{"id":35323,"date":"2022-07-06T07:00:36","date_gmt":"2022-07-06T14:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dhblog.dream.press\/blog\/?p=35323"},"modified":"2025-05-21T23:03:31","modified_gmt":"2025-05-22T06:03:31","slug":"wordpress-theme-configuration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wordpress-theme-configuration\/","title":{"rendered":"Decoding WordPress: New Theme Configuration Options with Theme.JSON File"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>New theme configuration options in WordPress are making it easier than ever before to modify the appearance of your site to your specific and unique needs. What\u2019s more, the ability to convert classic themes to block themes is adding even more user-friendly functionality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this blog post, the fourth in our \u201cDecoding WordPress\u201d series, we\u2019ll discuss both of these developments, including what they are and how they can make it easier for you to have a beautiful, tailored site whether you have beginner or intermediate WordPress development skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"article-newsletter article-newsletter--gradient\">\n\n\n<h2>Get Content Delivered Straight to Your Inbox<\/h2><p>Subscribe now to receive all the latest updates, delivered directly to your inbox.<\/p><form class=\"nwsl-form\" id=\"newsletter_block_\" novalidate><div class=\"messages\"><\/div><div class=\"form-group\"><label for=\"input_newsletter_block_\"><input type=\"email\"name=\"email\"id=\"input_newsletter_block_\"placeholder=\"Enter your email address\"novalidatedisabled=\"disabled\"\/><\/label><button type=\"submit\"class=\"btn btn--brand\"disabled=\"disabled\"><span>Sign Me Up!<\/span><svg width=\"21\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 21 14\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n<path d=\"M13.8523 0.42524L12.9323 1.34521C12.7095 1.56801 12.7132 1.9304 12.9404 2.14865L16.7241 5.7823H0.5625C0.251859 5.7823 0 6.03416 0 6.3448V7.6573C0 7.96794 0.251859 8.2198 0.5625 8.2198H16.7241L12.9405 11.8535C12.7132 12.0717 12.7095 12.4341 12.9323 12.6569L13.8523 13.5769C14.072 13.7965 14.4281 13.7965 14.6478 13.5769L20.8259 7.39879C21.0456 7.17913 21.0456 6.82298 20.8259 6.60327L14.6477 0.42524C14.4281 0.205584 14.0719 0.205584 13.8523 0.42524Z\" fill=\"white\"\/>\n<\/svg>\n<\/button><\/div><\/form><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-an-overview-of-wordpress-themes-and-templates\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>An Overview of WordPress Themes and Templates<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Before going over the newest options for configuring your theme by utilizing the newest options made possible by a file called theme.json, we\u2019ll get acquainted with what it actually <i>means<\/i> to configure a theme. In order to help our understanding of that, let\u2019s first clarify the difference between a theme and a template in WordPress, since there\u2019s often some confusion about it, especially if you\u2019re a novice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A theme is the complete design and foundation for your site\u2019s cohesive <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/blog\/elements-of-webdesign\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">look and feel<\/a>. It includes things like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/blog\/how-to-choose-color-scheme-for-your-website\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">color palettes<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/blog\/how-typography-affects-website-conversions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">typography<\/a>, page layouts, margins, line spacing, headers and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/blog\/website-footer-guide\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">footers<\/a>, sidebar positioning, and other elements. When you <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/blog\/how-to-pick-wordpress-theme\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">choose a theme<\/a> and install it, all of these elements are automatically installed as well. There are virtually countless numbers of free and paid themes available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wordpress-templates-template-parts\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">template<\/a>, however, is a single-page layout within a sitewide theme. And although modifications may be made to a template, they&#8217;re only applied to any of the pages that use that template, not to the entire site. Elements like customizing your blog\u2019s layout, building <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/blog\/build-lead-generating-landing-pages-wordpress\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">landing pages<\/a>, and giving other content a distinctive look are examples of what you can achieve through templates.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"631\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/wordpress-template-editor-1024x631.jpg\" alt=\"new WordPress Theme Configuration options\" class=\"wp-image-35328 lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/wordpress-template-editor-1024x631.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/wordpress-template-editor-300x185.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/wordpress-template-editor-768x474.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/smush-webp\/2022\/07\/wordpress-template-editor-600x370.jpg.webp 600w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/smush-webp\/2022\/07\/wordpress-template-editor-730x450.jpg.webp 730w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/smush-webp\/2022\/07\/wordpress-template-editor-784x483.jpg.webp 784w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/smush-webp\/2022\/07\/wordpress-template-editor-877x541.jpg.webp 877w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/smush-webp\/2022\/07\/wordpress-template-editor.jpg.webp 1200w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1024px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1024\/631;\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-so-what-are-theme-configuration-options-then\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>So, What Are Theme Configuration Options, Then?<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Theme configuration options are admin pages that come with some WordPress themes. These admin pages allow you to customize the settings of your installed theme without having to modify any theme files or get bogged down with altering code. Some of these admin pages can offer a few options, while others may have many, many more. If you\u2019re a beginner, the relative simplicity of an admin page versus the more complicated route can be a welcome time \u2014 and sanity saver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If your goal is only to enhance or change functionalities within a theme, you can greatly simplify matters by installing a plugin rather than reconfiguring the entire theme. However, if you\u2019re wanting to modify theme styles and block settings across your entire site, reconfiguring things through customizing is what you\u2019ll need to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-what-the-heck-is-json\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>What the Heck is JSON?<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>To customize your WordPress theme when it doesn\u2019t include an admin page, you\u2019ll need to <a href=\"https:\/\/fullsiteediting.com\/lessons\/creating-theme-json\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">create<\/a> and add a <span style=\"font-weight: 500;\">theme.json configuration file to the theme. But what is <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/JSON\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">JSON<\/a>? The acronym stands for JavaScript Object Notation, which is an open text-based data interchange format that can be read by both humans and machines and isn\u2019t linked to any specific programming language. Its most common use is for transmitting data in web applications.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><b>theme.json<\/b> support was added to WordPress in version 5.8, and doesn\u2019t work with older versions of WordPress unless you activate the <a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/plugins\/gutenberg\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Gutenberg plugin<\/a>. (The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/blog\/most-exciting-features-gutenberg-wordpress-editor\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Gutenberg editor<\/a> was officially released in 2018 alongside WordPress 5.0.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some of the customization options you can choose from within <b>theme.json<\/b> include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Enabling or disabling features like drop caps, block padding, margins, and custom line heights<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Adding multiple <a href=\"https:\/\/fullsiteediting.com\/lessons\/theme-json-color-options\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">color palettes<\/a>, gradients, and duotone filters for photos<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Modifying <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/blog\/web-safe-fonts\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">font<\/a> sizes<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Adding default widths for content<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Managing custom CSS (cascading style sheet) properties. CSS is used to define visual appearance and formatting of HTML documents.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Assign <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wordpress-templates-template-parts\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">template parts<\/a> to template part areas<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>As Gutenberg development moves forward, the options that are available with <b>theme.json<\/b> in WordPress differ between version 5.8 (where version 1 of <b>theme.json<\/b> is used) to version 5.9+ (where version 2 of <b>theme.json<\/b> is used) as well as the Gutenberg plugin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-options-explained\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>Options Explained<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>With these more granular customization options now within the reach of beginner and intermediate WordPress developers, let\u2019s talk about both <i>what<\/i> they are and <i>why<\/i> they could be beneficial to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-enabling-or-disabling-features-like-drop-caps-block-padding-margins-and-custom-line-heights\"><b>Enabling or disabling features like drop caps, block padding, margins, and custom line heights<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Drop caps (a style technique in which the first letter of a paragraph has a larger font size), block padding (the space inside the block that lies between the element\/content and the block\u2019s border, and that surrounds all sides of the element), margins, and custom line heights can give your pages a more distinctive and even formal look, depending on how you manage to style them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-adding-multiple-color-palettes-gradients-and-duotone-filters-for-photos\"><b>Adding multiple color palettes, gradients, and duotone filters for photos<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The right color palette \u2013 or multiple palettes \u2013 can help to define and enhance the marketable identity of both your brand and your site, and gradients (backgrounds of two colors that transition into one another) can give your site a more dynamic identity than only using solid colors for the pages on your site. Duotone filters can be applied to photos you\u2019ve uploaded to your site, and reduce the number of colors in the photo to just two \u2013 one for the dark parts of the photo, another for the light parts. Using these resources within your WordPress theme\u2019s settings, your site\u2019s overall color schemes can be formal, moderate, or avant-garde \u2013 limited only by your imagination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-modifying-font-sizes\"><b>Modifying font sizes<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Sometimes, the fonts in your chosen theme may suit the specific identity, tone, or attitude you\u2019re wanting to convey, but the set font sizes that are available may not. They may be too small or too large. By having the option to modify the sizes, you can tailor every aspect of the look of your site\u2019s copy to your brand\u2019s image.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-adding-default-widths-for-content\"><b>Adding default widths for content<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Content width is a theme feature whereby you can set the default or maximum allowed width (size) for any content in the theme, such as embeds and images added to posts. When you set default widths, WordPress can scale embed codes to specific sizes on the front-end and insert large images without breaking the main content area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-managing-custom-css-cascading-style-sheet-properties\"><b>Managing custom CSS (cascading style sheet) properties.<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019ve spent any time working with CSS, we\u2019re sure you\u2019re asking yourself why you\u2019d even want to write your custom CSS in the radically different JSON format. In a word: flexibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let\u2019s say you\u2019ve settled on a color, forest green, for your site that you <i>really<\/i> like. With CSS, you\u2019d have to go through and add the color code to all of the places you want to use that color. Not a huge deal, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now let\u2019s say that a few weeks later you find a slightly darker shade of forest green that you\u2019d much rather use. With CSS, you have to go back in and find\/replace all of the instances of the \u201cold\u201d forest green color code with the new one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But, by using theme.json, you\u2019d only have to update the color definition once, in the JSON file, to get it to change across your entire site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-assign-template-parts-to-template-part-areas\"><b>Assign template parts to template part areas<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Page templates are files that control how a specific page looks, and they can be used to apply particular page layouts to different pages on your site. In WordPress, there are also template parts, which function as smaller structural sections of a page template.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you are looking through your theme\u2019s files, you will usually see template parts for things like headers or footers. <b>theme.json<\/b> allows you to assign template parts to the three available placement areas within a template: <i>General<\/i>, <i>Header<\/i>, and <i>Footer<\/i>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-to-convert-or-not-to-convert-that-is-the-question\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>To Convert or Not to Convert \u2013 That is the Question<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Now that you\u2019ve gained an understanding of the WordPress theme configuration options available to you courtesy of the <b>theme.json<\/b> file, we want to touch on one last thing: <a href=\"https:\/\/developer.wordpress.org\/themes\/block-themes\/converting-a-classic-theme-to-a-block-theme\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">converting a classic theme to a block theme<\/a>, and the issues that you should consider when converting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Block themes in WordPress have a number of benefits, since they have been built to improve both scalability and performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Block themes enhance loading performance by loading the styles only for the\u00a0 blocks that have been added to a page.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Block themes are not required to manually enqueue stylesheets for both the front-end and editors.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><b>theme.json<\/b> handles all aspects of add_theme_support(), which results in less time noodling around in PHP.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Accessibility features such as Skip to content, keyboard navigation, and landmarks are generated automatically without adding additional code.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>With a block theme, an end user can edit all parts of their website without touching any code.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>By using the Styles interface, users can customize colors and typography for the website and for any blocks they may use.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>However, converting a classic theme to a block theme is not without some risks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Converting a classic theme to a block theme may affect child themes that expect a classic theme. Consider the potential impacts \u2014\u00a0or creating a new project with a new theme name \u2014 before converting.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><b>theme.json<\/b> requires WordPress version 5.8 or later. Consequently, the support for Internet Explorer 11 was dropped when WordPress 5.8 was released. So, if your classic theme supports IE11 \u2014 or you have visitors who use IE11 \u2014 converting things over to a block theme potentially impacts your visitor\u2019s experience.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-pro-help-is-available\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>Pro Help is Available!<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Although customizing your WordPress themes with options through a <b>theme.json<\/b> file may be reasonably doable if you\u2019re a beginner or intermediate WordPress developer, perhaps you\u2019re not yet 100% certain it\u2019s a step that you\u2019re comfortable taking alone. Fear not, because when you sign up for DreamHost\u2019s three DreamPress managed WordPress hosting plans, you automatically get access to our elite squad of fully in-house WordPress experts, who are available 24\/7 to help you through this and any other components of your development journey!<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n\tclass=\"article-cta-shared article-cta-small\"\n>\n    <div class=\"tr-img-wrap-outer jsLoading\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"js-img-lazy \" src=\"https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/themes\/blog2018\/assets\/img\/lazy-loading-transparent.webp\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/themes\/blog2018\/assets\/img\/article-small-ad-cta-placeholder.webp 1x, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/themes\/blog2018\/assets\/img\/article-small-ad-cta-placeholder-x2.webp 2x\"  alt=\"Ad background image\" \/><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n  <div class=\"content-btm\">\n    <h2\n      class=\"h2--md\"\n    >\n      Do More with DreamPress\n    <\/h2>\n    <p\n      class=\"p--md\"\n    >\n      DreamPress Plus and Pro users get access to Jetpack Professional (and 200+ premium themes) at no added cost!\n    <\/p>\n\n            <a\n            href=\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/wordpress\/managed\/\"\n                        class=\"btn btn--white-outline btn--sm btn--round\"\n                                    target=\"_blank\"\n            rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"\n            >\n                            Check Out Plans                    <\/a>\n\n  <\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>New theme configuration options in WordPress are making it easier than ever before to modify the appearance of your site to your specific and unique needs. What\u2019s more, the ability to convert classic themes to block themes is adding even more user-friendly functionality. In this blog post, the fourth in our \u201cDecoding WordPress\u201d series, we\u2019ll [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1062,"featured_media":35324,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Tailoring a WordPress theme\u2019s options to your WordPress site\u2019s unique design needs is possible by creating and adding a theme.json file.","toc_headlines":"[[\"h-an-overview-of-wordpress-themes-and-templates\",\"<b>An Overview of WordPress Themes and Templates<\/b>\"],[\"h-so-what-are-theme-configuration-options-then\",\"<b>So, What Are Theme Configuration Options, Then?<\/b>\"],[\"h-what-the-heck-is-json\",\"<b>What the Heck is JSON?<\/b>\"],[\"h-options-explained\",\"<b>Options Explained<\/b>\"],[\"h-to-convert-or-not-to-convert-that-is-the-question\",\"<b>To Convert or Not to Convert \u2013 That is the Question<\/b>\"],[\"h-pro-help-is-available\",\"<b>Pro Help is Available!<\/b>\"]]","hide_toc":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13121,10025,696],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35323","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-decoding-wordpress","category-tech-talk","category-wordpress"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.3 (Yoast SEO v27.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Decoding WordPress: New Theme Configuration Options<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Tailoring a WordPress theme\u2019s options to your WordPress site\u2019s unique design needs is possible by creating and adding a theme.json file.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wordpress-theme-configuration\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Decoding WordPress: New Theme Configuration Options with Theme.JSON File\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Tailoring a WordPress theme\u2019s options to your WordPress site\u2019s unique design needs is possible by creating and adding a theme.json file.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wordpress-theme-configuration\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"DreamHost Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DreamHost\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-07-06T14:00:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-05-22T06:03:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/WordPress-Theme-Configuration-Social.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" 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Blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DreamHost\/","article_published_time":"2022-07-06T14:00:36+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-05-22T06:03:31+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":628,"url":"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/WordPress-Theme-Configuration-Social.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Jason Cosper","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@dreamhost","twitter_site":"@dreamhost","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jason Cosper","Est. reading time":"8 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wordpress-theme-configuration\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wordpress-theme-configuration\/"},"author":{"name":"Jason Cosper","@id":"https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2273b8bf7336df78f6d99a89c17253c4"},"headline":"Decoding WordPress: New Theme Configuration Options with 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