Have a Child Theme? You Need to Read This!

This Tuesday, we have some important information that affects users and developers of child themes. So let’s get right to it.

Introducing Wrappers

Click to read tutorialThe new AppThemes framework uses a file called wrapper.php. Wrapper provides a nice tidy place where the html, head, and body tags live. Since these tags are no longer in header.php or footer.php, it reduces the need to make repeated calls for get_header() and get_footer().

While it is more efficient, we need to warn you that the new wrapper file can break existing child themes. The good news is that you don’t have to do a lot to fix it. Dave Cowgill has created a tutorial introducing the AppThemes wrapper.php file. The more technically inclined might want to read Scribu’s post on wrappers.

Wrappers have already been added to Vantage and Clipper. It was added to JobRoller in version 1.6.2, released just last week. The new file will be included in ClassiPress 3.2 which is scheduled to be released in September. Developer files will be available well before the ClassiPress 3.2 release date. We will make an announcement when they are ready.

If you have a JobRoller or ClassiPress site that runs a child theme, please be aware that you will need to make these changes or your site may not work correctly. If you are child theme developer, please take the time to make changes to your child theme.

As always, our support team will be available to help you with any questions or problems you might have while making the changes.

To review, wrappers will be or are already implemented in the following versions:

• ClassiPress 3.2
• Clipper 1.3.1
• JobRoller 1.6.2
• Vantage 1.0

Speed Up Your Site by Modifying .htaccess

Click to read tutorialVantage dedicated developer, Josh Ronk explains how to speed a website, fast. Instead of fiddling with plugins that can be clunky and difficult, Josh shows how a few, simple modifications to the .htaccess file can produce significant speed improvements, instantly.