Hear that? That’s the sound of a disconnect.

Anything that gets into the behavior or functional territory of a website needs to be in a plugin. According to them, a theme should only deal with the visual aspects. But as solution-rich WordPress themes became commonplace, at some point, the WP.org team drew a line in the sand and set defined borders. When they first appeared on the scene, the boundaries weren’t clearly defined. Say hello to ‘solution’ WordPress themes 👋 Blast from the past! Classic, the first-ever default WordPress theme ( source)īut as the ecosystem evolved and tech advanced, devs and agencies saw an opportunity to create themes that had a lot more going on under the hood. We call these ‘traditional’ WordPress themes today. They were practically just ‘skins’ for WordPress blogs with almost no functionality and very limited customization options for users. In the early days, WordPress themes were design-focused and basic. In some ways, the question has divided WordPress into two camps… What Is a WordPress Theme? Look deeper, however, and you’ll discover many layers and no real consensus within the community. But with the rise of the block editor, full site editing, and page builders, many WordPressers are asking if these enduring solutions (and their creators) have had their time in the sun.īefore we uncover the crystal ball and get into who (or what) will be fading from the limelight, let’s start with a question that seems trivial when taken at face value. For years, traditional WordPress themes have dominated the ecosystem’s website-building market.

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