Is there any way to combine two Wordpress themes without using a plug-in that renders pages in different themes, and if there is, what is the most efficient way to do so? Is it as simple as copying and pasting one theme's function.php (and other files) into the first theme? Do I make a child theme?

I'm trying to build a database for clean energy initiatives across the globe, and like the map functionality of one the themes I've purchased. However, once you go pass the map, the theme is not very user-friendly and cannot hold a lot of information. This is where the second theme comes in. I want to keep both the functionalities of both themes if possible.

  • Why don’t you just copy that one function to the other theme? – fuxia Nov 2 '12 at 20:49

If you are only using "a feature" of one theme, you may be better off taking your "standard" theme (the one you'd like to use throughout) and then taking the functionality from the "one-off" theme and adding it onto the former.

This goes in-part with the fundamental idea of not adding such functionality to a theme - it would be better suited for a plugin instead. That way, it's portable. Right now, you're facing a dilemma which could have been rectified by making that functionality portable.

I'd go back to the developer to ask them what's involved in making it into a plugin (it's not just going to be copy/paste).

  • Thank you for the helpful, quick reply! That would be ideal, but my non-profit has a nonexistent design/programming budget. If no plug-in were available, is there anything I could do with my own limited knowledge of PHP and HTML? Would it be helpful if you saw the two themes I was using? The map from (themeforest.net/item/…), with the ability to locate long/lat in the post editor, will go into the featured post here: pixelthemes.net/?theme=immersion – Stella Tran Nov 2 '12 at 20:40
  • While there are plenty of WordPress plugins that will give you "map" functionality, taking a quick peek at the ThemeForest theme - it does look a bit involved. That being said, it definitely looks pretty cool, but it's the chance you take when bundling this functionality together. While I haven't used it, a few blog posts seem to be pointing to HeadSpace2 SEO which says to have the ability to switch themes per page/post. Give that a shot. – Zach Nov 3 '12 at 16:51

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