Should all theme options be completely separated among the themes?

Hi guys,

Perhaps this is a silly question. I’m just a bit confused and need your advice to make it clear and to ensure that I would go to the right way.

Currently I’m developing another WP theme and planning about theme options of the new theme then something popped up in my mind. Since some options like social network links, custom sidebars, home slider or even a logo might be the common elements for most themes.

Should I make them available for every theme of mine? So when the buyers switch the theme then those elements stay the same but in different position or different styles depending on the new theme?

Or just making them completely separated among the themes and the buyers need to input those common data to the new theme again? Is this a normal case?

Thanks in advance.

Hello,

So you are assuming that a buyer is using at least two of your themes?

jayc

SakuraPixel said
Hello,

So you are assuming that a buyer is using at least two of your themes?

jayc

Yes, that could be the case but anyway, in general, just wondering which method is better in practice?

What do you think?

UXbarn said

SakuraPixel said
Hello,

So you are assuming that a buyer is using at least two of your themes?

jayc

Yes, that could be the case but anyway, in general, just wondering which method is better in practice?

What do you think?

-don’t know, I don’t think you could have exactly the same options for all themes

there was a thread about it: http://themeforest.net/forums/thread/wp-theme-forward-compatibility-shortcodescpts/75050?page=1

wickedpixel said
there was a thread about it: http://themeforest.net/forums/thread/wp-theme-forward-compatibility-shortcodescpts/75050?page=1

Oh I remember that epic thread. I’ll read through the replies again. Thank you!

Actually, that thread linked to wasn’t about this particular scenario. But, the two questions aren’t entirely unrelated.

Depending on the feature itself, you have two options: 1) Add the theme setting to all your themes or 2) Create a separate plugin.

Here’s the question you should answer: Is the functionality specific to your WordPress theme (when I say “theme”, I’m talking about the design/presentation, which is what a theme is)? If yes, it should be a theme setting. If no, you might want to consider creating a plugin. But, it’s something that you usually have to decide on a case-by-case basis.

It’s all about the implementation. I’ll use some of your examples:

Sliders: If you’re implementing a blog post/page slider, it usually makes sense as a theme feature. If you’re creating a custom post type “slide” and using it as a slider, it makes more sense as a plugin.

Sidebars: Pretty much a theme-specific thing because it deals with the presentation of content. But, I’d use the same sidebar IDs to make it easy to switch themes for users.

Social network links: If the links are user-specific (registered users on the site), it should be plugin material. If it’s a widget, it can be a plugin or theme thing. If it’s a theme setting, I’d say keep adding it to themes.

Logo: This is also a fairly theme-specific feature. I could see it being used as a plugin if all themes shared the same site title markup, or at least all your themes. But, it’s best left as a theme setting.

One option you might consider is just making a drop-in library that you carry from theme to theme. You should look at how WordPress handles the Custom Background and Custom Header features as good examples.

Another thing to keep in mind is that not all themes require the same settings.