Before I begin this post, I am writing it not expecting change, but rather sharing my opinion. It is the opinion of someone who has themes both default and working with them from agencies to exploration, threaded through their life. I say this with a passion for what themes were, are, and I see evolving into. I am also focusing on a pause, not a stop or hard point. This is a suggestion, a thought I am working through myself.
The past
The default themes worked for us as a project in WordPress. They were both a call to unify in work, and also allowed us something to focus on testing the features of the year. They were also a way to close out the year; historically, many switched to them to showcase.
Another thing the default themes have done well is showcase different aspects of WordPress. One could argue that having a theme focus is key for everyone. Similarly, many writers use it as a basis for their content, drawing on it as fuel. It was an end to the year for many, although I would self-reflect, as the years have gone by, this has waned. Again, this is a personal reflection.
Today
For a long time, whether we like to admit it or not, the default theme process has been more complex and disjointed. It hasn’t been as much about testing features as many weren’t theme visible.
Each default theme currently incurs a high maintenance cost. This goes over the code in support. I am reluctant to recommend anything in core that adds to the bundled theme debt at this time, considering there is still a backlog. To be clear, I want to see significant product benefits before recommending it as a course of action.
Themes have changed
Themes are a sliding scale of complexity, ranging from the quick brew weekend, a few hours of JSON for a personal site, to the large-scale enterprise theme founded on a complex design system, an extensive pattern library, and variations. Themes today are different, and anyone who is creating them knows this. Anyone not creating them also knows this, which is where the next bit comes in.
The education piece
One of the loudest comments in favour of having a default theme is that it brings education. Whilst this is true, education once a year isn’t useful. We need to consider the themes that are relevant today, and to do that, we need to examine all the pieces and their respective use cases. How are different people making themes? How are individuals experimenting? How are agencies scaling? How are people using themes today, and where are they stuck?
What a theme is needs to be reconsidered
The strongest point for pausing this year is to take a moment as a project and consider what a theme is today. What design tools are missing that we need first? What pieces do we have, and how do they go together? Where do they not go together and need to? Fix those flows first, then build amazing ‘themes’ or whatever we settle on.
The future of a theme might be a ‘kit’ where you have a style you share. It might be something else. We haven’t paused long enough to think about it, and it’s not the same format we keep reworking in default themes.
What else could we do instead?
Here are a few things that could be done with all the people and effort a theme release typically takes. It’s worth noting that they require a lot, which is why these are in much greater demand at this time.
- Education: Many people still don’t understand or haven’t fully explored the potential of block themes. Taking time for this collectively could be a powerful experience. It also helps the ecosystem, agencies and products.
- Improve the design tools for themes: By adding features such as adaptive controls and other missing pieces, redirecting the effort that would have gone into the default theme into the core editor itself. This benefits everyone and all themes.
- Rejuvenate the community theme project: This moves it beyond being a one-time event and could include various types of experiments. Allow exploration of what a theme is.
- Identify the areas where the themes are not working out: Improve this with tools and also within the core itself. This goes beyond the design tools and into the system of themes themselves.
A pause is not a stop
I chose this title because I am suggesting a pause, although I struggle to see ‘when’ we would need them, but of course, things change. As a project, WordPress should also release more experiments on what a theme should be today. That’s been the issue, and as a result, the default theme has become such a hot topic for people.
This is just my thought, though. If a default theme were to happen, it would be amazing and welcome. I also know it will be done incredibly well. I often reflect on the logistics and the limited resources required for incredible contributions. I always want to put them in the space where they will be most effective and move the project forward. I also think that, as a product, it makes sense to have focus, and I can’t see a default theme that fits right now. I’m open to evidence, as always, to counter that. For that, it’s up to the project to decide, not me.