Child Theme Configurator PRO

Find and change the CSS behind a styling

Child Theme Configurator PRO extends the WordPress child-theme styling utilities to installed plugins. It scans theme and extension stylesheets so you can find selectors, properties, and values, then add targeted overrides to a child theme instead of editing the original documents.

The analyzer parses stylesheets and organizes their media queries, selectors, properties, and values. Search by selector when you know which element to change, or by property and value to find the selectors that use a particular color, font, or background. A sample preview shows how parent styles and child-theme overrides combine before you save.

Selectors, properties, and custom CSS

Use the Query/Selector tools to edit properties for a specific selector. The Property/Value tools find matching styles across selectors. You can add a property to a selector or enter free-form CSS, including new selectors and @media queries, in the Raw CSS area. The parser requires valid CSS syntax, including balanced braces.

For color values, the Spectrum picker accepts hex, RGBA, and named colors. You can set responsive media queries, add fallback values for a property, and generate vendor-prefixed properties. The gradient controls generate browser-specific syntax for two-color gradients without intermediate stops. You can also adjust style order and mark an override as !important; use that flag judiciously.

Plugin styles in a child theme

PRO applies the CSS editing workflow to installed add-on stylesheets. Find the plugin selectors you want to change, adjust their properties, and preview the result with the rest of the site’s styles. The custom CSS is saved with the child theme, leaving the plugin’s original stylesheet files untouched.

Create and manage child themes

Analyze an installed parent theme or configure an existing child theme. Child Theme Configurator determines stylesheet dependencies and delivers settings for how parent and child stylesheets are loaded. It can use the WordPress style queue; @import is available for cases where the style queue cannot load the parent stylesheet.

You can make multiple child themes, copy menus, widgets, and Customizer settings, and copy parent templates into a child theme for editing. The Files tools also support child-theme pictures and screenshots. Add web fonts, and export a child theme as a ZIP archive. The plugin works with Multisite and uses the WordPress Filesystem API.

Limits to know

Arbitrary CSS comments are stripped when styles are parsed. The configurator supports @media and @import rules, but not @keyframes or @font-face rules in its stylesheet parser. Put unsupported rules in a separate stylesheet and import it into the child theme. The gradient controls are limited to two colors without intermediate stops.

The plugin directory warns that the plugin has not been tested with the latest three major WordPress releases, may no longer be maintained or supported, and may have compatibility issues with recent versions. Some themes also mishandle parent templates or child stylesheets, so preview and test a child theme before activating it.

Set up and preview your changes

1. Install and activate Child Theme Configurator PRO, then open the child-theme tools in the WordPress admin.
2. Select an installed parent theme to create a child theme, or select an existing child theme to configure it.
3. Run the analyzer to check stylesheet dependencies and configure the child theme.
4. Use the selector or property tools to edit theme or plugin CSS, then review the sample preview.
5. Save the child theme and test it with Live Preview before activating it.