Sass file structure in WordPress

Introduction

There are many ways people choose to create their Sass file structure, and it’s usually dependent on the environment the developer is comfortable with (Ruby,etc). Because I primarily work with WordPress, I thought it made sense to use a similar Sass file structure as is used in WordPress themes. In my root sass folder, I only have one Sass source file, which imports all of my other files and serves as a primary entry point. Here’s my file structure:

- **stylesheet.scss**
- vendor/
- general/
	- _general.scss
	- _grid-settings.scss
	- _typography.scss
	- _variables.scss
- layout/
	- header.scss
	- index.scss
	- footer.scss
	- page.scss
	- single.scss
	- archives.scss
- media/
	- 1666.scss
	- 1200.scss
	- 1000.scss
	- 500.scss

The folder structure is pretty self-explanitory, but here’s the rundown: Vendor - this holds any vendor Sass files. I’m currently using Bourbon and Neat to help create my scaffolding, so my file structure looks like this: - Vendor/ - Bourbon/ - Bourbon source files…

  • Neat/ - Neat source files…

General - this folder is where I primarily work. It houses my CSS media query files under the Media folder, and my WP-centric layout CSS under the Layout folder. Any CSS that doesn’t fit within these two guidelines is underscored in the General folder, and primarily deals with extremely high-level CSS and / or general use mixins or variables that will be used in the Media / Layout folder files. I really like this setup, because I can set up my Stylesheet.scss (main entry point, remember?) to import everything just like a typical WordPress theme:

  • first, import variables, vendor-specific mixins, resets, etc. which all kind of acts as a CSS version of functions.php.
  • next, import the header
  • now, the index
  • now the archives, pages, and single posts
  • finally the footer
  • don’t forget your media queries!

This setup makes it extremely easy change layouts quickly, adding colors or developing new custom page / post types: simply add a new module, include it in the stylesheet.scss, and you’re set. There’s more than one way to skin a cat, though, and this is only my recommendation. Regardless of which file structure you decide to land on, however, take one piece of my advice as gospel: developing a modular CSS workflow now will save you a lot of headaches in the future. For modular CSS design recommendations, I suggest studying popular grid frameworks such as Twitter Bootstrap, or reading Scalable and Modular Architecture for CSS by Jonathan Snook.