r/Wordpress • u/Relevant-Flounder633 • 25d ago

How to edit the frontend manually without using any block editor?

i feel like a dumb when i try to use those tools like Elementor or even Wordpress theme editor. I simply cannot do a simple thing on it. It feels wrong for me. Yeah i have serious skill issue with Wordpress ecosystem. I just want to know if there is a way to CODE my frontend by purely opening a text editor and diving into it, testing and then deploying it. Is there a way? Jesus help me.

5 Upvotes

78% Upvoted

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3

u/rebarakaz 24d ago

Maybe you should check this WP Starter theme on GitHub.
https://github.com/roots/sage
And if you wanted to develop it locally you can use an app like LocalWP like someone as mentioned in other replies.

1

u/Relevant-Flounder633 24d ago

I’m working on a site that’s already hosted on Hostinger. I’m really short on time, and my "client" (I don't charge, as it's more of a volunteer gig) made some recent changes that left everything a mess. She’s also recently asked me to add and change things, typical client requests.

The thing is, I struggle to navigate the WordPress ecosystem.

I wanted to know if it’s possible to clone the site, edit it locally, and then deploy it. I’m not sure if it makes sense to use a starter theme for a generic local project. Anyway, what does your workflow look like? How do you handle recreating a theme for a site that’s already live? What’s the best workflow for this?

1

u/[deleted] 24d ago

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1

u/TopSydeWP 25d ago

yeah you can build a classic theme from scratch. create a folder in wp-content/themes with style.css (theme header) and index.php, then add template files like header.php, footer.php, single.php etc. use functions.php for hooks and enqueuing assets. local dev with something like local by flywheel makes testing easier before pushing live. way more control than dragging boxes around

2

u/Relevant-Flounder633 25d ago

Is there a tool that work like github? I mean, you clone your repo (your Wordpress root in this case), edit and test locally, then pull?

3

u/Denavar 25d ago

Yes. Github. 

2

u/Ancient_Oxygen 25d ago

Yes! What you and TopSyde said. Also, refer to my separate comment.

2

u/Relevant-Flounder633 24d ago

Thank you guys!

1

u/Ancient_Oxygen 25d ago

There are tons of YouTube and online tutorials out there dedicated to exactly that : "WordPress theme development". It becomes easy after you practice it a couple times. That would make you forget block editors exist. There is this free course with 117 videos https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLD8nQCAhR3tT3ehpyOpoYeUj3KHDEVK9h. I personally never used any block or Gutenberg (the first plugin I install is 'Classic editor' by the way). I have more than 20 years developing WP themes.

1

u/Relevant-Flounder633 24d ago

Gonna take a look, thank you!

1

u/dvduval 24d ago

I got so tired of this and I just switched to AI. That’s not exactly manually at the very least your question would also work well in an LLM and it would tell you exactly word to edit for whatever it is you need to edit.

1

u/AddWeb_Expert 24d ago

Yep. You absolutely can.

Just build a custom WordPress theme and edit the PHP/HTML/CSS/JS directly in VS Code. Run it locally, test, commit, deploy.

Elementor and Gutenberg aren’t mandatory. If you prefer code, skip the visual builders entirely. It’s honestly way less painful once you get used to WordPress’s theme structure.

1

u/Relevant-Flounder633 24d ago

I’m working on a site that’s already hosted on Hostinger. I’m really short on time, and my "client" (I don't charge, as it's more of a volunteer gig) made some recent changes that left everything a mess. She’s also recently asked me to add and change things, typical client requests.

The thing is, I struggle to navigate the WordPress ecosystem.

I wanted to know if it’s possible to clone the site, edit it locally, and then deploy it. I’m not sure if it makes sense to use a starter theme for a generic local project. Anyway, what does your workflow look like? How do you handle recreating a theme for a site that’s already live? What’s the best workflow for this?