New Project Setup

When creating a new client site, clone an existing child theme and work through this checklist.

1. Brand tokens

File: assets/css/tokens.css

• --primary, --primary-light, --primary-dark — client’s primary colour
• --accent, --accent-light, --accent-dark — client’s accent colour
• --base-ultra-light, --body-bg-color, --neutral-light, --neutral-dark — background neutrals
• --bg-tint-1, --bg-tint-2 — section background tints
• --heading-font-family — client’s heading font
• --text-font-family — client’s body font

2. Google Fonts

File: functions.php

• Update the Google Fonts URL to load the client’s chosen fonts
• If the client uses system fonts only, remove the font enqueue function entirely

Note: functions.php is project-only. All framework setup lives in inc/core/bootstrap.php and should never need editing.

3. API keys

File: functions.php

• WAGE_TURNSTILE_SITE_KEY / WAGE_TURNSTILE_SECRET_KEY — Cloudflare Turnstile for form spam prevention (free)

4. SEO data

Page templates: Each template file has a wage_seo_set() call at the top. Update the title, description, and schema for each page.

• front-page.php — update title, description, and LocalBusiness schema (name, phone, email, address)
• All page-*.php templates — update titles and descriptions for the client’s content
• Remove wage_seo_set() from any templates that don’t exist in the new project

Defaults (one-time setup): Set via WP-CLI or in the dashboard:

• wage_seo_defaults option — site_name, separator, default_description, robots
• wage_seo_archives option — taxonomy title templates
• wage_seo_singles option — post type title templates (for blogs, products, etc.)

5. Project components

File: inc/wage-components.php

• wage_trust_strip() — update the icon (raw SVG), headline, and phrases array for the client
• wage_whatsapp_cta() — update the WhatsApp number, heading, and body text. Remove entirely if not needed

6. Site CSS

File: assets/css/site.css

This file contains ALL visual styling. For a new client you can either:

• Restyle from the existing file — update colours, gradients, and brand-specific rgba values
• Start fresh — delete everything and build from browser defaults

Key brand-specific values to find and replace:

• Primary colour rgba variants (hero gradient, badge borders, form focus, footer, trust strip)
• Accent colour rgba variants (aura backdrops, gradient frames)
• Body background rgba (header, mobile nav frosted glass)
• Homepage section styles — these are page-specific and will likely be rebuilt per client

7. Header

File: header.php

• Logo text or <img> logo
• Navigation links — page names and URLs
• Phone number in mobile nav
• meta theme-color value

8. Footer

File: footer.php

• CTA heading and description
• Logo text and tagline
• Footer link columns — page names and URLs
• Social media links
• Company registration number, address, legal text
• Email and phone links

9. Page templates

Directory: theme root (front-page.php, page-*.php)

• Review which pages the client needs — delete unused templates, create new ones
• Update all copy, CTAs, and content
• Remove any test elements (search for <!-- TEST:)

10. Wireframe mode

File: functions.php

• Wireframe mode works out of the box — no changes needed
• Toggle with WAGE_WIREFRAME constant or add ?wf to any URL
• Use wireframe mode for initial layout/copy review with the client before applying brand styling