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Using Wordpress Theme customizer or not?

I’m trying to create my own theme for a multisite WP and I stumble upon the following issue regarding the customization of the theme (via the admin).

Overview

  • I own three websites on the same multisite,
  • I want to use the one theme for my three websites,
  • I want my user to be able to customized said theme (per domain) as they see fit,
  • Those options should be build-in in the theme.

There will be enough options for my websites to look entirely differents.

Use case

In the admin I want my user to be able to do lots of things:

1 | Classical actions

  • Change logos (regular and retina)
  • Change favicon

2 | Components

In the design, we’ll have multiple versions of one components. Meaning that I’m giving a choice to my user, such as:

Do you want to display header option 1, option 2 or option 3 ?

Would you want this CTA to look like option 1, option 2, or option 3 ?

You get the gist of it and this will also be applied to footers, shortcodes, etc.

Styling & Colors

  • Theme style: fullwidth version of the theme, centered...
  • Header, Body and footer's colors (background, text, links…)
  • etc.

I wanted to clarify the context before asking my question, I hope it’s clear for you.

The question

Is it better to use Wordpress Theme Customizer OR to create my own custom theme section in the admin ?

And most importantly, why ?

I found out few articles about this matter and my understanding of the Customizer, is that it is convenient because:

  • Options are all in one place
  • Live preview
  • Documentation

But I also saw a lot of premium themes with custom section, which seems more user-friendly, there’s more space for the interface, tabs...

Can you give me your take on this ? I don't want to start my developpement without any clue. If you have articles on this subject I would be grateful !

Thanks in advance.

Solution

  • If (like you said in the Use Case) you want your users to change logos and favicons, while also changing header, body and footer's colors. I would advise you to create your own custom theme section in the admin. It is more convenient and you have the freedom to give the user the choices you desire.