrap (formerly known as Twitter Bootstrap). This means they come with built-in responsive layouts for different screen sizes. This saves a lot of work building mobile sites, or having to sacrifice design to use a mobile site plugin that converts the site for you into something that doesn’t look at all like your site.
Melissa M. Miller says
I use WooThemes Canvas and I love it!
Debra says
Child themes make perfect sense now. I finally get it! Thank you! Now I can get on to steps 2 through 2000….
Aditya says
I have been using themes from themify for long time…..but with lot of recommendations I am thinking to move towards to genesis….but as you said in the post that genesis is for developers but I am not a developer but I really love themes from genesis…..and I also intend to learn somewhat things about coding….
So should I go with studiopress or can go with drag and drop frameworks like headway or thesis ?????
Editorial Staff says
If you like the child themes from Genesis, then use that. You don’t have to be a developer to use it. You have to be a developer to customize the themes unless you go with something like Headway.
Administrateur
Tushar says
Thanks for this article however I could think of 2 things
1] This topic has a very large scope whereas this post could very well be a part 1 of that
2] This article seems very limited around Genesis / Headway towards the end.
Also, one must not forget about good free frameworks such as Theme Hybrid and Gantry Framework.
I am using Theme Hybrid since a year or so and the kind of support I received is phenomenal. I have also tried Gantry for few couple of client sites and that too is very good for developers.
I don’t mean Genesis is bad, its great too but when we talk about WordPress in general (and not just Blogs) – Genesis is not the last stop.
Thanks again
Editorial Staff says
Hey Tushar,
The topic « framework » is very broad YES. However, we covered exactly what the title said. It is intended to explain what frameworks are. It doesn’t say that we will list ALL frameworks that are out there. Surely there are tons of amazing frameworks out there. We haven’t tried all of them. We can only write and recommend the ones that we have tried. This is exactly why we asked users to tell us which frameworks you are using. Yes, we have heard great things about ThemeHybrid however we haven’t tried it. This is why we cannot recommend it in the article.
Administrateur
Zimbrul says
This is one comprehensive article about WordPress frameworks, what they are and what they do.
I’m using Headway Theme, a bit of iBuilder (not quite like it), Thesis and of course, Genesis. As with the release of Thesis 2.0 Genesis became my favourite WordPress framework and the reasons are simple: clean code, easy to alter, easy do do basic modifications without getting your hands dirty with CSS, simple to understand even for someone with little or no experience with frameworks. The nice thing you can say about Genesis is that the more you get it to know the more you want to learn. And of course it the support. Support for Genesis framework is the best I came across in the market. Never closed a support ticket without being answered and the problem clarified.
Headway Theme is amazing, you can do great things with it IF YOU HAVE ENOUGH IMAGINATION IN DESIGN (not my case).
Karen F says
Why did you leave out the Builder Framework? It’s really fabulous with a first rate community and support staff. I sound like I’m shilling for them – I am not! But it’s really great – and widely used – and I’m baffled that you don’t mention it! In addition, I’d love to hear you evaluate it’s pros and cons and compare it to the other Frameworks. And Builder has a wider reach in a way, between their BackUp Buddy plugins and their WebDesignUniversity.com from which I have learned SO much with their webinars on everything WordPress. Honestly, you are doing a disservice to the WP community to exclude them. And again, I am not associated with them as anything other than a customer!
Editorial Staff says
Hey Karen,
We know the folks from iThemes, and we are good friends with them. Yes Builder is a great framework. This article is not meant to list all frameworks that are available. Plenty of other articles do that just fine. The point of this article was to highlight what is a framework, why you should use the framework, pros and cons of the framework, and then our pick. We believe that we did a pretty good job at covering what the article intended to cover. This is exactly why we asked users to suggest which framework they use and love. In a sense that is doing pretty of service to the community. A reader can come to learn about frameworks, and then see what others are using and recommending.
Thanks for dropping by and commenting.
Administrateur
Karen F says
LOL! You are right! When I reread your post — you WERE asking for everyone’s experience with Frameworks! Well, let my ruuuusssshhhh to wave the flag for the iThemes team be a testament to their fabulous community and the loyalty they inspires! Sorry for jumping the gun there. And, it would be great for you to evaluate the strengths of the top Frameworks.
Pandoon says
And what about speed? There are a lot of unnecessary code, so does it load lower?
Editorial Staff says
It depends on which framework you are speaking of.
Administrateur
Rusho says
All the theme listed in this article are commercial. You should mention some free framework such as Granty or Thematic Framework. Anyway, the topic is helpful.
chris kluis says
What about Roots?
Fred Romano says
StudioPress and Genesis rock! I will never go back to other frameworks after using Genesis. The code is clean and « bloat free » compared to the competition. These guys also provide amazing support!
Carrie Dils says
I stumbled on Genesis about 18 months ago and have never looked back. The pro you mention of community »really takes the cake. I can’t speak for other framework communities, but the group of users and developers around StudioPress is TOP NOTCH.
Regarding flexibility, I haven’t really been bothered too much by this. Again, the StudioPress core dev team has demonstrated a continued desire to grow and expand Genesis capabilities.
If you can’t tell, I’m sold.
Thanks for the write-up. All that said, Genesis is a framework more geared toward developers and it’s nice to know others that might be better suited for a different kind of user.