Anyone who deals with multiple WordPress driven sites in concurrent development can attest to the tedious task of creating the basic folder and file structure requirements. Note that the following tip is not limited to the development of WordPress. The tip can very well be applied to any active developer workflow which requires some type of structured templating system.
The basic WordPress directory structure, in its simplest form, resembles the following:
/wp-content/themes/theme folder/
/wp-content/themes/theme folder/images/
/wp-content/themes/theme folder/js/
/wp-content/themes/theme folder/header.php
/wp-content/themes/theme folder/home.php
/wp-content/themes/theme folder/index.php
/wp-content/themes/theme folder/single.php
/wp-content/themes/theme folder/footer.php
... additional templates
Repeatedly recreating the above file structure is not so much as time consuming as it is tedious. Being a creature of habit, my local development folder contains a single generic base directory from which all development begins. Within this base directory, I’ve created the essential templates which I would normally use during development. Each of these templates is stripped to the core allowing complete flexibility on a per project basis while saving time retyping redundant code. Creating WordPress driven sites from this point on are as simple as duplicating and renaming the generic base folder and making the appropriate customizations.
Rosano Coutinho
Aug 29th, 2006
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Cool idea.
I sort of do the same thing with regards to CSS. I have a base style that all my sites link to and then I add specific CSS to each site.
Justin Knowles
Aug 29th, 2006
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Awesome. I’m just starting on developing some WordPress themes and was planning on doing some consolidation with these files. If you don’t mind, could you share how you consolidated the files?
Derek
Aug 29th, 2006
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There is no consolidation of files going on. The tip is that developers who utilize the same file structure time and again should consider creating a simple, yet effective means in which to cut down on the time required to manually recreate individual files. Everyone has their own methods to work with…
Vimal
Aug 29th, 2006
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Nice
I love working with creating themes for Wordpress.
Ben
Aug 29th, 2006
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Been meaning to do this forever, your post finally prompted me to get off my ass
You’re a life saver.
Alistair
Nov 22nd, 2006
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Using MAC OS X, you can use Automator to increase the powerof this by having it rename your main folder, move the files to your Sites folder, and add in any other tools with some interactive Q & A. This way, you simply invoke the “New WordPress” automation and it walks you through the rest.
Derek
Nov 22nd, 2006
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That’s a great tip Alistair. A great idea for OS X Tiger+ users who have grown accustomed to utilizing the Automator for tasks.
sequiened
Dec 15th, 2006
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Mmm… Good post
Will watch your blog
Trackback
Jan 10th, 2007
Personal tips for local development