Custom templates

  • Resolved kenguiche

    (@kenguiche)


    3 years, 6 months ago

    Hello,
    What happens to custom templates I have created using the built-in theme editor (not customizations to the standard templates, but the ones created by Editor->Templates->Add New->Custom templates) when 2023 theme got updated? Will they be gone?
    Or if I want to switch to 2024 theme this time next year, will they be transferred to 2024 theme?

    I am new to WP, and have learned about child themes and so on, but a child theme for block themes like 2023 looks like only about custom styles. Also creating custom templates doesn’t seem to generate or modify any physical files, and everything is handled as the data in the WP database, so I suppose they won’t be simply overwritten when you download updated theme files (unless the installer goes through the database and clean it up).

    I apologize if this is an amateur question, but I appreciate it if somebody could let me know, or point me to an existing document that explain these things.

Viewing 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)
  • Bernie Reiter

    (@bernhard-reiter)

    3 years, 6 months ago

    Hey,

    The custom templates you create yourself will be retained when the Twenty Twenty-Three (2023) theme is updated — they won’t be lost 🙂

    However, if you switch to a different theme, your custom template will no longer be applied to any pages it was previously applied to; nor will it show up in the Site Editor.

    The reason for this is that custom templates are still considered part of the theme – even if created by the user. You’re correct that they are stored in the database; this also means that when you switch back to the original theme, they will become available again.

    This is not an amateur question at all! You have a good grasp of the technical underpinnings of block themes and custom templates.

    I’ve been trying to find up-to-date documentation on custom templates, but without much success. I found this resource, but it predates Full Site Editing and block themes. It looks like we need to update and/or add some coverage for those.

    Hope that helps!

    • This reply was modified 3 years, 6 months ago by Bernie Reiter.
    Thread Starter kenguiche

    (@kenguiche)

    3 years, 6 months ago

    Thank you for your reply Bernie,

    So what is the best strategy for me when I look at my site (currently under construction) a couple years down the road you think?

    I’ve chosen to go with a Gutenberg theme because commercial themes are expensive yet 95% of their offerings have no benefit for me. My site is unconventional that its core is a custom database program I’ve written using WP shortcodes, PHP and MySQL, and I don’t really care about fancy graphics or I don’t have use for ready-made templates for online stores. I felt it was better for me to stay with the direction WP itself was going (= Gutenberg), so that my own program wouldn’t become technically outdated and/or incompatible any time soon.

    The custom templates I’ve created so far are just custom layouts with my own header/footer with my own menu and so on, and it is not the end of the world if I have to recreate them.

    However, will WordPress keep creating totally new block themes every year that have no migration paths from the older block themes? And if so, can 2023 theme I am using now become security vulnerability with no further updates?

    Thank you,

    Bernie Reiter

    (@bernhard-reiter)

    3 years, 6 months ago

    Hey,

    I think it should be fine to keep your custom templates:

    WordPress will continue to release a new default theme on a yearly basis — which will generally look quite different each time; they aren’t really supposed to be successive versions of the same theme. Instead, they’re meant to be a showcase of new features (think theme variations in Twenty Twenty Three) and also demonstrate different use cases. For this reason, there’s generally not any defined migration path (other than what we get from WordPress’ separation of contents and layout).

    Older “default” WordPress themes (i.e. everything from the “Twenty Something” series) will continue to get security updates, so there should be no pressure to switch to a different theme because of security concerns. (The oldest one from that series, Twenty Ten, just had its latest update on November 2).

    Bernie

    Thread Starter kenguiche

    (@kenguiche)

    3 years, 6 months ago

    Thank you Bernie for you reply.
    I am very new to WP, or website building/programming, and while I am benefiting from the open-source nature of WP, I’ve also been struggling to find good info. Most of things I find on internet are either about pre-Gutenberg architecture or vendor-biased (or both), and it has been pretty difficult to wade through useless info. I feel the official WP documentations need a lot of improving too.

    I really appreciated your help.

Viewing 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)

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