The document discusses best practices for WordPress theme development, including using inline documentation, proper copyright and licensing, making themes child-theme ready, correctly enqueueing scripts and stylesheets, and following WordPress coding standards. It provides examples and explanations for each topic.

1. Beyond the Guidelines: Theme Development Best Practices @chip_bennett (Volume 1) Chip Bennett, WordCamp Toronto, 05 November 2011

2. Beyond the Guidelines: Theme Development Best Practices Audience Developers Themes intended to be hosted by WPORG Best Practices Theme Documentation Copyright Attribution / License Declaration Child-Theme Readiness Enqueueing Scripts and Stylesheets WordPress Coding Standards Related The WordPress Theme Repository http://www.slideshare.net/chipbennett/wordcamp-kc-the-wordpress-theme-repository How to Prepare and Submit Your Theme to the WPORG Theme Repository: http://www.slideshare.net/chipbennett/word-campstl-submittingathemetothethemerepository WordCamp Toronto: 05 November 2011

3. Theme Inline Documentation phpDoc ftw! WordCamp Toronto: 05 November 2011

5. Auto-generation of Theme documentation/cross-reference

7. Long Description

10. Beyond the Guidelines: Theme Development Best Practices Example 1: template file undocumented WordCamp Toronto: 05 November 2011 Theme Inline Documentation Oenology Theme: index.php file, undocumented and uninformative

12. Long Description

13. @package tag

14. @copyright tag

16. Cross-reference functions used in the template file

17. Document copyright attribution and license declaration

18. Beyond the Guidelines: Theme Development Best Practices Example 2: index.php template file page-level docblock WordCamp Toronto: 05 November 2011 Theme Inline Documentation Oenology Theme: index.php page-level docblock: documented, informative

20. Long Description

21. @param tag

23. Cross-reference functions called within the function

24. Describe function parameter (input) datatypes, criticality, purpose

25. Describe function output datatype and purpose

26. Document copyright attribution (if borrowed/derived code)

27. Beyond the Guidelines: Theme Development Best Practices Example 3: function-level docblock WordCamp Toronto: 05 November 2011 Theme Inline Documentation Oenology Theme: function-level docblock, documents custom-function use

28. Copyright Attribution and License Declaration Credit where it's due and maintaining users' rights WordCamp Toronto: 05 November 2011

31. Derivative Themes

32. Incorporated Code

34. Copyright requires ownership, and license requires copyright

35. Preserve chain of ownership/copyright/license

36. Borrowed code: give credit where it's due

37. Bundled resources: ensure license compatibility

42. @copyright

45. Copyright

46. License/license link

47. Child-Theme Readiness Make your Theme future-proof for user modifications WordCamp Toronto: 05 November 2011

49. Contextual template-part file includes

50. Post-format template-part file includes

51. Advanced Child Theme overrides

53. Theme settings functional code

54. Enqueued stylesheets and scripts

57. Facilitates context-specific Child Theme overrides

59. Parent Theme $file-$context.php

60. Child Theme $file.php

64. get_post_format() returns null for “standard”

65. Relies on same cascade, falls back to $file.php if post format is not defined (i.e. “standard”) for current post.

72. Child Theme hooks callback into add_filter() call

73. Enqueueing Stylesheets and Scripts Making your stylesheets and scripts play nicely with others WordCamp Toronto: 05 November 2011

75. Admin context

77. Ensure forward-compatibility

78. Play nicely with Plugins and core

81. Use the $deps parameter in wp_enqueue_script() call

82. For safety: if ( ! is_admin() )

83. Bonus Tip: enqueueing comment-reply.js

85. Appropriate hook: admin_print_scripts-$hook

86. $hook = $context_$pagename

88. WordPress Coding Standards ...some of them are useful for Theme developers, too! WordCamp Toronto: 05 November 2011

91. If any related set of blocks is more than one line long then all of the related blocks should be enclosed in braces

92. Loops should always contain braces

93. Single line blocks can omit braces for brevity

97. On both sides of logical and assignment operators

99. Use real tabs and not spaces

100. For associative arrays, values should start on a new line

101. When mixing PHP and HTML together, indent PHP blocks to match the surrounding HTML code.

102. Closing PHP blocks should match the same indentation level as the opening block.

103. Feedback You’ve heard from me; now I want to hear from you WordCamp Toronto: 05 November 2011

105. Theme Quality,

106. Child Themes/Theme Frameworks

108. Theme Review Guidelines WordCamp Toronto: 05 November 2011

109. Resources Sites and information referenced, and further reading WordCamp Toronto: 05 November 2011

111. phpDoc Generator: http://www.phpdoc.org/

113. get_template_directory(): http://codex.wordpress.org/Function_Reference/get_template_directory

114. get_template_part(): http://codex.wordpress.org/Function_Reference/get_template_part

116. Theme Review Guidelines : http://codex.wordpress.org/Theme_Review

118. WordCamp KC Presentation: http://www.slideshare.net/chipbennett/wordcamp-kc-the-wordpress-theme-repository

119. WordCamp STL Presentation: http://www.slideshare.net/chipbennett/word-campstl-submittingathemetothethemerepository WordCamp Toronto: 05 November 2011