WordPress Child Theme: practical guide to customize without losing essence

Step 1. Minimum files

A child only needs:

• style.css → identifies the theme and contains your custom CSS.
• functions.php → loads parent styles and functions and allows adding your own code.

Step 2. Folder structure

blocksy-child/
│── style.css
│── functions.php

Step 3. Content of style.css

/*
 Theme Name:   Blocksy Child
 Theme URI:    https://degalalab.com
 Description:  Example of a clean and optimized child theme
 Author:       deGalaLab
 Author URI:   https://degalalab.com
 Template:     blocksy
 Version:      1.0.0
 Text Domain:  blocksy-child
*/

/* Add custom CSS here */

Note: the field Template: blocksy indicates the parent theme. The rest are informative and can be adapted to each project.

Step 4. Content of functions.php

<?php
/**
 * Blocksy Child - functions.php
 */

// Load parent and child styles
function blocksy_child_enqueue_styles() {
    $parent_style = 'blocksy-style'; // parent theme identifier

    // Parent style
    wp_enqueue_style(
        $parent_style,
        get_template_directory_uri() . '/style.css'
    );

    // Child style
    wp_enqueue_style(
        'blocksy-child-style', // internal child name
        get_stylesheet_directory_uri() . '/style.css', // path to child
        array( $parent_style ), // loads after parent
        wp_get_theme()->get('Version') // handles cache busting
    );
}
add_action('wp_enqueue_scripts', 'blocksy_child_enqueue_styles');

Code reading: first it loads the parent theme, then the child. This ensures customizations remain stable and sustainable over time.

Step 5. Installation

1. Compress the folder into a .zip.
2. Go to WordPress → Appearance > Themes > Add New.
3. Upload and activate the .zip.

Step 6. Result

• The site looks the same as with the parent theme.
• All customizations are done in the child.
• Parent updates don’t affect your changes.