WordPress main template types

A basic WordPress theme will have templates for

• index/category/date/author/tag/search index pages
  
• static page
• single post
• 404 error page

When it comes to the various types of index pages, some themes will have one index.php file and some will have individual files for category.php, etc. Either way, a basic WP theme will have at least a changing title for category, date, author, tag, or search pages. For example, if it’s a page showing posts for May, 2010, then it will indicate the date in the page headline. If it is a page showing all posts by one author, the author’s name will be indicated in the page headline. If it is a search results page the headline will say “Results matching your search for ‘[search term]‘”. Tag index pages will say “Articles tagged with ‘[tag name]‘”, etc.

more about WordPress templates

If you would like to have different or additional items on all category pages, or one of the other index page types, these changes can be added. Be clear with your designer if you want to have specific headlines for the main template types. The ones mentioned above are pretty standard and what is included by default with the themes we create (you can input your choice and details using the theme request form).

The most customized templates are for single posts (single.php) and static pages (page.php and page templates). For your single post template themes usually include meta-information about the article, such as: the date, author, category, tags, comment count and comments template (if comments are enabled). If you do not want some of these elements, let your designer know which ones to exclude.

Working with Us -included templates and single post meta-information

All of our themes come with a template for each of the template types listed above. We use a unique headline depending on the template type, as mentioned above. When using the theme request form you can add any additional details you might have about these main template types.

Page Templates

With WordPress you have the ability to make your front page a static page rather than a list of your latest articles. This is a setting under Settings>Reading. If you want your front page or any other page to look different or have a different layout, this is done with page templates.

There are unlimited options when it comes to page templates, so it would be impossible to describe even half of them, but again, it comes down to functionality. Page templates are a great way for including dynamic content, whether these are other parts of your site or external content. For example, let’s say you want the home page to have a section with the latest articles from each category. Or maybe you want a page template that lists all sub-pages of the current page off to the side of the main content. Or maybe you just want to have a page template that uses a different sidebar… this is where page templates come in. When writing/editing a WordPress Page you can apply one of the page templates.

Working with Us -page templates

By default the themes we design come with the standard page.php template. This will have a title and the page content (as well as the universal theme components like sidebar and footer). If you would like to have additional page templates designed, you can use the theme request form to tell us about each page template you’d like to have coded.