But now WP is so advanced that there’s almost nothing a little custom CSS won’t fix. And with the constant updates, I would like to be able to update themes to keep up with improvements. Which I can’t do if I’m using a child theme. I have some clients whose websites were built 8 or 9 years ago and doing WP and plugin updates is becoming a problem.

Are there any reasons (other than if there is custom coding) to use a child theme as opposed the parent them?

I like to make a child theme for my clients, but it doesn’t have much in it. Perhaps a change of the parent theme’s defaults. It does provide me a place to put a screenshot of how the site should look, and the theme description can be instructions to the client.

CSS is so amazing and the Additional CSS option makes it all so much easier.

“I like to make a child theme for my clients, but it doesn’t have much in it.”

So then you can’t ever update the theme. You’ve not run into problems with sticking for years with an outdated theme?

“I like to make a child theme for my clients, but it doesn’t have much in it.”

So then you can’t ever update the theme. You’ve not run into problems with sticking for years with an outdated theme?

You are drawing the wrong conclusion from a child theme. The whole point of having a child theme is that the parent can be updated without affecting the child. If the child has code that overlaps something in the parent, then that should be checked each time the parent updates to see if any changes are needed.
When I make a child theme with not much in it, the parent is updated with no concern, because the child isn’t doing that much. It is a placeholder for the client to know which theme is the right one (it has an accurate screenshot, with their content) and it has a description that tells them not to delete the parent theme or whatever needs to be said. And it has my name on it, so they know who to contact when changes are wanted.

If the child theme needs more stuff (like Woocommerce – eek!), then that’s the wrong theme. That sort of thing should be in a plugin. Anything that changes how the site works should be in a plugin, so that the theme can be easily switched.

You are drawing the wrong conclusion from a child theme. The whole point of having a child theme is that the parent can be updated without affecting the child.

You’re right! I guess I’ve had it the wrong way all this time. Thank you for that clarification. A broken website I’m struggling with right now appears to be just a COPY of the parent theme with heavily edited code by the previous developer.

Are child themes still recommended?

Yes. ??