Chykalophia Docs

Understand what a WordPress theme is, the difference between classic and block themes, and what changing a theme actually means for your site.

A WordPress theme is the design layer of your website — it controls the overall look, layout, fonts, and colors. Think of it as the clothes your website wears. Your content stays the same; the theme changes how everything is presented.

Quick summary

Every WordPress site has one active theme at a time. The theme controls how your site looks and where things appear. There are two main types: classic themes (the traditional kind) and block themes (a newer, more flexible approach). Changing a theme is possible, but it's a significant change that requires planning. We handle theme changes for our clients.

What a theme controls

Themes handle the visual and structural layer of your site:

Page layout — headers, footers, sidebars
Typography — fonts, sizes, line spacing
Colors — background, text, buttons, links
Navigation — where menus appear
Widget areas — where sidebars and footer columns live
Overall spacing and visual style

What a theme does NOT control: your actual content (pages, posts, images, products). That content is stored separately from the theme (in the WordPress database and your uploads folder) and stays with you if you ever change themes.

Classic themes vs block themes

WordPress has two distinct generations of themes, and they work very differently.

Classic themes

The traditional approach used for most of WordPress's history. They use PHP templates to control layout and the WordPress Customizer for settings like logo and colors.

Examples: Astra, GeneratePress, OceanWP, Kadence, and most themes built before block themes arrived in WordPress 5.9.

You edit via: Appearance → Customize, Appearance → Menus, Appearance → Widgets.

Block themes

The newer approach introduced with WordPress 5.9. Everything — including the header, footer, and layout — is built with blocks and edited in the Site Editor.

Examples: Twenty Twenty-Two, Twenty Twenty-Three, Twenty Twenty-Four.

You edit via: Appearance → Editor (the Site Editor).

Most sites built by Chykalophia before 2024 use classic themes or a page builder on top of a classic theme. Newer builds may use block themes. If you're not sure which yours is, check Appearance in your dashboard — if you see "Editor," it's a block theme; if you don't (you'll usually see "Customize," and often "Widgets" and "Menus"), it's a classic theme.

What is a page builder?

Many WordPress sites use a page builder — a plugin that adds a visual drag-and-drop editor on top of the theme. Popular page builders include Elementor, Divi Builder, and Beaver Builder.

When a site uses a page builder, much of the visual design is controlled by the page builder rather than the theme directly. The theme still provides the global framework (header, footer, overall settings), but the content areas are built in the page builder.

See What is Elementor? for more on how page builders work.

How themes are installed and activated

Themes are installed from the WordPress.org theme directory, purchased from third-party marketplaces, or built custom. Only one theme can be active at a time.

To see what theme your site is currently using: go to Appearance → Themes in your dashboard. The active theme is labelled Active.

Don't activate a different theme without consulting us

Switching to a different theme can break your site's layout, menus, widgets, and page builder content. It's not like changing a background color — it can require significant rebuild work. Always discuss a theme change with us first.

Keeping your theme updated

Your theme receives updates from the developer — for security patches, bug fixes, and new features. Outdated themes are a security risk.

Updates appear in Dashboard → Updates when they're available.
Before updating, we recommend having a recent backup.
See how to update plugins safely — theme updates work the same way.
We handle theme updates as part of our care plan.

Child themes

A child theme sits on top of a parent theme. It uses everything from the parent by default, and holds your customizations separately so the original code stays untouched. If your site was set up by us, we may have created a child theme for your custom design changes.

Here's why child themes matter: if you edit a theme directly and then update it, your changes are overwritten by the update. A child theme protects your customizations. Never modify a theme's code directly without a child theme in place.

Common questions

Can I change my site's theme myself?

Technically yes — Appearance → Themes → Add Theme. But in practice, changing to a new theme usually breaks your current layout and requires significant work to rebuild. Please consult us before attempting this. We can advise on whether a theme change is the right approach and handle it properly if so.

My theme updated and something on my site looks different. What do I do?

A theme update occasionally changes styles or layout. Check the theme's changelog (usually on the developer's website) to see what changed. If something is clearly broken, reach out to us immediately. We recommend taking a backup before updates to make rollback easy — see WordPress updates explained.

There are themes in my dashboard I've never used. Should I delete them?

Inactive themes you don't use are worth removing — they can be a minor security risk if left unpatched. However, keep at least one backup theme (like a default WordPress theme) in case your main theme has a critical error. WordPress only lets you delete a theme that isn't active, so your current theme is safe.

What's the difference between a free theme and a premium theme?

Free themes (from WordPress.org) are fine for simple sites. Premium themes (paid, from marketplaces like ThemeForest or the theme developer's own site) typically offer more features, better support, and more design options. Our client builds typically use reputable premium themes for better performance and support.

Need a hand?

If you're stuck, email support@chykalophia.com and we'll help. Include your website address and a screenshot if you can.

WordPress themes explained