Hey folks! Just wanted to share a classic WordPress theme I’ve been working on, built using Pinegrow and the latest Tailwind CSS v4. This project was inspired by @adamslowe excellent WordPress theme course, which he very generously made free on YouTube — big thanks to Adam!
What’s different from the original course?
• Instead of vanilla CSS, I rebuilt the whole theme using Tailwind CSS (v4) and UI blocks from Tailwind UI.
• Skipped the contact form implementation — for most projects, Contact Form 7 or any free form plugin will integrate better and faster.
• CPTs and taxonomies were created directly using functions.php and ChatGPT (faster for me than Pinegrow in this case).
• Custom blocks and layouts are done with Pinegrow’s WordPress features + Tailwind utility classes.
Included Templates:
• 404.html – includes a working search module
• archive-employees.html
• blocks.html – houses reusable blocks (used some on homepage)
• customizer.html
• index.html
• parts.html – partials used throughout theme
• search.html
• single-employee.html
• single.html
• utilities.html – general utility classes/helpers
Menu functionality:
• Responsive nav is working in both desktop and mobile view.
• I couldn’t get submenus working properly yet — gave it my best shot! Anyone who wants to take a look or improve it is totally welcome.
Why it might help others:
If you’re exploring Tailwind + Pinegrow + WordPress and looking for a classic (non-FSE) theme structure, this could be a helpful starting point. Especially if you’re transitioning from traditional theme dev into a utility-first workflow.
For a long time, I used Tiki CMS for which the themes are built using Bootstrap + Smarty templates. Although I like it, creating of content is not great, and I do consider switching to WordPress via org2blog package, allowing me to use Emacs for writing content, along with images, offline and then post to WP site.
I’ve licence for Pinegrow+WP+Tailwind which I haven’t used much, so curious how difficult is to create WP theme using that combo?
I’d be interested if it could help very noob.
Can you very, from your viewpoint, briefly compare the pro/cons of the two?
Would it be possible to build both types with the help of PG?
At first, yes — mostly because Pinegrow’s interface can be a bit overwhelming. But once you get the hang of it (especially by following tutorials), it becomes a powerful tool. A great place to start is Adam Loic’s free YouTube tutorial on building classic WordPress themes. It’s done with vanilla CSS, but it really helps you understand how Pinegrow and WordPress work together.
I’m still learning WordPress myself, and what makes it challenging is that it’s not like drag-and-drop builders. You need to understand how WordPress works under the hood — but the payoff is worth it. Themes built in Pinegrow feel almost native, and once they’re done, they require minimal maintenance. I’ve got themes from years ago still running strong with just a few plugins.
When it comes to classic vs. block (FSE) themes, block themes are clearly the future, but classic themes are still widely used — and supported. Pinegrow is starting to support FSE, but it’s not fully there yet. A lot of people go for a hybrid setup: classic themes with custom Gutenberg blocks. That’s what I’m experimenting with now, and honestly, it’s a good middle ground.
I did hit a few snags with block theme and template parts, and I’m waiting on support for answers, but overall, I find the workflow smooth — especially when combining Pinegrow blocks with wordpress’s template structure done directly inside wordpress.
It would be amazing if Pinegrow offered starter themes for Tailwind v4 ((as they do for Bootstrap (you there?)) both classic and block-style. It feels like that’s the direction they’re heading in anyway.
So yeah — it’s not the easiest path, but it gives you clean, low-maintenance, native Wordpress themes. Totally worth exploring.
