Should the X theme be activated as well as the child theme?

[tomrogers]

Simple question, but illusive. I have the child theme activated, but not the primary theme. Should both be activated?

[ruenel]

Hey Tom,

Thanks for posting in!

A child theme acts like a normal WP theme. When you activate the child theme, it will inherit all of the parent theme’s functions and features which is why you do not need to activate the parent theme.

Hope this explain the issue briefly.

[tomrogers]

If I don’t activate the parent theme (X Version: 7.2.3), how does the child theme pick up on the changes. The child them always says it is X – Child ThemeVersion: 1.0.0.

I’m finding it difficult to work with my website, and was wondering if it’s behind on updates.

[christian]

Hey Tom,

First, you can only activate one theme so it’s not possible to activate both the parent theme and child theme. If you activate the parent theme, that means you’ll not be using the child theme.

Because the child theme inherits the parent theme’s functions and styles as Ruenel said, if the parent theme is updated, the child theme automatically picks it up. It is a built-in system in WordPress.

The child theme’s version is separate from the parent theme. It is for the user to update if s/he wishes to based on the customizations (parent theme overrides) s/he will add to the child theme.

If you’re having difficulties with your site, it could be that you added a custom code in your child theme and that causes an issue. You can quickly tell if this is the case if you activate the parent theme and the issue is gone. If you have an issue with your child theme, you need to consult with a developer because we do not provide support for child theme modifications or any custom code issues.

For more information about the WordPress theme system, please see https://developer.wordpress.org/themes/advanced-topics/child-themes/

Hope that helps.