Blog

  • Project 1 Update: The Functions File Diet Plan

    Remember our promise to build a WordPress theme that wouldn’t make developers cry? Well, we’re back with update, and it’s all about putting functions.php on a strict diet. Not WordPress’s version of a diet, mind you – where they generously include every feature you never asked for – but an actual, meaningful reduction in digital bloat.

    First things first: our file structure. We’ve kept it minimalist – no fancy bells and whistles, just the essentials:

    404.php         functions.php    js/
archive.php     header.php       page.php
footer.php      index.php        single.php
                                template-parts/

    Beautiful, isn’t it? Like a capsule wardrobe for your WordPress theme. No drawers full of unused templates collecting digital dust.

    Now, let’s dive into functions.php, where we’re doing the equivalent of spring cleaning (in February, because who follows rules anymore?). First up, we’re adding support for the features we actually want:

    add_theme_support('title-tag');
add_theme_support('post-thumbnails');
add_theme_support('custom-logo');
add_theme_support('html5', array('navigation','style'));
add_theme_support('automatic-feed-links');
add_theme_support('post-formats', array(
    'aside','gallery','link','image',
    'quote','status','video','audio','chat'
));
add_theme_support('custom-background');
add_theme_support('menus');

    Yes, we’re keeping title tags (because SEO is still a thing), post thumbnails (because we’re not savages), and menus (because even minimalists need navigation). We’re even throwing in post formats – call us generous.

    For navigation, we’re setting up a proper menu structure:

    register_nav_menus(array(
    'primary' => __('Primary Menu', 'lowvol-25'),
    'secondary'  => __('Secondary Menu', 'lowvol-25'),
    'tertiary'  => __('Tertiary Menu', 'lowvol-25'), 
));

    But here’s where it gets fun. WordPress, in its infinite wisdom, loves to include things you never asked for. So we’re channeling our inner Marie Kondo and asking, “Does this spark joy?” Spoiler alert: most of it doesn’t.

    wp_dequeue_style('classic-theme-styles');
wp_dequeue_style('wp-block-library');
wp_dequeue_style('global-styles');
wp_dequeue_style('core-block-supports');

    Goodbye, unnecessary style blocks. You won’t be missed.

    And because we live in 2025, not 1995, we’re also saying farewell to some… interesting default features:

    remove_action('wp_head', 'print_emoji_detection_script', 7);
    remove_action('wp_print_styles', 'print_emoji_styles');
    remove_action('wp_head', 'wp_print_auto_sizes_contain_css_fix', 1);

    Yes, WordPress still thinks we’re printing websites. Save a tree, use a screenshot instead. And those emoji scripts? Unless your client is a 13-year-old’s diary blog, you probably don’t need those loading on every. single. page.

    The result? A functions file that doesn’t make your browser cry for mercy. It’s like going from a “War and Peace”-sized manuscript to a concise haiku. Sure, we might add more features later, but they’ll be features we actually want, not just digital breadcrumbs WordPress scattered around because it felt like being helpful.

    Stay tuned for our next update, where we’ll tackle something equally thrilling. After all, there’s still plenty of WordPress quirks left to untangle.

  • Project 1: Building a WordPress Theme That Won’t Make Developers Cry

    Remember our last chat about classic themes? Well, we didn’t just talk the talk – we’re walking the walk. Right into a wall of block editor frustrations, courtesy of Twenty Twenty-Five. Nothing quite like spending your morning trying to make a header sticky, only to find yourself stuck instead.

    You see, we’re currently running WordPress’s latest masterpiece, Twenty Twenty-Five, and it’s been… an experience. The kind of experience that makes you question if “user-friendly” actually means “developer-hostile.” Want to adjust some padding? Better clear your schedule. Need that header to stick? Well, stick around – you’ll be here a while. All these “simple” tasks that could be solved with a few lines of CSS have somehow transformed into digital escape rooms.

    So, we’re doing something about it. Welcome to Project 1: “Building a WordPress Theme That Won’t Make Developers Cry.” We’re creating a classic theme that doesn’t make you want to throw your mechanical keyboard out the window. Revolutionary concept, right?

    Here’s the game plan: We’re stripping away the bloat faster than a developer drops Internet Explorer support. Our goal? A theme that’s less “Swiss Army knife with 47 attachments you’ll never use” and more “perfectly balanced chef’s knife.” We’re talking minimal code, clean architecture, and a foundation that doesn’t require archaeological excavation to understand.

    Think of it as a blank canvas, but one that doesn’t make you paint with your eyes closed and one hand tied behind your back. We’re leveraging WordPress’s built-in functions where they make sense (because contrary to popular belief, not everything needs a custom solution), but we’re not forcing ourselves to use them just because they’re there. It’s like having a safety net, but one that doesn’t entangle you every time you try to move.

    This is just the beginning of our journey to create something that developers actually want to develop with. Consider this Project 1 of our “Making WordPress Development Great Again” saga (though hopefully with less controversial hashtags).

    Stay tuned for more updates as we transform our frustration into function.php gold. Because sometimes the best way to think inside the box is to build a better box.

  • Classic Themes: Because Sometimes You Just Need to Code

    Ah, the eternal WordPress battle: Theme Block vs. Classic. It’s like choosing between a self-driving car and a manual transmission. Sure, the self-driving car promises to do everything for you, but sometimes you just want to feel the road beneath your wheels, you know?

    For our first #buildinpublic lab project at WAV digital, we’re going old school – classic theme all the way. Why? Because sometimes you need to get your hands dirty with actual code instead of playing drag-and-drop simulator 2024.

    Let’s be honest: Full Site Editing (FSE) is like trying to build a house using only IKEA furniture. Sure, it’s supposed to make everything easier and more “user-friendly,” but we all know how that ends up. You spend three hours trying to figure out why your header block won’t align properly, only to realize you could have written the CSS in 30 seconds.

    Classic themes are like that trusty Swiss Army knife you’ve had for years. They might not be as flashy as the latest blockchain-powered, AI-enhanced, quantum-computing theme builder, but they get the job done. Plus, for developers (you know, the people who actually enjoy typing semicolons for a living), working directly with code is like speaking their native language instead of trying to communicate through an interpretive dance.

    Don’t get me wrong – FSE has its place. It’s perfect for clients who think “PHP” is a text message typo. But for our developer-focused theme? We’re sticking with classic. Because nothing says “I understand developers” quite like letting them actually develop.

    Besides, there’s something beautifully ironic about building a modern developer theme using “traditional” methods. It’s like using a vintage camera to take photos of cutting-edge technology. Sometimes the old ways are the best ways – especially when you want things to actually work.

    So strap in, fellow code enthusiasts. We’re about to embark on a journey back to the future, where functions.php is still king and the only blocks you need to worry about are the ones in your coffee-induced code snippets.

  • Hello World (Because Apparently That’s Still A Thing)

    Look, if you’re not a developer, you might think we’ve lost our minds starting a blog with “Hello World.” Fair enough. But here’s the thing – every developer in the history of ever has started by making their computer say these two words. It’s like a digital rite of passage, except less exciting and more typing.

    Picture this: When you’re setting up a new email account, what’s the first thing you do? Send yourself a test email with nothing but “test” in it, right? (Don’t pretend you’ve never done this.) Well, developers do exactly the same thing, except we’re less creative about it. For some reason that’s probably lost to the 1970s, we all agreed that making a computer say “Hello World” would be our universal “yep, it works” test message. Same energy as your “test” email, just nerdier.

    So here we are at WAV Digital, doing what developers have done since before most of us were born – starting with Hello World. Not because we’re particularly creative (though we are), but because some traditions are so deeply ingrained in tech culture that ignoring them feels like wearing socks with sandals to a code review.

    But unlike your standard Hello World program, which usually gets deleted faster than your browser history, we’re here to stick around. We’re building a lab where we take all that expertise from We Are Volume and use it to make digital stuff that actually works the way it should. And we’re going to document every step, every mishap, and every “why didn’t we think of this sooner?” moment.

    Consider this our digital throat-clearing. Our awkward wave to the internet. Our “testing, 1, 2, 3” moment. Except instead of just checking if the mic works, we’re about to start a whole concert of building better digital solutions.

    And yes, of course we tested this blog system by making it print “Hello World” first. Some clichés are clichés for a reason.

    Stay tuned. It’s about to get a lot more interesting than two words on a screen.

    (Unless something breaks. Then it might just be error messages on a screen. But we’ll tell you about those too.)

    Further Reading (because apparently “Hello World” has lore)