Apropos Tech Solutions Corp. Blog

Category: WordPress

  • WordPress: what is a child theme?

    In WordPress, one hears a lot about child themes. What are they, and why are they important?

    The following is my understanding.

    I mention in my post from June 18 the idea of a theme in WordPress. That said, what is a child theme?

    Be advised, this is a practical explanation.

    A child theme is a folder that lives outside the theme it’s based on, which we will call the parent theme. The child theme contains changes one has made to the parent theme. Assuming the child theme has been produced correctly, then selected as the active theme, WordPress knows to load its parent theme, then apply the tweaks that it finds in the child theme.

    The child theme must include a stylesheet called style.css, which is a plain text file. Said style.css file must have a header that includes the lines Theme Name and Template, where its template is the parent theme.

    How style.css in the child theme gets loaded depends on the parent theme. Apparently, some parent themes load the child theme’s style.css file automatically. With others, the child theme folder will need a functions.php file containing a custom function that will load its style.css

    The reason a child theme is important is that themes commonly undergo updates, just like other software. Any customization done to the parent theme may be overwritten during an update. However, the update won’t overwrite the child theme.

    Source:

    WordPress Developer Resources. (Jan 26, 2024). Child Themes. https://developer.wordpress.org/themes/advanced-topics/child-themes/

    -js

  • WordPress: plugin update says failed, yet json response says success:true

    Working with WordPress, plugins continue to raise questions…and perhaps mixed messages.

    The following is by my understanding.

    Today, when I went to post to a WordPress site, I was told by a plugin that an update was available. One is meant to update a plugin when possible, similar to other updates, because often updates are motivated by security. So, I updated the plugin.

    I got a response back: update failed. Yet, in the json response, I read “success”:”true”. Was the update a failure or a success?

    I went to Tools->Site Health, where it would be indicated if a plugin update were available: none was. I decided that, in fact, the update had been successful.

    -js

  • WordPress: what is a theme?

    We often hear about themes in WordPress. What is a WordPress theme?

    The following is by my understanding.

    The first theme I used in WordPress might have been Twenty Twelve, which is the year I started with WordPress. It came with the installation. I was doing everything myself, even back then, but didn’t know, at first, that I could have used a different theme.

    Especially in classic themes – which all WordPress themes were until sometime in 2021 – a theme was a uniform way the various parts of a WordPress site would present to the visitor. The theme came with preset fonts, colors, spacing, and pre-sized, pre-positioned boxes for photos. One could change these, to some extent, but generally speaking, the idea was that if you changed something in one place you’d change it pretty much everywhere.

    As time went on I realized I could either customize the theme I had, or change to a different theme. I eventually did both. If I changed to a new theme, I would usually strip out some of the bells and whistles a theme might provide, since I wanted my presentation to be pretty plain. I did change the background color and a few other things.

    Themes are downloadable; my impression is that there are thousands of them, both free and paid. Many have a free level, then a paid level.

    Block themes came out, it seems, in around 2021. With a block theme, the user can build each entry from blocks, so it invites more variety among posts and pages. Moreover, there is less need for coding – some would say none at all.

    So, in WordPress, a theme isn’t about content, but rather presentation. It’s a set of colors and fonts together with spacing conventions. One can change one’s theme spontaneously, just by downloading a new one and activating it. Or, for more granular changes, one can customize certain attributes of a classic theme. With a block theme, change is easy to make pretty much anywhere the reader will see.

    This WordPress installation’s present theme is the default, Twenty Twenty-Five. It’s a block theme.

    Source:

    developer.wordpress.org: What Is a Theme?

    -JS

  • Web: is my site on a LiteSpeed server? (Finding out from Firefox)

    Being on a LiteSpeed server, you can possibly use the LiteSpeed Cache.

    The following is by my understanding.

    Once a site gets busy, for instance a WordPress site, a cache can make the difference between the site being slow versus normal.

    On my oldest WordPress site, which went up in 2012, I have always used LiteSpeed Cache, except for a couple of interruptions during updates. When I had to run the site without it, I really noticed how much slower it loaded. On that site, LiteSpeed Cache is the only plugin I use. (See my post from June 5, 2026 for some background thoughts about plugins.)

    So, LiteSpeed Cache is a plugin that I like. However, as I understand, in order to use the LiteSpeed cache, one needs to be hosted on a LiteSpeed server. (Perhaps that’s a slight oversimplification, but likely good enough for a starter’s perspective.) How does one discover if they are?

    Here’s how I did so on Firefox:

    1. On a page from the site, right-click on a non-active part. From the drop-down, click Inspect.
    2. On the new pane that appears, find Network and click on it.
    3. Reload the page. A bunch of resources will be listed as they load.
    4. Click on any of the resources. A new pane will appear; on it, find Headers and click it.
    5. Underneath the Headers title, find Response Headers and scroll down. An entry like server: LiteSpeed indicates that, indeed, the site is on a LiteSpeed server.

    There are many potential directions to follow from this post. One motivation for finding if one’s on the LiteSpeed server is to discover whether using the LiteSpeed Cache is a possibility, perhaps even as a plugin if the site is WordPress.

    For follow-up I intend to mention corresponding directions relevant to Chrome and related browsers.

    Source:

    docs.litespeedtech.com

    w3.org

    -JS

  • WordPress: Plugins: another let-down

    WordPress: Plugins, continued…

    The following is my take.

    I start about WordPress plugins in my post from June 2, 2026. I typically run a cache one, and sometimes that’s it.

    I thought about doing a post today about a plugin to make backups. Backups are important to safeguard content from errors, malfunctions, etc. Before doing any manual update, making a backup is likely a good idea. That’s what I do, anyway.

    So, I had a plugin installed which I was going to use to do a backup, then report about it.

    The plugin crashed: it just remained stuck at 0 percent completion. When I clicked the “Stop” button in its menu, I got a message back saying the process couldn’t be stopped.

    I logged into the server and stopped the plugin from there. Next, I deactivated, then deleted the plugin.

    I never keep plugins around that don’t stop when I click “Stop.”

    A plugin isn’t needed to make a backup of a WordPress site; a backup can be created manually. However, some plugins, assuming they work, might make it more convenient.

    Not in this case, apparently:)

    -JS

  • Computer constructs: caches, part 0

    What is a cache? What are some types of them?

    The following is my understanding about caches.

    In French, cacher means “to hide.” However, in woods-person terms, “to hide” and “to store” are closely related, because storing food means hiding it from foragers. Hence, a cache is, functionally, a place to store stuff.

    In computer terms, a cache typically means a place where results are stored so the CPU doesn’t have to figure them out again. Rather, said responses can just be brought from storage immediately. Cache storage needs to be fast in order to effectively save time.

    Types of caches have evolved. They may be classified on how fast they are to retrieve from, as well as by what they store. In the web world, for instance, page caches store pre-built pages that are called for often. Object caches store answers to database queries, for instance, that are often requested. Opcode caches store parts of computer programs that are run often. In each case, the code has been refined into a finished solution, or closer to one, so the CPU doesn’t have to start from scratch to respond to a request.

    On a website that delivers complex content, such as a WordPress site might become, all three of the caches described above might be used. Typically, without a cache, the content may be delivered noticeably slower compared to when a cache is used. At high levels, caches can be calibrated to be even more efficient.

    Source:

    php.net: OPcache

    gxmediagy.com: “OPcache, Object Cache, and Page Cache: The Three Layers That Make Websites Feel Instant”

    -JS

  • WordPress: Plugins, part 0

    What one veteran WordPress user thinks about plugins, part zero.

    The following is my understanding, opinion, etc.

    I’ve been using WordPress since 2012. It’s a great platform. AI tells me that, as of today, around 43 percent of the web runs on WordPress.

    At surface level, WordPress is easy to load up and post from. Next, some users want to manage their content, enhance how it’s displayed, reorganize it, etc. Often, that’s where plugins come into play.

    I recall learning about plugins and using a few in my early days. They seemed great – one would load a plugin, then get access to surprisingly convenient utility.

    In my case, there were two such plugins, each offering something I could have done myself but only after a lot of programming. Both plugins were free, and offered such utility with minimal effort. I really enjoyed using them.

    One crashed fairly early on – it just stopped working. It didn’t seem to make much of a mess, nor did it affect many posts. What it did, I admit, seemed too good to be true. When it stopped working, I just continued without it.

    The other plugin was key for several in-depth posts. When it broke, it made a mess, since it was a presentation plugin. Once it failed to encode the content meant for it, the raw code was exposed. While it all seemed harmless enough, it was unsightly and made those posts useless. I stopped using that plugin, or any like it.

    Both that plugin, and the one that broke earlier, were free. Paid ones might have more and better support. However, I think a user would have to be quite attached to a plugin to keep using it after its breakage crashed their site.

    Nowadays, I typically use a cache plugin (more about that later), and sometimes nothing else. I’ve even had a cache break on me, giving an error message where my site should have been displayed – not fun, but I recovered from it.

    That said, many WordPress users seem to depend on and celebrate all kinds of plugins. WordPress is PHP-based, so the potential utility of a plugin is virtually unlimited.

    I plan to continue about WordPress plugins.

    -JS