Theme Development Examples
One of the best ways to understand theme coding standards is to find examples of other themes that have been written with these standards in mind.
Default “Twenty” themes
Packaged in every version of WordPress since version 3.0 (and named after the year they were released in), the default themes are some of the best to study how themes are built. This is because they are designed with broad use in mind and fully adhere to WordPress coding standards. You can download and study their theme files, and keep them around as examples to reference while learning how to develop your own themes:
- Twenty Twenty-One
- Twenty Twenty
- Twenty Nineteen
- Twenty Seventeen
- Twenty Sixteen (only packaged in WordPress 4.8)
Other Sources
Additionally, all themes published in the theme directory are reviewed for standards prior to being published. Reviewing themes in the directory is a great way to better understand how theme development works and is a good way to get inspiration for your own theme.