Title: category.php template Last modified: November 21, 2023 --- # category.php template * [Mauro Vicariotto](https://wordpress.org/support/users/mrosfy/) * (@mrosfy) * [2 years, 6 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/category-php-template/) * Dear all, for a child theme I need to add a “category” page custom template. * My changes will not be about way to categorize posts or taxonomy or else, but only in html page design (I have just to add some html content to the body). * So I assume I don’t need to work on “category.php” (which are in WP-includes) but on “archive.php”: correct? (please kindly confirm). * If my above deduction is correct, the job is easy because archive.php is already in parent theme and I would replace a copy in my child. * But just in case I need to change also category.php (f.e. “category-35.php”): where should I add it? These files are only in “WP-includes” but not in “WP-content/ themes” … could I add in child theme under the folder “template-parts”, or where? * Thank you. * Mauro Viewing 7 replies - 1 through 7 (of 7 total) * Thread Starter [Mauro Vicariotto](https://wordpress.org/support/users/mrosfy/) * (@mrosfy) * [2 years, 6 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/category-php-template/#post-17223080) * I have solved using the archive.php, adding lines pointing to category ( ‘ID’) of my pages. It works well. And category.php is already in the theme, so easy to add it in the child-theme. * But I’m still interested to know for my curiosity my second question, i.e. where should I put a template in case it is missing in the themes root, and actually being in wp-includes. My idea is that it could be added in child-theme declaring it in functions.php. But wait for your confirmation. Thx. * Moderator [jordesign](https://wordpress.org/support/users/jordesign/) * (@jordesign) * [2 years, 6 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/category-php-template/#post-17225763) * Hi [@mrosfy](https://wordpress.org/support/users/mrosfy/), * > But I’m still interested to know for my curiosity my second question, i.e. > where should I put a template in case it is missing in the themes root, and > actually being in wp-includes. My idea is that it could be added in child-theme > declaring it in functions.php. But wait for your confirmation. Thx. * Glad to hear you figured it out 🙂 To answer your further question – for new templates like `category-35.php` (for example) you could add them to the root folder of the Child theme and they’d work from there. * Generally speaking – I’d advise against touching anything in the core files ( like wp-include) * Thread Starter [Mauro Vicariotto](https://wordpress.org/support/users/mrosfy/) * (@mrosfy) * [2 years, 6 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/category-php-template/#post-17226967) * Thank you [@jordesign](https://wordpress.org/support/users/jordesign/), of course I shouldn’t touch the core files. * In the same argument I have a further question: * to add some h1 text to the template (being text which should be variable, to be updated frequently), may I use the method to add the html piece in the template and “`file_get_contents()`” function (+ url) pointing to an external .txt file( which is for the variable text)? * Or as alternative adding in the wp template something like “`$xxx_string = include(' text.txt')`;” (+ url), pointing to an external .txt (which should start with “`