Genesis Framework

Here I am going to show you how to build a static homepage for your own Genesis child theme.  In Part 1 of this series I showed you how to start building your own Genesis Framework child theme. To do this, you could start from scratch and build your child theme from the bottom up. However, it is a lot easier to start from a basic child theme and then modify it as you want. The folks at StudioPress have a Genesis Sample Child Theme which you can use. I used this child theme to start building my very own child theme.

What is a static homepage or static front page? You don’t have to use Genesis to build a static homepage for your WordPress site.  WordPress itself has the capability of creating what it calls a “static front page.”  So what is a static homepage or front page?  By default, WordPress has what is called a blog look.  It may have one or two sidebars, it may have fancy menus and complicated footers. But the main content of the homepage will be the latest “posts” presented in a reverse chronological order. The latest post appears first.

Perhaps you have tried one or several WordPress themes. Maybe you found one you like but have been frustrated by its limited customization.  Quickly you found you could customize colors, the background, the header, and a few more things but that’s about it.  Now you are ready to either hire a web designer or design your own theme.  Here I am going to show you how to build your own Genesis child theme using the Genesis Framework.

Of course, you could design your own WordPress theme from scratch just as developers do.  As a beginner this is not a good idea. You will have to spend a lot of time learning how to do this.  A much easier way for a beginner is to get a WordPress framework. Genesis and use it as a parent theme for your child theme.