Show HN: WP-Easy, framework to build WordPress themes

2 points by drewrbaker 9 hours ago

The inspiration for this framework came from my brother, an amazing graphic designer who wanted to build WordPress themes using only his FTP-based code editor. He knows HTML and CSS really well, and some jQuery, but not modern JavaScript. In my experience, this is common for people whose jobs are tangential to frontend web development... designers, copywriters, project managers, and backend engineers.

So this is for people who don't want to deal with the mess of modern build tools. It tries to nudge people into a more modern direction: component-based architecture, JS modules, SCSS, and template routing. WP-Easy lets people like my brother build professional, modern themes without the usual barriers, just code with your favorite editor and see the results instantly.

Key features:

1. File-based routing - Define routes in router.php with Express-like syntax (/work/:slug/)

2. Single File Components - PHP templates with <template>, <style>, and <script> blocks in one file

3. Auto-loading - All files in /styles/ and /scripts/ are automatically loaded (no manual enqueueing)

4. Reusable components with use_component() and clean data helpers like use_children() or use_posts()

5. Modern workflow - SCSS support, jQuery included, SVG helpers, and WordPress best practices built-in

6. SCSS support - Variables, mixins, and media query helpers (@media #{$lt-phone})

7. Smart font loading - WebFont loader with fonts-loaded events and FOUT prevention

8 .SVG support - Easy to include and customize SVGs, use_svg('logo').

I have a basic theme example here: https://github.com/drewbaker/wp-easy-theme

Shoutout to Chengmin (https://github.com/rsm0128) for a lot of PHP help.

The big innovation is you can now do this! https://github.com/drewbaker/wp-easy?tab=readme-ov-file#sing...