A WordPress Theme is a collection of files that work together to produce a graphical interface with an underlying unifying design for a weblog. These files are called template files.

Themes may include customized template files, image files (*.jpg, *.gif), style sheets (*.css), custom Pages, as well as any necessary code files (*.php).

Frontend (Home page)

Before you start, let’s take a look at the WordPress default theme and see how it is structured. Take note of the elements (header, post title, search form, navigation, footer, etc.).

theme frontpage

Single page

When any single Post (or attachment, or custom Post Type) page is being displayed.

theme single page

How WordPress Theme Works

If you go the default theme folder (wp-content/themes/default), you should see many PHP files (called template file) and one style.css file. When you are viewing the front page, WordPress actually uses several template files to generate the page (index.php << header.php, sidebar.php, and footer.php).

theme page