How to Build WordPress Website With Genesis Framework?

WordPress developers often customize a framework to add key functions to the themes. For this, developers rely upon robust framework structures like Genesis. The Genesis Framework provides a foundation for WordPress developers to build a functional site. Through this guide, we will show you how to build WordPress website with Genesis Framework. We will also discuss the Genesis framework benefits and other details.

What Is Genesis Framework?

The Genesis Framework is developed with all the basic functions required to build a WordPress site. It includes Search Engine Optimization, performance, security, and other features.

It is conjectured with the child theme to provide frontend functionality and styling to your site. This is a popular WordPress framework used across 60,000 websites worldwide.

The Genesis Framework is available under different price ranges, such as:

  • Startup for $20 per month
  • Professional for $39 per month
  • Growth for $77 per month
  • Scale for $193 per month
  • Dedicated Custom plan

Why Is Genesis Framework Better for WordPress?

Raw for Development

The Genesis is a raw framework that doesn’t come with built-in options. Thus, you can add features as per your website layout. It is a simple yet intuitive framework that is perfect for customizing websites.

Reduces Development Time

The Genesis Framework can significantly reduce the website development time. It has a premium block library and blocks editor enhancements to design a website. So, you can build custom Gutenberg blocks using simple templates in no time. Although the learning curve is a bit steep, once you get the hang of the tool, it will become easy to create websites.

Secures Foundation

You will get a secure and robust foundation to build a WordPress site with the Genesis Framework. It comes with several built-in features like:

  • Breadcrumbs
  • Multiple layouts
  • Custom body post classes for each post
  • Numeric navigation
  • Search Engine Optimization
  • New theme updates daily

Trusted by Expert Professionals

Beginner WordPress developers can use Genesis because experts are already using it and the community is quite strong to resolve any hiccups.

Some of the popular experts who back the Genesis Framework are:

How to Build WordPress Website With Genesis Framework?

Now that you know what the Genesis Framework is and why it is good for WordPress, let’s move ahead and build a website with it.

Install & Activate Genesis Framework on WordPress

  • Installing the Genesis Framework is similar to installing any theme on WordPress. The only difference is you have to work with both the framework and a child theme.
  • Mostly, the Genesis Framework is saved in the wp-content > themes folder on your server. Using the File Transfer Protocol (FTP) with an FTP client like FileZilla, you can find it. You can also use WordPress’s built-in theme builder to access the theme folder. Learn how to use FTP to upload files using FileZilla in detail in our latest guide.
  • I will recommend the second option. First, download the Genesis Framework .zip file and then go to Appearance > Themes > Add New button.
  • After that, click on the Choose File button and search for the .zip file on your computer. Select it and click on the Install Now button.
  • There is no need to activate the Genesis Framework as it will run in the background to provide a base structure to a child theme.

Create A Child Theme

If you want to build a custom theme for your WordPress website, you can use an existing Genesis child theme by StudioPress. You can install it on your site and customize it as you please. Also, you can learn how to install genesis framework & create child theme in our latest guide.

If you want to set up a child theme to protect the parent theme settings, you need to manually set up a child theme. To do so, access your server using the File Transfer Protocol (FTP) with an FTP client. You can also use a file manager in your hosting account.

  • Now, go to public_html directory > wp-content > themes. Add a subdirectory title with the name of your new theme.
  • After that, use any text editor to create functions.php and style.css files. Save both files to your new subdirectory.
  • You need to edit each file with some basic information, starting with functions.php. This file will define the basic behavior of your theme.

Write down some basic details first:

php
/**
• theme customizations
• @package: custom_theme
• @author: your name
• link: https://linktocode.com/
• @copyright
• @license
*/

Now, you’re halfway through building a WordPress website using the genesis framework. The next step is to name your theme, where users can find your theme documents and establish themselves as theme author.

After that, enable your child theme to refer to the Genesis Framework. To do so, use this code:

add_action( 'genesis_setup', 'custom_setup',15);

Now, tweak the file with other hooks and filters to incorporate key functionalities into the theme. Also, enqueue your stylesheet here.

Customize Child Theme’s Functionalities

You can add several hooks to functions.php file and improve the child theme’s functionality. For example, creating new widget areas, placing optional ad content, or even changing the base structure of your site.

Add CSS Styling to Your Child Theme

After defining the basic behavior of your theme, you can head over to style.css. This is where you will determine color, font, and related design parameters for your theme.

For instance, this is a simple CSS snippet to define color, margin, spacing, and font for the child theme.

body {
color: #222;
font-family: Roboto, sans-serif;
font-size: 18px;
font-weight: 400;
line-height: 1.625;
margin: 0;
}

You can also use CSS codes to style Genesis Framework-specific elements like the navigation menu:

.genesis-nav-menu {
clear: both;
font-size: 16px;
line-height: 1;
width: 100%;
}

Review The Theme & Publish

While working with a genesis framework, you don’t need to worry about WordPress theme template files like index.php. But if you plan to submit your theme to the WordPress directory, you need to understand basic theme files, such as:

  • style.css
  • comments.php
  • screenshot
  • index.php

Once your final theme is ready, you can use the client or a peer to view it. Go to Appearance > Themes on your WordPress admin if everything is fine.

If the child theme is correctly saved on your server, it will be listed here. Simply click on the Active button to publish on your website.

You Have Build WordPress Website With Genesis Framework!

Setting up the Genesis Framework might involve a bit of coding and server handling. But once you get used to the framework, it becomes easier to build WordPress themes.

We’ve discussed all the steps to build a WordPress site with the Genesis Framework. on a parting note, I would like to share a few quick tips.

  • Don’t activate the Genesis Framework immediately. You need to activate the framework on the child theme once everything is in the right order.
  • Make sure that the folder containing the Genesis Framework on your parent theme is named accurately.
  • If you are using FTP to load your framework, ensure that the parent and child themes are not nested but saved in separate folders on the themes directory.

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