Do you need one?
Usually not. Changes you make in the Site Editor (styles, templates, headers, footers) are saved in your site’s database, so theme updates don’t overwrite them.
A child theme is worth it when you want to keep custom CSS, templates, patterns or PHP in files, for example under version control or to reuse on several sites.
Install Pawtani Child
- Download
pawtani-child.zipfrom your WPRuby account, next to the Pawtani download. - Keep Pawtani installed: the child theme needs it.
- Go to Appearance → Themes → Add New Theme → Upload Theme, upload
pawtani-child.zipand activate Pawtani Child.
Your licence and updates stay with Pawtani. Activate the licence on Appearance → Pawtani as usual; Pawtani keeps getting updates while the child theme is active, and updates never touch the child theme’s files.
What’s inside
| File | What it does |
|---|---|
style.css |
Your CSS. It loads after Pawtani’s styles, including its WooCommerce styles |
functions.php |
Loads style.css. Add your own PHP here, with your own prefix (for example pawtani_child_) |
theme.json |
Empty to start. Anything you add is merged with Pawtani’s: list only what you change |
What the child theme can change
| To change | Add to the child theme |
|---|---|
| Colors, fonts, spacing | theme.json |
| A template | templates/<name>.html, with the same name as Pawtani’s (for example single-product.html) |
| A header or footer | parts/<name>.html |
| A pattern | patterns/<name>.php, with the same file name as Pawtani’s |
| Behavior | PHP in functions.php, using the hooks and filters |
Files you add replace Pawtani’s files of the same name. To start from Pawtani’s version, copy the file from the theme and change the copy.
Site Editor changes still win. A template or part you’ve edited and saved in the Site Editor is stored in the database and is used instead of both themes’ files. Reset it (⋮ → Reset) to use the file.