Converting a Web Template into a WordPress Theme

Many users are usually not interested in the development process and only want an end product that is painless and flexible enough to allow additional features as the website grows. WordPress gives you that edge. However, before you can port your existing website or template into WordPress, you need to have a basic understanding of both HTML and CSS. WordPress uses PHP function calls to retrieve or call data elements. To make editing easier, you also need some fundamental knowledge of how PHP works.

First, you need to create a new folder and give it the name of your theme. Inside this folder, you will need to create two files, “Index.php” and “Style.css”. From your original CSS file, copy all its contents into the new “Style.css”. To help WordPress identify your new theme, add the code on top at the very top inside your “Style.css” file. Since WordPress uses PHP function calls to call files from within your template folder, we will need to slice the layout of the website into 4 different sections.  These sections include the header, content, sidebar and footer.  These 4 different sections are actually 4 separate files that will be called using PHP.