As web designers, it goes against our nature to restrict access to our code. We're taught to maximize compatibility of our websites and strive for backwards compatibility wherever possible; to create progressively enhanced and gracefully degrading sites. If we can make it work on IE1, that's no bad thing… The problem, at least for WordPress developers, is that WordPress is a monster; it will swallow you and your lovely little project...

After a few years (or even months) of designing and developing WordPress themes, especially for clients, you start to realize that a lot of the functionality can be standardized or distilled down into a "starter theme or kit". This helps get the development process started and moving along apace. The best first step in doing this, I've found, is to nail down most of the common functions and include them in the functions.php. This functions.php...