I have blogs powered by wordpress but what is this ‘theme framework’ people talk about? – Has this question ever occurred to you? And if not then at some point in future it might occur, So here is the answer.
WordPress is everyone’s favorite, advanced and easiest open source content management system (CMS) and blogging tool. It provides great features to design and develop many kinds of websites like blog, ecommerce, Corporate, Support Portal, Social Media, and Business Directory etc.
WordPress is used by over 18.9% of the top 10 million websites as of August 2013. WordPress is currently the most popular blogging system being used on the Web, powering over 60 million websites worldwide. – Source: Wikipedia.
Today we are discussing about the theme framework of wordpress. According to the WordPress Codex term ‘Theme Framework’ has two definitions:
- A “drop-in” code library that is used to facilitate development of a Theme.
- A stand-alone base/starter Theme that is intended either to be forked into another Theme, or else to be used as a Parent Theme template.
Well, to understand the meaning of these definitions let’s assume that WordPress is your car’s engine; The framework could be the entire body and also internal features/functions; and then the theme can be your cars paint job and also outside design elements.
So, If you have installed lights and screen wiper on your car and they are connected with your framework then you must have buttons to turn them on/off from inside of your car while driving. That’s the same function theme framework provides. The end user doesn’t need to get into the hood (coding) to get things start/end working.
Like change color scheme, change logo, turn on plugins, view and hide certain things from main site etc.
A “drop-in” code library framework is not a stand-alone Theme. Such frameworks cannot be installed nor used as stand-alone Themes. Rather, these libraries are included with the Theme, and “bootstrapped” to the Theme in the functions.php file.
A “base/starter” Theme framework is a stand-alone Theme designed to be a flexible foundation for faster and smoother WordPress development, usually serving as a robust Parent Theme for Child Themes. Some Theme frameworks can also make theme development more accessible, removing the need for programming or design knowledge by Creating Options Pages.
The best part about using theme framework is that it allows the end users to alter their site using drag & drop like features.
There are hundreds of frameworks for themes available out there and it would be very difficult to determine the best ones, as every framework provides a different functionality. So, it’s totally up to the developers and users that which one they find best suited to their needs.
Genenis Framework
The Genesis Framework empowers you to quickly and easily build incredible websites using WordPress. Whether you’re a novice or advanced developer, Genesis provides the secure and search-engine-optimized foundation that takes your site to places you could never imagine.
PageLines DMS
World’s first fully optimized drag & drop theme framework for most awesome cms wordpress. Create whole site with just few clicks without any coding. Mobile Friendly and SEO optimized.
Themetic
Thematic is a free, open-source, seo optimized WordPress Theme Framework. Grid-based layout samples, styling for popular plugins, nice community support. It’s really good for new bloggers and WordPress development professionals.
Gantry
Another very powerful theme framework by RocketTheme with a very stunning administration panel and variety of useful features.
Don’t forget to share your views and experience.