When it comes to developing a WordPress site, the choice of a starter theme can significantly influence the development process, site performance, and overall user experience. As a professional developer and SEO expert, I’ve had the privilege of working with various themes and frameworks. Among them, Roots Sage stands out as an exceptional choice for several reasons. Here’s why you should consider using Roots Sage for your next WordPress project:

1. Advanced WordPress Starter Theme

Roots Sage isn’t just any starter theme; it’s an advanced WordPress starter theme that integrates seamlessly with Tailwind CSS and Laravel Blade. This combination ensures that developers have access to modern development tools while building WordPress themes. There is no going back once you tried this combo, the ease of development and beauty of Blade templating language is unmatched.

2. Gutenberg support & theme.json configuration file

One of the most commendable features of Sage is its unparalleled support for the WordPress block editor. This support isn’t just superficial; it’s deeply integrated, ensuring that developers can harness the full potential of the block editor while working with Sage.

At the heart of this integration is Sage’s Tailwind CSS configuration. When you set up Sage, it automatically generates a theme.json file. This file is more than just a configuration file; it’s a powerful tool that plays a pivotal role in configuring the WordPress editor. Here’s what this means for developers:

  • Consistent Styling: Any fonts, colors, and spacing that you define in your Tailwind configuration are instantly available in the WordPress editor. This ensures that what you see in the editor is precisely what you get on the front end, eliminating the guesswork and ensuring consistency across your site.
  • Reduced Reliance on CSS: The traditional approach to theming often involves writing vast amounts of CSS to override default styles. With the theme.json approach in Sage, you can define and modify theme defaults directly. This not only reduces the amount of CSS you need to write but also ensures that your site loads faster due to fewer style overrides and reduced file sizes.
  • Rapid Development with Tailwind: Tailwind CSS is known for its utility-first approach, which allows developers to build user interfaces rapidly. With Sage, developers can directly utilize Tailwind classes in their WordPress templates and components. This means that instead of writing verbose CSS, you can use concise Tailwind classes, speeding up the theme development process significantly.

But that’s not all. For those looking to further extend the capabilities of the block editor, Sage’s compatibility with libraries like Poet by Log1x is a game-changer. With Poet or similar libraries, developers can effortlessly create custom blocks tailored to their specific needs. Whether it’s a unique call-to-action block, a custom testimonial slider, or any other design element, these libraries, when combined with Sage, make the process seamless.

In essence, Sage’s support for the WordPress block editor, combined with its integration with Tailwind CSS and compatibility with libraries like Poet, offers developers a modern, efficient, and streamlined approach to WordPress theme development. It’s not just about building themes; it’s about building them better and faster.

3. Flexibility in CSS Frameworks

While Sage’s seamless integration with Tailwind CSS is undoubtedly a highlight, it’s essential to understand that Sage is not restrictive. It offers developers the flexibility to choose their preferred CSS framework or even opt for no framework at all. Whether you’re a fan of Bootstrap, a purist who prefers vanilla CSS, or someone who leans towards other frameworks, Sage is adaptable to your preferences.

But the flexibility doesn’t end there. For developers who are fond of SCSS and SASS, Sage offers a straightforward integration process. With the help of the bud.js build tool, which Sage utilizes for its development workflow, adding SCSS and SASS support becomes a breeze. Here’s how:

  • bud.js Overview: bud.js is a web-focused build tool that comes with add-on support for various tools and languages, including Babel, React, PostCSS, Sass, Typescript, esbuild, ESLint, Prettier, and more. Its modular nature ensures that developers can customize their build process according to their project’s needs.
  • Adding SCSS and SASS Support: To integrate SCSS and SASS into your Sage project, you simply need to make a few modifications in the bud configuration. Given that bud.js supports Sass out of the box, the integration process is streamlined and developer-friendly.
  • Project Building with bud.js: Once you’ve set up your preferred CSS preprocessor, building your project is straightforward. If your project’s entry point is at ./src/index.js, you can compile it using the bud build command. The bundled code will then be output to ./dist/*. And if your application entry point differs, bud.js offers configuration options, like bud.entry, to customize the build process further.

In conclusion, Sage’s design philosophy revolves around providing a minimal starting point, ensuring that developers have the freedom to mold and customize their development environment. Whether it’s choosing a CSS framework, integrating preprocessors like SCSS and SASS, or configuring the build process, Sage, with the help of tools like bud.js, ensures that developers are in control. This flexibility not only enhances the development experience but also ensures that the final product aligns perfectly with the developer’s vision and the project’s requirements.

4. Laravel Blade Templates with WordPress

WordPress, as a platform, has evolved significantly over the years. Traditional WordPress themes have served their purpose well, but as web development practices have advanced, there’s a growing need for more modern and efficient templating systems. This is where Sage, with its integration of Laravel’s Blade Templates, steps in. Let’s delve deeper into the differences between classic WordPress themes and Sage’s Blade templating, and why the latter offers a superior development experience.

Classic WordPress Themes: An Overview

Classic WordPress themes typically rely on a mix of PHP, HTML, and CSS. The PHP files in these themes contain both the logic and the markup, often intertwined in a manner that can be challenging to manage, especially for larger projects.

Example: In a traditional WordPress theme, to display a list of posts, you might have:

<?php if ( have_posts() ) : while ( have_posts() ) : the_post(); ?>
    <h2><?php the_title(); ?></h2>
    <p><?php the_content(); ?></p>
<?php endwhile; endif; ?>

Sage’s Blade Templating: A Fresh Approach

Blade is a templating engine provided by Laravel, a popular PHP framework. Sage’s integration of Blade brings this powerful templating system to WordPress.

  • Separation of Logic and Presentation: Blade offers a clear distinction between logic and presentation, making templates cleaner and more readable.
  • Template Inheritance: With Blade, you can define a master layout and extend it in child templates. This reduces redundancy and ensures consistency across the site.
  • Components: Blade allows for the creation of reusable components. Instead of repeating the same chunk of code, you can define it once as a component and reuse it wherever needed.

Example: Using Blade, the earlier example can be transformed into:

@foreach ($posts as $post)
    <h2>{{ $post->title }}</h2>
    <p>{{ $post->content }}</p>
@endforeach

Why Blade Templating is Better for Development

  • Readability: Blade’s syntax is concise and expressive, making it easier to read and understand, especially for developers familiar with modern frameworks.
  • Efficiency: With features like template inheritance and components, developers can write DRY (Don’t Repeat Yourself) code, reducing repetition and potential errors.
  • Flexibility: Blade seamlessly integrates with PHP, so developers can use PHP functions and logic within Blade templates when needed.
  • Security: Blade automatically escapes output, reducing the risk of XSS attacks.

Example: Creating a reusable button component in Blade:

{{-- Define the component --}} 
<x-button href="{{ route('profile') }}" class="btn-primary"> 
  View Profile 
</x-button> 
{{-- Use it elsewhere in the code --}} 
<x-button href="{{ route≈'logout') }}" class="btn-danger">
  Logout
</x-button>

In conclusion, while classic WordPress themes have their place, the integration of Laravel’s Blade Templates in Sage offers a modern, efficient, and developer-friendly approach to WordPress theme development. For developers seeking to build robust, maintainable, and scalable WordPress sites, Sage’s Blade templating is a game-changer.

5. Bud assets manager – forget about webpack issues

Sage introduces a modern development workflow, with asset builds managed by bud.js, a high-performance build system built atop webpack. This system is not only easy to use and configure but also comes with Hot Module Replacement (HMR) enabled by default. Developers can use the yarn dev command to watch for changes and have their assets rebuilt automatically.

6. A Testament to Longevity and Reliability

Roots Sage isn’t a new player in the field. It has been maintained for over 12 years, which speaks volumes about its reliability, community support, and continuous improvements.

7. Recommendations and Testimonials

Many developers and professionals vouch for Sage. Some believe that the roots.io toolkit, which includes Sage, is the most rational approach to WordPress development in 2023. Others have expressed that Sage has modernized WordPress development, and without it, they might have moved away from WordPress altogether.

Conclusion

In the ever-evolving landscape of web development, it’s crucial to choose tools and frameworks that not only meet the current demands but are also future-proof. Roots Sage, with its modern integrations, flexibility, and proven track record, is undoubtedly a top choice for WordPress developers. Whether you’re building a site for a client or your own project, Sage offers a robust foundation to kickstart your WordPress journey. If you need an expert to help you fix your Sage theme or you need new proffesional WP theme based on Sage feel free to contact us.