Discussion on: Looking For a Simpler Way To Develop WordPress Themes Locally.

[KimLongUn]

i use mostly de.wordpress.org/plugins/wp-migrat... the db migrate tool. you can export the databases from your remote server to your local environment and vice versa directly from the wordpress backend. the free version only allows for downloads of the database but the pro version allows for direct syncing. it will do a search and replace for the hardcoded url´s in the database as well.

i would definitely recommend spending the time and creating a customized base theme with common components, plugins like above mentioned and tools already ready like grunt etc. it saves a lot of time and unneccessary repetitive work

[Jack Harner 🚀]

Cool. I'll definitely check that plugin out. I'd stumbled across it but didn't really dig in to it.

I've actually started working on your second point for myself:

harnerdesigns / blank2

Blank Wordpress Theme. Speed Up Development. Make Money.

Blank2

Speed Up WordPress Development. Make More Money.

Blank2 is a blank wordpress to start off with. It includes Gulp functions to handle JS, SASS, BrowserSync, and more.

Gulp Functions

Make sure to sent the environment variables in the gulpfile.js to match your environment.

gulp

Runs gulp sass, then gulp js, then finally gulp serve.

Use to start up development.

gulp sass

Compiles the SASS from the sassFiles var, source maps it, and puts it in the sassDest folder;

Adds the standard Wordpress Header Comment to the top of style.css with Theme Name, Version, Repo Link, etc pulled from the package.json file.

Don't add the header comment to style.scss

gulp js

Pulls all the files from jsFiles, adds the source map, concats it down to theme.js and minifies it. Places output in jsDest folder.

gulp watch

Watches both watchSassFiles and watchJsFiles and runs gulp sass and…

View on GitHub

The more I learn about designing WordPress themes the more I add to that to kick start.