Learn about the steps involved in getting a WordPress theme ready for submission to the WordPress Theme Directory. It covers the Theme Review Guidelines, WordPress development standards and the GPL requirements along with testing requirements. Everything you need to know about making your theme submission as smooth as possible.

1. Submitting to the
WordPress Theme Directory
Anthony Hortin
#wpmelb @maddisondesigns

2. What is the Theme Directory?
The Theme Directory is a great place to find free
awesome themes.
Each theme has been thoroughly tested by the
WordPress Theme Review Team so as to ensure a
high level of standard.
http://wordpress.org/extend/themes

3. Theme Review Guidelines
The Theme Review Guidelines are maintained by
the Theme Review Team.
It outline standards and practices for WordPress
Theme development and design.

4. Theme Review Guidelines
Code Quality
Themes must not generate any WordPress
deprecated-function notices, PHP errors, warnings,
or notices, HTML/CSS validation errors, or
JavaScript errors.

5. Theme Review Guidelines
Code Quality
✓ Themes must not use deprecated functions
✓ Themes must not support backward compatibility
for more than two prior major WordPress versions
✓ Themes must not have any notices, warnings, or
errors when using WP_DEBUG in wp-config.php
✓ Themes must not generate any JavaScript errors
✓ Themes are required to use a ‘theme-slug’ as the
textdomain for translation purposes

6. Theme Review Guidelines
Presentation vs Functionality
Themes must not be used to define the generation
of user content, or to define Theme-independent
site options or functionality.

7. Theme Review Guidelines
Presentation vs Functionality
✓ Themes are required to have all public-facing text
in English
✓ Theme may optionally incorporate translation/
internationalization
✓ Themes are recommended not to implement
custom favicon functionality

8. Theme Review Guidelines
Theme Features
Themes are required to support proper WordPress
core implementation of all included features.

9. Theme Review Guidelines
Theme Features
✓ Theme is required to incorporate the following
WordPress core Theme Features:
- Automatic Feed Links - Sidebars - Comments
✓ Theme is recommended (but not required) to
incorporate the following core features:
- Navigation Menus - Post Thumbnails
- Custom Headers - Custom Backgrounds
- Visual Editor CSS
✓ Theme must not incorporate Admin/feature
pointers

10. Theme Review Guidelines
Template Tags and Hooks
Themes are required to implement WordPress
template tags and hooks properly.

11. Theme Review Guidelines
Template Tags and Hooks
✓ Certain template tags and hooks are required to
be included, such as:
- wp_title() - wp_head() - wp_footer()
✓ Standard template files are required to be called
correctly, such as:
- get_header() - get_footer() - get_template_part()
✓ Themes are required to correctly enqueue all
stylesheets and scripts:
- wp_enqueue_style() - wp_enqueue_script()

12. Theme Review Guidelines
WordPress-Generated CSS Classes
Themes are required to support WordPress-
generated CSS classes.

13. Theme Review Guidelines
WordPress-Generated CSS Classes
✓ Themes are required to support certain css
classes, such as:
- .aligncenter - .alignleft - .alignright
- .wp-caption - .wp-caption-text - .gallery-caption
- .sticky - .bypostauthor

14. Theme Review Guidelines
Theme Template Files
Themes are required to utilise Theme template
files properly.

15. Theme Review Guidelines
Theme Template Files
✓ Theme is required to include, at a minimum:
- index.php - comments.php - style.css
✓ Theme is recommended to include:
- 404.php - archive.php - page.php - search.php
- single.php - header.php - footer.php - sidebar.php
✓ Theme thumbnail (screenshot.png) is
recommended to be 600 x 450px

16. Theme Review Guidelines
Security and Privacy
Themes are required to implement Theme settings
properly, to ensure proper data security, and to
ensure end user privacy.

17. Theme Review Guidelines
Security and Privacy
✓ Themes are required to prefix all options,
custom functions, custom variables, and
custom constants with theme-slug (or
appropriate variant).
✓ Themes are required to validate and sanitize all
untrusted data
✓ Themes must not "phone home" without
informed user consent

18. Theme Review Guidelines
Licensing
Themes are required to be licensed fully under a
GPL-compatible license.

19. Theme Review Guidelines
Licensing
✓ Themes are required to be 100% GPL-licensed,
or use a GPL-compatible license. This includes
all PHP, HTML, CSS, images, fonts, icons, and
everything else. All of the theme must be GPL-
compatible.
✓ Themes are required to declare their license
explicitly
✓ Themes must not clone the design of a past or
present web site.

20. Theme Review Guidelines
Theme Name
Themes are required to use appropriate Theme
Names.

21. Theme Review Guidelines
Theme Name
✓ Themes are not to use WordPress in their name
✓ Themes are not to use the term Theme in their
name
✓ Themes may use the WP acronym in the Theme
name
✓ Themes are not to use version-specific,
markup-related terms (e.g. HTML5, CSS3, etc.) in
their name.

22. Theme Review Guidelines
Credit Links
Themes are recommended to use credit links. If
used, credit links are required to be appropriate.

23. Theme Review Guidelines
Credit Links
✓ Themes may optionally designate Author URI
and Theme URI in style.css and are
recommended to provide at least one of these
two links
✓ Themes may optionally include a public-facing
credit link in the Theme footer
✓ Since Themes are GPL (or compatible), Theme
authors are prohibited from requiring that these
links be kept by Theme users

24. Theme Review Guidelines
Theme Documentation
Themes are required to provide sufficient
documentation to explain the use of any custom
features or options.

25. Theme Review Guidelines
Theme Documentation
✓ Themes are required to provide end-user
documentation of any design limitations or
extraordinary installation/setup instructions
✓ Themes are recommended to include a
readme.txt file
✓ In lieu of a readme.txt file, Themes are
recommended to include a changelog,
indicating version-to-version Theme changes.

26. Theme Review Guidelines
Theme Unit Test
Themes are required to meet all requirements in
the Theme Unit Tests.

27. Theme Review Guidelines
Theme Unit Test
✓ The Theme must meet all the requirements of
the Theme Unit Test
http://codex.wordpress.org/Theme_Unit_Test

28. Theme Review Guidelines
Theme Obsolescence
Themes are required to be kept current once
accepted into the Theme Repository.

29. Theme Review Guidelines
Theme Obsolescence
✓ Themes must be kept current once submitted,
approved, and accepted into the Theme
Repository.
✓ Any Theme not updated to the current theme
review process as of the most recent release of
WordPress may be subject to temporary
suspension.

30. Theme Development
Whether you’re developing for the Theme Directory,
a client or just yourself...
It pays to have good code.
WordPress provides you with a set of standards to
follow.

31. Theme Development
Theme Development Standards
✓ Use well-structured, error-free PHP & valid HTML
WordPress Coding Standards:
http://codex.wordpress.org/WordPress_Coding_Standards
✓ Use clean, valid CSS
CSS Coding Standard:
http://make.wordpress.org/core/handbook/coding-standards/css
✓ Follow design guidelines
Site Design and Layout:
http://codex.wordpress.org/Site_Design_and_Layout

32. Theme Development
Theme Stylesheet
Add information about your theme into your
style.css file, in the form of comments.
/*
Theme Name: Twenty Thirteen
Theme URI: http://wordpress.org/extend/themes/twentythirteen
Author: the WordPress team
Author URI: http://wordpress.org/
Description: The 2013 theme for WordPress takes us back to the blog, featuring a full range of post
formats, each displayed beautifully in their own unique way. Design details abound, starting with a
gorgeous color scheme and matching header images, optional display fonts for beautiful typography,
and a wide layout that looks great on large screens yet remains device-agnostic and is readable on
any device.
Version: 0.1
License: GNU General Public License v2 or later
License URI: http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.html
Tags: black, brown, orange, tan, white, light, one-column, two-columns, right-sidebar, flexible-
width, custom-header, custom-menu, editor-style, featured-images, microformats, post-formats, rtl-
language-support, sticky-post, translation-ready
Text Domain: twentythirteen
This theme, like WordPress, is licensed under the GPL.
Use it to make something cool, have fun, and share what you've learned with others.
*/

33. Theme Development
Theme Stylesheet
When specifying your tags in style.css, make sure
to only use the allowed tags.
http://wordpress.org/extend/themes/tag-filter

34. Theme Development
Code Formatting
Pretty code makes for happy developers!
Using Sublime Text 2, automatically format your
PHP to conform to the WordPress Coding Standards
https://github.com/welovewordpress/SublimePhpTidy
Bonus Tip:
Easily search the WordPress Codex or lookup WordPress functions
https://github.com/welovewordpress/SublimeWordPressCodex

35. Theme Development
100% GPL
Themes must be 100% GPL (or GPL-Compatible)
This means ALL images, HTML, CSS, PHP, fonts,
icons, JavaScript etc.
Creative Commons is not GPL-Compatible

36. Oh, one last thing...

37. Spell “WordPress” correctly!!!
✓ All one word!
✓ Uppercase W!
✓ Uppercase P!

38. Links to Remember
WordPress Theme Review Team
http://make.wordpress.org/themes
Theme Review Guidelines
http://codex.wordpress.org/Theme_Review
Theme Unit Test
http://codex.wordpress.org/Theme_Unit_Test
CSS Coding Standards
http://make.wordpress.org/core/handbook/coding-standards/css
WordPress Coding Standards
http://codex.wordpress.org/WordPress_Coding_Standards
Readme.txt format. Similar format to this plugin readme sample
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/about/readme.txt
Uploading your theme to the Theme Directory
http://wordpress.org/extend/themes/upload

39. Links to Remember
GNU GPL v2.0 License
http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.html
GPL-compatible font licenses
http://codex.wordpress.org/Theme_Review#GPL-Compatible_Font_Licenses
GPL-compatible icon sets
http://codex.wordpress.org/Theme_Review#GPL-Compatible_Icon_Sets
Theme Check Plugin. Make sure to test your theme before submitting
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/theme-check
Monster Widget. A quick method of adding all core widgets to a sidebar
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/monster-widget

40. That’s all folks!☺
Thanks! Questions?
You can find me here...
maddisondesigns.com
easywpguide.com
@maddisondesigns