Support » Fixing WordPress » Can't Install Child Theme without Breaking WordPress

  • I am trying to install a child theme to accompany the theron-lite theme. Every time I try to activate the child theme from the dashboard i get a 500 internal server error and can’t get back to the dashboard unless I completely uninstall wordpress and re-install it.

    Here is the code I’m using:
    style.css

    /*
     Theme Name:   Theron Lite Child
     Theme URI:    http://www.nicolearocha.com/testing
     Description:  Theron lite Theme
     Author:       Nicole Arocha
     Author URI:   http://www.nicolearocha.com
     Template:     theron-lite
     Version:      1.0.0
     License:      GNU General Public License v2 or later
     License URI:  http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.html
     Text Domain:  theron-lite-child
    */

    funtions.php

    <?php
    
    add_action( 'wp_enqueue_scripts', 'theme_enqueue_styles' );
    function theme_enqueue_styles() {
        wp_enqueue_style( 'parent-style', get_template_directory_uri() . '/style.css' );
    
    }

    I’ve done this over and over again and I get so far as the theme loading as an installable child theme, and then i breaks every time I hit ‘activate’.

    Does anyone know what I’m doing wrong?

Viewing 5 replies - 1 through 5 (of 5 total)
  • If you are using the theme by that name as available here, please note it was last updated:

    Last updated: July 24, 2013

    That means it is out of date by about two years.

    Can you create a proper Child Theme based on a default parent theme like twentyxxxx?

    Hi

    The code for functions.php is missing the closing ?> which could be causing the problem.

    Is that missing from your code or maybe you missed it when you pasted?

    BTW you don’t need to reinstall WordPress each time it is broken.

    If you delete or rename the child theme folder using FTP then WordPress will revert to the default theme.

    Thread Starter narocha

    (@narocha)

    I’ve tried renaming/deleting the child theme folder via filezilla to repair wordpress and it doesn’t work for me, I continue to get the 500 error.

    the close of the php was missing – but that’s something I’ve also tried with and without and it still breaks. =/

    I realize the theme is pretty old – but I created a website based off that already which got hacked, so I pulled it down and tried to put it back up with a child theme housing all my edits, so if I can I’d love to keep using the one that I’ve already done all the work for.

    I understand your desire to reuse as much of your work a you can. But before you go farther with the new modifications, why not install one of the Theme Check plugins? No matter how much work you have done, you won’t gain anything by using an unsafe theme. I see a lot of hacks that exploit out of date themes.

    Then if you find that your existing theme contains no major problems, you might try a child making plugin like One-Click Child Theme. This plugin uses the new way of adding a child theme and you can remove the plugin when your done without damaging the child theme.

Viewing 5 replies - 1 through 5 (of 5 total)
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