WordPress Structure Validator

Comprehensive validation tool for WordPress Full Site Editing (FSE) themes.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill to validate WordPress site structure in these scenarios:

• After creating or modifying WordPress templates
• Before deploying to production
• When diagnosing structural issues
• During quality audits or code reviews
• After content migration
• When onboarding to an existing WordPress project

What This Skill Validates

1. Template Hierarchy

   • Correct template naming conventions
   • Required templates present (index.html minimum)
   • Template associations with pages
   • Orphaned templates detection

2. Theme Configuration

   • theme.json syntax and structure
   • Color palette definitions
   • Typography settings
   • Spacing scale

3. Block Styles

   • Registered block styles in functions.php
   • CSS/inline-style definitions
   • Naming conventions
   • Unused styles detection

4. Content Structure

   • Featured images defined for all pages
   • Page associations with templates
   • Homepage configuration (front_page_id)
   • Template assignments via _wp_page_template metakey

5. File Permissions (Docker/VPS context)

   • Theme files owned by www-data:www-data
   • Correct permissions (644 for files, 755 for directories)
   • Writable uploads directory

6. UpdraftPlus Backup Configuration

   • Plugin installed and activated
   • FS_METHOD set to 'direct' in wp-config.php
   • Backup directory permissions (775, www-data:www-data)
   • Write access verification
   • Backup schedule configuration
   • Remote storage setup

Validation Workflow

Step 1: Template Validation

Run the template validator script:

bash scripts/validate_templates.sh <theme-path>

This checks:

• index.html presence (required)
• Template naming conventions (page-{slug}.html, single-{type}.html)
• WordPress block syntax ()
• Unclosed blocks

See references/wordpress-template-hierarchy.md for complete hierarchy documentation.

Step 2: Theme.json Validation

Validate the theme configuration:

python scripts/check_theme_json.py <path/to/theme.json>

Validates:

• JSON syntax
• Required fields (version, settings)
• Color palette structure
• Typography definitions
• Spacing scale

Step 3: Block Styles Validation

Check functions.php for registered block styles:

bash scripts/check_block_styles.sh <theme-path>

Detects:

• Registered block styles
• Inline CSS definitions
• Orphaned styles (registered but not used)
• Naming convention compliance

Step 4: Content & Database Checks

For WordPress installations, verify page associations:

# Check pages without featured images
wp post list --post_type=page --format=json --allow-root | jq '.[] | select(.featured_image == null)'

# Check template assignments
wp db query "SELECT p.ID, p.post_title, pm.meta_value as template FROM wp_posts p LEFT JOIN wp_postmeta pm ON p.ID = pm.post_id AND pm.meta_key = '_wp_page_template' WHERE p.post_type = 'page' AND p.post_status = 'publish';" --allow-root

Step 5: File Permissions Check (Docker)

For Docker/VPS deployments:

# Check theme files ownership
docker exec <container> ls -la /var/www/html/wp-content/themes/<theme-name>/

# Fix permissions if needed
docker exec <container> chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html/wp-content/themes/<theme-name>/
docker exec <container> find /var/www/html/wp-content/themes/<theme-name>/ -type f -exec chmod 644 {} \;
docker exec <container> find /var/www/html/wp-content/themes/<theme-name>/ -type d -exec chmod 755 {} \;

Step 6: UpdraftPlus Backup Check

Validate backup plugin configuration:

bash scripts/check_updraftplus.sh <container-name>

Checks:

• UpdraftPlus installation and activation
• FS_METHOD configuration in wp-config.php
• Backup directory permissions
• Write access test
• Backup schedule and remote storage

Common Issues Fixed:

• Missing FS_METHOD → WordPress asks for FTP credentials
• Wrong permissions → Backups fail silently
• No remote storage → Backups lost if server fails

Step 7: Generate Report

Use the report template to document findings:

cp assets/validation-report-template.md validation-report-$(date +%Y%m%d).md
# Edit with validation results

Best Practices Checked

Refer to references/fse-best-practices.md for complete guidelines. Key checks include:

1. Templates

   • Homepage uses front-page.html or page-{slug}.html (not generic page.html)
   • Minimum required: index.html (fallback)
   • No Featured Image in homepage template if content already includes one

2. Theme.json

   • Valid JSON schema (WordPress version 2 or 3)
   • Complete color palette with semantic names
   • Contrast ratios meet WCAG AA (4.5:1 minimum)

3. Block Styles

   • Registered in functions.php with register_block_style()
   • Clear, semantic naming (e.g., 'violet-title', 'hero-section')
   • Inline styles for simple CSS, separate files for complex styles

4. Content

   • All pages have Featured Images (SEO/social sharing)
   • Homepage properly configured (Settings > Reading)
   • No orphaned pages or templates

5. File Organization

   • CSS in assets/css/
   • JavaScript in assets/js/
   • Templates in templates/
   • Template parts in parts/

Common Issues & Fixes

Issue: "index.html missing"

Fix: Create minimal fallback template:

<!-- wp:template-part {"slug":"header"} /-->
<!-- wp:group {"tagName":"main"} -->
<main class="wp-block-group">
    <!-- wp:post-content /-->
</main>
<!-- /wp:group -->
<!-- wp:template-part {"slug":"footer"} /-->

Issue: "theme.json invalid"

Fix: Validate JSON syntax with jsonlint or use WordPress schema validator.

Issue: "Featured Image not set"

Fix:

# Set featured image for page
wp post meta update <page-id> _thumbnail_id <image-id> --allow-root

Issue: "Permission denied on uploads"

Fix:

docker exec <container> chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html/wp-content/uploads/
docker exec <container> chmod -R 755 /var/www/html/wp-content/uploads/

Output & Reporting

After validation, the skill generates a markdown report (validation-report-YYYYMMDD.md) containing:

• Summary of validations (passed/warnings/errors)
• Detailed findings by category
• List of templates found
• Recommendations for fixes
• Links to relevant documentation

See assets/validation-report-template.md for the report format.

References

• references/wordpress-template-hierarchy.md - Complete WordPress template hierarchy
• references/fse-best-practices.md - FSE development best practices

Scripts

• scripts/validate_templates.sh - Template structure validator
• scripts/check_theme_json.py - Theme.json validator
• scripts/check_block_styles.sh - Block styles analyzer