4.3 Changes for Theme Authors and Reviewers

WordPress 4.3, “Billie”, was released last week, and includes some changes and improvements that will impact Theme development and review.

New Template singular.php

As of 4.3 there is a new template file available that will allow theme authors to use a common template for any singular post type. This specifically includes all custom post types including posts and pages. It follows the rules of is_singular() and comes after single-{post-type}.php, single-post.php, single.php, and page.php.

Template hierarchy for singular post types, including the singular.php template file added in WordPress 4.3

Template hierarchy for singular post types, including the singular.php template file added in WordPress 4.3

Changes in the CustomizerCustomizer Tool built into WordPress core that hooks into most modern themes. You can use it to preview and modify many of your site’s appearance settings. APIAPI An API or Application Programming Interface is a software intermediary that allows programs to interact with each other and share data in limited, clearly defined ways.

Improvements to the Customizer API are continuing since 4.2. Most importantly, WordPress 4.3 adds Customizer PanelsFor further details see Nick Hasley’s article Changes to Customizer Panels and Sections in 4.3. Another notable change is  WP_Customize_Cropped_Image_Controlwhich allows images to be cropped to specific dimensions making it particularly suitable for logos. It uses the same functionality as the headerHeader The header of your site is typically the first thing people will experience. The masthead or header art located across the top of your page is part of the look and feel of your website. It can influence a visitor’s opinion about your content and you/ your organization’s brand. It may also look different on different screen sizes. image control.

Please note that per the previously announced changes to the Theme review requirements, new themes must use the Customizer API for theme modifications rather than a settings or options page, and that existing Themes submitted for updates after October of this year must be ported to use of the Customizer API.

Site Icon (Favicon) Configuration Added to CoreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress.

WordPress 4.3 has added core user-configuration of Favicons (site icons). Previously, we allowed Themes to include Favicon functionality, provided that they were user-configurable, and disabled by default. Now, however, Favicons (site icons) are part of core, and fall under the requirement that Themes support core-implementation of core features. Therefore, new Themes will no longer be allowed to include custom Favicon options, and existing Themes that have Favicon configuration must move to support the core implementation when they are updated.