BootStrap Starter Themes for WordPress

A test to find a good BootStrap Starter Theme for WordPress

Them.es Test

Download Zip file from https://them.es/starter-bootstrap/
Put unzipped file in wp-content/themes
In terminal, navigate to theme folder then run > npm install
- There’s no single correct way to place all the node_modules files, but something approaching the normal way would be:
  - Have a package.json file in your theme (or plugin).
  - Install whatever packages you want with npm install, which will install the package into node_modules/ inside your theme.
  - Inside your main script/entrypoint, include that script with require() or import.
  - Configure your build process so that you have a single JS file that you can enqueue with WordPress from functions.php.
  - You’ll notice that pretty much none of this has anything to do with WordPress. The only thing you want for WordPress is to have your build process produce a single file that can be enqueued with wp_enqueue_script(), since you don’t want to have to enqueue a large number of files. How to do that is entirely dependent on the tools you’re using, and is unrelated to WordPress.

Handling NPM setup

6 high severity vulnerabilities

> npm audit fix
Doesn't fix, problem is: glob-parent

npm outdated
 npm audit fix --force

Result

This unfortunately creates more vulnerabilities and it gets into package and dependency version soup, so I have reduced confidence in this as being a hassle-free bootstrap starter theme for WordPress.

Understrap Test – GitHub clone option

Install via Git and npm
Open your terminal and browse to the location where you want to install Understrap:

cd path/to/location/

If needed create the proper folder:

mkdir understrap

Now pull in Understrap via GitHub with:

git clone https://github.com/understrap/understrap.git

At the end install all dependencies by this command:

npm install

Result

Way too many dependencies, includes Bootstrap4 files, npm install comes with a bunch of vulnerability errors, theme defaults to Bootstrap 4. Adds its own git embedded git repository in your theme, which means it gets uploaded to a different spot, separate from your project, unless you make adjustments. Looks like a mess, not a clean way to start a theme in my view.

Understrap Test – Download Theme Folder Option

Result

Opposite problem, doesn’t have Scss files so not an easy path to setup a simple webpack flow.

BootScore Test – Download Folder

Result

Has scss files which is good, but the functions.php file is full of bloated custom widgets, included hardcoded HTML, which makes this whole thing overcomplicated again.

Next Step…

Starting my own Bootstrap starter template