[Chapter-delegates] [European-chapters] Updated Wordpress theme for chapters

Wed Apr 29 06:52:00 PDT 2026

Yes Klaus, you are right, my September email intended to be that reminder about the recent update of the theme, especially because I was supporting some chapters with issues with old PHP versions.

Let’s follow up on this, clearly sharing best practices for chapter website is a great way to improve, I know some might choose to go for a simple WP hosted by Wordpress.com to avoid the burden of maintaining a server, use this ISOC theme, and use the Chapter Admin Funding to cover the domain and wp.com hosting fees.

Cheers.

--

Rubén Martín, Community Engagement Manager (Europe)

martin at isoc.org<mailto:martin at isoc.org>

internetsociety.org<https://internetsociety.org>
[signature_576143606]

De: Chapter-delegates <chapter-delegates-bounces at elists.isoc.org> en nombre de Klaus Birkenbihl via Chapter-delegates <chapter-delegates at elists.isoc.org>
Fecha: martes, 28 de abril de 2026, 10:54
Para: Chapter Delegates <chapter-delegates at elists.isoc.org>
CC: Vorstand <vorstand at isoc.de>
Asunto: Re: [Chapter-delegates] [European-chapters] Updated Wordpress theme for chapters

Hi Ruben et all,

I didn't too much investigation wrt this. I followed the instructions on https://chapter-template.isoc.org/theme-installation/ (mid April 2026) with PHP 8.4.20. Furthermore, I expect a notification about a theme update if I am using an outdated version (see resolved issue https://github.com/InternetSociety/genesis-child-chapters/issues/1).

I had a conversation with ChatGPT about the issue. Since our WP site is from 2010 I asked:

Find me a wordpress theme fulfilling the following requirements:

  *   easily migrate a wordpress site using standard post types (chronological posts, hierarchy of pages) into a responsive design.
  *   support menus, sidebars, blogrolls, categories, archive, tag clouds ...
  *   rather use modern CSS than wordpress blocks for styles

The answer was a bit lengthy. I only quote part of the final result:

Good—your constraints basically rule out 90% of the modern WP ecosystem. What you want is:

  *   classic theme (no FSE)
  *   [...]
  *   clean PHP templates + CSS styling
  *   full support for menus, widgets, archives, etc.

That narrows things down to either lightweight classic themes or starter themes.

(Beside this, ChatGPT suggested "hybrid" themes - supporting classic and block design as well - might be a compromise.)

I tested two of the ChatGPT recommended classic themes - out of the box - with reasonable results (wrt a responsive design): Astra and Baskerville. (Now you might assume I'm one of those dinosaurs who don't like WP block-oriented design at all 😉. You're perfectly right - indeed I stopped using WP for new projects.)

For now we (aka ISOC.DE) have not yet decided how to proceed.

Best regards

Klaus

Ruben Martin schrieb am 27.04.26 um 18:03:
Hi all,

Bumping this email from September, since I know some of you have been asking about the new Wordpress theme.

Please, make sure other leaders know about where to find this resource (also linked form the leader portal resources page).

Thanks!

--

Rubén Martín, Community Engagement Manager (Europe)

martin at isoc.org<mailto:martin at isoc.org>

internetsociety.org<https://internetsociety.org>
[signature_576143606]

De: European-chapters <european-chapters-bounces at elists.isoc.org><mailto:european-chapters-bounces at elists.isoc.org> en nombre de Ruben Martin <martin at isoc.org><mailto:martin at isoc.org>
Fecha: lunes, 29 de septiembre de 2025, 10:47
Para: Chapters European <european-chapters at elists.isoc.org><mailto:european-chapters at elists.isoc.org>
Asunto: [European-chapters] Updated Wordpress theme for chapters

Hi all,

I know some of you have been asking for an updated and modern Wordpress theme for chapters, and there was a bit of confusion on which one was actively maintained.

Please check this site for installation instructions on the latest WP theme for chapters:

https://chapter-template.isoc.org/theme-installation/

It has been recently updated to support the latest WP version, as well as PHP 8.4. The code is here<https://github.com/InternetSociety/genesis-child-chapters> in case you want to contribute, request changes or report issues.

Thanks!

[image.png]

--

Rubén Martín, Community Engagement Manager (Europe)

martin at isoc.org<mailto:martin at isoc.org>
[signature_576143606]

internetsociety.org<https://internetsociety.org>

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