In this lesson, you will learn how to submit a theme to the WordPress repository.
After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
- Understand the theme requirements before submitting a theme
- Submit a theme using a zip file
- Update a theme while waiting for review
- Understand the review status and result
- Submit theme updates once approved
This lesson is intended for the following audience
- Developers
Participants will get the most from this lesson if they have familiarity with
- Experienced with theme development
- Familiar with creating a zip file
Participants will need a theme to upload.
- Participants should check their themes using the theme requirments before submitting a theme. Errors could result in rejection.
- Highlight the theme requirements
- Discuss the trac ticket system
- Demonstrate how to submit a theme
- Discuss the status during the review process
- Demonstrate how to update a theme while waiting for review
- Demonstrate how to upload a theme update after approval
Theme requirements It is important for theme developers to review their own themes using the theme requirements. 3 or more issues can result in rejection.
Trac ticket system WordPress themes review uses the trac ticket system to keep track throughout the review process. The theme developer can expect the following after submitting a theme.
- The ticket will be provided for your theme after submitting a theme. Your theme will be sorted into the NEW queue with the ticket number.
- When a reviewer starts to review your theme, your theme will be moved to the Tickets Under Review queue. You will also receive an email as the status progress.
Uploading a theme First, it is recommended to read the Getting Started page. It describes the benefit of submitting a theme to the WordPress directory and the summary of the guidelines and resources.
A theme can be uploaded on the Upload Your Theme page. A theme must be a compressed zip file. Select a theme zip file, and agree with the three terms before uploading a theme.
Note: Make sure to have a correct name under Theme Name in the header section in style.css. The theme name and slug cannot be changed once a theme is uploaded.
Status on the trac system There are several status changes throughout the review process. Each time the status changes, the theme author receives a notification email.
- New - A theme is uploaded successfully, and a ticket was created. It is not assigned a reviewer yet.
- Reviewing - A reviewer was assigned, and it is under review.
- Closed theme (Live) - A theme was approved and live on the directory.
- Closed theme (not-approved) - A theme was not approved
Update a theme while waiting for review If a theme developer finds corrections while still waiting for review, upload the theme as the previous step on the Upload Your Theme page. It is recommended to update the changelog and version in style.css and readme.txt.
Theme developers must not upload themes while the theme is still in production. It is considered as a placeholder or a queue stander and causes the queue clogging.
Updating a theme after it is approved and it is already in the directory Theme developers can update the theme the same way using the Upload Your Theme page. It is recommended to update the changelog and version in style.css and readme.txt.
What’s next Updating a theme using SVN (Link not yet available)
Resources
Thanks @TeBenachi I've updated it and asked one of the team reps to do a final check.