One of the easiest ways to make a WordPress project difficult to maintain is to place every customization in a single functions.php file. It works at first, but the file quickly becomes a mix of unrelated hooks, CSS enqueues, WooCommerce filters, helper functions, and temporary fixes.
Use functions.php as a loader
For larger customizations, I keep the main child-theme file small and use it to load focused modules. Header logic belongs in a header module, footer changes belong in a footer module, and reusable helpers live in their own file.
inc/
header/
footer/
navigation/
blog/
helpers/
assets/
css/
js/
This structure does not need to be complicated. The point is simply to make each feature easy to locate and easy to remove.
Prefer hooks before template overrides
GeneratePress exposes useful actions and filters throughout its templates. When a hook can insert, remove, or alter a component, I prefer that approach over copying a parent template into the child theme.
- Updates remain safer.
- Customizations are easier to review.
- Less parent-theme markup is duplicated.
- Individual features can be disabled cleanly.
Template overrides still have a place when the entire markup structure needs to change, but they should be a deliberate choice rather than the default.
Keep the front end equally organized
The same rule applies to CSS and JavaScript. I avoid adding project CSS directly into PHP or scattering inline scripts across templates. A predictable asset structure makes debugging much faster and helps another developer understand the project later.