---
title: How to Create a Child Theme in WordPress
description: "If you want to customise your theme's code safely, a child theme is the right way to do it. It lets you make changes that survive theme updates, so you never lose your work. This guide explains what a child…"
url: "https://disoh.com/es/soporte/how-to-create-a-child-theme-in-wordpress/"
updated: "2026-07-23"
category: WordPress
---

# How to Create a Child Theme in WordPress

If you want to customise your theme's code safely, a child theme is the right way to do it. It lets you make changes that survive theme updates, so you never lose your work. This guide explains what a child theme is and how to create one.

## Why use a child theme

If you edit your theme's files directly, the next theme update overwrites your changes. A child theme inherits everything from the parent theme but holds your customisations separately, so updates to the parent do not erase them.

## What a child theme needs

At minimum, a child theme is a folder containing two files:

- A **style.css** file with a header that names the parent theme.
- A **functions.php** file that loads the parent theme's styles.

## How to create one

1. In your site's *wp-content/themes* folder, create a new folder (for example, *yourtheme-child*).
2. Add a **style.css** with a header specifying the Template (the parent theme's folder name).
3. Add a **functions.php** that enqueues the parent stylesheet.
4. Go to **Appearance > Themes** and activate the child theme.

If you prefer not to create the files by hand, a child theme generator plugin can do it for you.

## Making customisations

- Add custom CSS to the child's style.css.
- Copy a parent template file into the child folder to override it.
- Add custom functions to the child's functions.php.

## Troubleshooting

- **Site looks unstyled after activating:** the parent stylesheet is not loading; check functions.php.
- **Changes not appearing:** confirm you edited the child theme and clear caches.

## Need help?

Child themes involve a little code. If you are unsure, our support team can point you to the right approach over live chat.