Child theme causes fatal error

  • After creating a child theme of Twenty Thirteen
    (wp-content/themes/twentythirteen-child)
    my test site broke and I received the following error message:

    Fatal error: require() [function.require]: Failed opening required '/home/aboveth7/public_html/client/wp_sandbox/wp-content/themes/twentythirteen/inc/custom-header.php' (include_path='.:/usr/local/php53/pear') in /home/aboveth7/public_html/client/wp_sandbox/wp-content/themes/twentythirteen/functions.php on line 37

    The only file included in the directory at the time was the newly created style.css with the following information in its head:

    /*
 Theme Name:     Twenty Thirteen Child
 Description:    Twenty Thirteen Child Theme
 Author:         Peter Gleeson
 Author URI:     https://abovethelinedesign.com.au
 Template:       twentythirteen
 Version:        1.0.0
*/

@import url("../twentythirteen/style.css");

/* =Theme customization starts here
-------------------------------------------------------------- */

    The problem persists even after the child directory has been deleted.
    Any help with resolving this issue will be greatly appreciated.
    Thanks

Viewing 12 replies - 1 through 12 (of 12 total)
  • Andrew Nevins

    (@anevins)

    WCLDN 2018 Contributor | Volunteer support

    Was the original theme modified?

    Thread Starter peteratld

    (@peteratld)

    No Andrew

    No modifications other than adding a .htaccess file to call up the default 404.php file. I tried renaming this file 1.htaccess to see if it was the culprit but there was no difference.

    Moderator Jan Dembowski

    (@jdembowski)

    Forum Moderator and Brute Squad

    Beside’s a wp-content/themes/twentythirteen-child/style.css file what else did you put into the child theme directory?

    Thread Starter peteratld

    (@peteratld)

    Nothing Jan

    Moderator Jan Dembowski

    (@jdembowski)

    Forum Moderator and Brute Squad

    That’s bizarre… That error should only happen when WordPress can’t find or load the parent theme files.

    Can you try activating to the Twenty Thirteen parent theme to see if that tosses any errors?

    Thread Starter peteratld

    (@peteratld)

    I can’t access the back end!

    The admin login page gives the same error message.

    Moderator Jan Dembowski

    (@jdembowski)

    Forum Moderator and Brute Squad

    That’s something that I may be able to assist you with (by way of advice). ??

    1. Using FTP or whatever filemanagement tools your host has provided you with navigate to the wp-content/themes directory.
    2. Once there locate and rename the twentythirteen-child directory. Just that one directory and nothing else.
    3. Try and re-login to your WordPress dashboard via https://your-WordPress-URL-here/wp-admin/themes.php.
    Thread Starter peteratld

    (@peteratld)

    No good Jan

    I deleted the child directory very soon after the problem appeared but nevertheless, I tried your suggestion to no avail.

    Moderator Jan Dembowski

    (@jdembowski)

    Forum Moderator and Brute Squad

    I deleted the child directory very soon after the problem appeared but nevertheless

    Just for completeness sake, you did visit that URL afterwards?

    https://your-WordPress-URL-here/wp-admin/themes.php

    If you did and that still does not work then you’ll need to see what/where the error is via your error_log file.

    Thread Starter peteratld

    (@peteratld)

    Yes, I visited the URL afterwards.

    Could you tell me how I might view my error_log file?

    Moderator Jan Dembowski

    (@jdembowski)

    Forum Moderator and Brute Squad

    Your host provider should be able to tell you where that file is. It’s usually different for each host.

    Something is causing that error and if your child theme is gone then it’s not that. Try also renaming your plugins directory to plugins-OLD in case it’s a plugin issue.

    If that does not solve it then change the directory back. Hopefully your host will be able to tell you where to find that error log.

    Thread Starter peteratld

    (@peteratld)

    Thanks Jan

    I’ll give it a go

    Ciao

Viewing 12 replies - 1 through 12 (of 12 total)
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