How to Install Genesis Framework & Child Theme on WordPress Site?

by Daman Sandhu

Whether you are a beginner or a pro WordPress user, it is very easy to install a functional Genesis Framework and child theme. This guide will lay down simple steps on how to install genesis framework & the child theme on your WordPress website.

The Genesis Framework is the best WordPress framework to simplify the website creation process. After you install Genesis framework, it acts as a platform on top of which you can create a WordPress website. This framework integrates all the SEO, security, and performance features. It is easy to use, flexible, and fully optimized for better web loading speed. Importantly, several great Genesis child themes are available to install on your WordPress website. The “child” theme is overlaid on the parent theme. It is like the skin of your parent theme that allows you to make changes without affecting the parent theme settings.

So, let’s dig in!

Table of Contents

Who Should You Install Genesis Child Themes?

WordPress is a popular Content Management System (CMS) with pre-made plugins and themes. The main WordPress attraction is its simple themes that allow non-technical users to build a website.

However, when you are going with a standard WordPress theme, you will get limited control over it. You have to practically adjust to the theme settings offered by the vendor. This leaves more power in the hands of WordPress theme developers than website developers.

Understanding this problem, StudioPress founder Brian Gardner came forward with the Genesis Framework. This framework allows website developers to make changes to themes as per their requirements.

It is a simple RAW framework with limited built-in options. So, you can install Genesis Framework and child theme to gain more control over your website structure. Besides this, the Genesis Framework offers features like:

Search engine optimization
Responsive turnkey designs built on HTML5
Quick website updates
Easy site customization
One-click theme setup
Theme customizer
Custom page templates
Customizable header, etc.

How to Install Genesis Framework & Child Theme on Your Website?

Installing the Genesis child theme on WordPress is similar to installing a regular theme. However, the only difference here is that you’d be installing the Genesis Framework and child theme together. Thus, you have to follow the steps below to install and activate Genesis child themes.

Here are two methods to install Genesis Framework and child theme on your WordPress site:

Install Genesis Framework & Child Theme Using WordPress Dashboard

This is the easiest and most recommended method to install Genesis child themes. WordPress lets you install Genesis Framework and child theme, in the same way as other themes using the admin dashboard. So, once you have installed the Genesis Framework, you can follow the same steps to install a child theme.

Before getting started, go to the StudioPress site, and sign up for a package. After that, log in to your account and look for the Genesis Framework and child theme dashboard in the plugins section. Download both files on your computer.

Log into Your WordPress Dashboard and Add the Theme File: First, you need to log into your WordPress admin panel. Go to Appearance > Themes > click on the Add New button to upload the downloaded files.

Upload the Genesis Framework: On the new popup screen, click on the Upload File and upload the Genesis Framework .zip file you downloaded sometime back

Install Now: Once the file uploads, click on the Install Now button and wait for a few minutes. When you see the message saying Theme installed successfully, you can click on the Activate button. Remember one thing, don’t activate the Genesis Framework right away. In fact, enable it after activating the child theme.

Return to Theme Page: Now, click on the Return To Themes Page link and repeat all the steps to install and activate the child theme.

Install Genesis Framework & Child Theme Using FTP

If you want to go the easy way, you can always use the File Transfer Protocol to install Genesis Framework and child theme manually.

First, select a reliable FTP program. You can learn how to use FTP to upload file using Filezilla in detail here. There are so many different FTP programs available, such as:

Before moving ahead, ensure to unzip the Genesis Framework and child theme files on your computer.

Genesis Framework Installation: Navigate to Application > Public_html > WP Content > Themes > Upload the unzipped Genesis Framework file. Don’t disconnect FTP instantly unless all the files are correctly uploaded. Since you are not activating the Genesis Framework right away, you will not know whether all the files are uploaded properly or not.

Child Theme Installation: The process to install the child theme is similar to the Genesis Framework. However, you have to install and activate the theme at once. To activate the child theme, go to WP Content > Theme > Activate your theme.

How to Customize The Child Theme?

Once you have activated a StudioPress child theme, you can further customize it to meet specific requirements such as:

Customize Widget Header

If you have bought a premium Genesis child theme, it comes with a header widget area. Go to Appearance > Widgets to activate the widget options.

From there, you can select any widget option for your website. If your website sidebar looks cluttered after installing the child theme, you can customize the widget header to organize the area.

Adjust Your Genesis Theme Settings

Using the Theme Settings tab, you can easily customize the feel and look of your website. It includes your WordPress theme’s background image, content, and color scheme.

The best thing is you can preview all the theme settings in real-time. You can navigate to the WordPress dashboard; there, you will find a menu named Genesis. Click on it and change theme settings as per your requirements.

Configure Genesis SEO Setting

If you are already using an SEO plugin, you don’t need to follow this step. Otherwise, it is essential to configure the Genesis SEO settings to improve the search engine ranking.

To do so, go to Genesis > SEO Settings on your WordPress dashboard. From there, you have to enable a home meta description and home meta keyword. This will make your website more accessible to search engine bot crawlers.

Ready to Install Genesis Framework and Child Theme?

There you go, WordPress developers. You are now all set to install Genesis Framework and child theme on your WordPress website.

As you can see, both methods discussed are easy to install Genesis child themes on your WordPress website. However, I would recommend readers go with the first option. Because it is really simpler to install it and child theme using the WordPress dashboard compared to FTP.

In addition, I suggest using Genesis Pro to get access to all the StudioPress-made themes. This will help to design a stunning child theme effortlessly.

You can always customize the child themes to meet your design requirements. For Genesis Pro, you just have to spend $360 per year.

However, if you are new to the Genesis framework, you can always try the free version to understand it better before investing your money. Learn how to build WordPress website with Genesis framework in our detailed guide here.