Packaging & Distribution

Pre-Release Checklist

Required Files

my-theme/
├── style.css              # Theme metadata
├── theme.json             # Configuration
├── screenshot.png         # 1200x900 preview
├── readme.txt             # For WordPress.org
├── functions.php          # PHP functionality
├── templates/
│   ├── index.html         # Required fallback
│   ├── single.html
│   ├── page.html
│   ├── archive.html
│   └── 404.html
├── parts/
│   ├── header.html
│   └── footer.html
├── patterns/
│   └── *.php
├── styles/
│   └── *.json
└── assets/
    ├── css/
    ├── js/
    └── images/

readme.txt Format

=== My Block Theme ===
Contributors: yourusername
Requires at least: 6.0
Tested up to: 6.5
Requires PHP: 7.4
Stable tag: 1.0.0
License: GPLv2 or later
License URI: https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.html

== Description ==
A brief description of your theme. Explain what makes it special and who it's for.

== Installation ==
1. Upload the theme folder to `/wp-content/themes/`
2. Activate via Appearance > Themes
3. Start customizing in the Site Editor

== Changelog ==

= 1.0.0 =
* Initial release

== Credits ==
* Font: Inter by Rasmus Andersson (OFL License)
* Images: Unsplash (Unsplash License)

Translation Ready

Using Translation Functions

// In PHP
__( 'Text', 'my-theme' )
_e( 'Text', 'my-theme' )
esc_html__( 'Text', 'my-theme' )
esc_attr__( 'Text', 'my-theme' )

// Pluralization
sprintf(
    _n( '%d item', '%d items', $count, 'my-theme' ),
    $count
)

Making Patterns Translatable

<!-- wp:heading {"level":1} -->
<h1></h1>
<!-- /wp:heading -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p></p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

Generate POT File

# Using WP-CLI
wp i18n make-pot . languages/my-theme.pot --domain=my-theme

# Set text domain
wp i18n update-po languages/my-theme.pot

Theme Check Plugin

Install and run Theme Check before submission:

1. Install Theme Check plugin
2. Go to Appearance > Theme Check
3. Select your theme
4. Check required items pass

Common issues:

• Missing text domain
• Deprecated functions
• Incorrect escaping
• Missing license headers

Accessibility Testing

# Test with axe-core
npm install -g @axe-core/cli
axe https://yoursite.test/

# Or use WAVE browser extension
# Or Pa11y
npx pa11y https://yoursite.test/

Key accessibility requirements:

• Keyboard navigation
• Skip links
• Proper heading hierarchy
• Color contrast (4.5:1 minimum)
• Focus indicators
• Alt text for images

Creating the ZIP Package

# Navigate to themes directory
cd wp-content/themes

# Create clean zip
zip -r my-theme.zip my-theme 
    -x "*.git*" 
    -x "*.DS_Store" 
    -x "*node_modules*" 
    -x "*.map" 
    -x "package*.json"

# Or with rsync first
rsync -av --exclude-from='.distignore' my-theme/ dist/my-theme/
cd dist && zip -r my-theme.zip my-theme

.distignore File

.git
.github
.gitignore
.editorconfig
node_modules
package.json
package-lock.json
*.map
*.md
!readme.md
.DS_Store
composer.json
composer.lock
phpcs.xml
tests
.distignore

Submitting to WordPress.org

1. Create account at wordpress.org
2. Go to: https://wordpress.org/themes/upload/
3. Upload ZIP file
4. Wait for review (can take weeks)
5. Address any reviewer feedback

Review Requirements

Commercial Distribution

For selling themes:

1. Licensing - Include license verification
2. Updates - Provide update mechanism
3. Documentation - Comprehensive docs
4. Support - Support system

License Header for Commercial

/**
 * @license Commercial License
 * @link https://yoursite.com/license
 * 
 * This theme is sold under a commercial license.
 * See LICENSE.txt for the complete license agreement.
 */

Version Control

# Tag releases
git tag -a v1.0.0 -m "Release version 1.0.0"
git push origin v1.0.0

# Changelog
git log --oneline v0.9.0..v1.0.0

Congratulations!

You've completed the Full Site Editing Theme Development tutorial!

What You've Learned

• ✅ Block theme fundamentals
• ✅ theme.json configuration
• ✅ Building block templates
• ✅ Creating template parts
• ✅ Designing block patterns
• ✅ Global style variations
• ✅ Adding PHP functionality
• ✅ Packaging for distribution

Resources

• Block Theme Handbook
• theme.json Reference
• Create Block Theme Plugin
• Full Site Editing Course