Next, I downloaded the ‘Underscores Starter Theme‘ to serve as the foundation of the WordPress theme. I personalized it to fit the project and set up the basic structure of the theme.
To optimize the development process, I installed the ‘Admin Site Enhancement (ASE)‘ plugin. This allowed me to enable and disable core WordPress functions, such as disabling comments for page, media; Gutenberg blocks for custom taxonomy; REST API in case we don’t use and enabling maintenance mode.
I started coding with the Header and Footer sections, ensuring they were functional and user-friendly. For easy maintenance, I created widget areas, and used core widgets with small HTML blocks to avoid unnecessary functions.
To manage dynamic content, I installed the ‘ACF (Advanced Custom Fields)‘ plugin. Using this plugin, I created custom fields tailored to the home page and landing page content.
I created a Custom Post Type and Custom Taxonomy to handle specific content needs. Additionally, I configured custom fields in ACF, added dummy data, and developed custom templates for the custom post type’s list and detail pages.
To make the website responsive, I applied proper CSS styles and included media queries for tablet and mobile versions.
Once development was complete, I thoroughly tested the website for performance, compatibility, and functionality. After ensuring everything worked perfectly, I migrated the website to the client’s server.
This is how I developed a custom-coded WordPress website using the Underscores base theme and the ACF plugin. Each step was crucial in ensuring a high-quality, tailored solution for the project.
