Uncovering the Best Underscores.me Alternatives for Your WordPress Theme Development

Underscores.me, also known as _s, has long been a go-to starter theme for WordPress developers. Described as a "theme meant for hacking," _s provides an ultra-minimal CSS foundation, giving developers a clean slate to build the next awesome WordPress theme. While its simplicity is a significant advantage, developers sometimes look for an Underscores.me alternative that offers more integrated features, different development workflows, or a steeper learning curve to accelerate their projects. This post explores top alternatives that can help you achieve a 1000-hour head start on your next WordPress masterpiece.

Top Underscores.me Alternatives

Whether you're seeking a more opinionated structure, a specific front-end framework integration, or enhanced development tools, these alternatives provide compelling options for your WordPress theme development journey.

JointsWP

JointsWP is an excellent open-source, self-hosted WordPress theme alternative to Underscores.me, built with Foundation 6. It offers a robust and flexible framework for constructing complex, mobile-friendly websites. Unlike the barebones approach of _s, JointsWP provides a more structured starting point with Foundation's powerful grid system and components, making it ideal for developers who want to leverage a comprehensive front-end framework directly within their theme development.

Sage (WordPress starter theme)

Sage is a powerful open-source WordPress starter theme that significantly enhances the development workflow, making it a compelling Underscores.me alternative. It integrates modern development tools such as Blade as a templating engine, Browsersync for synchronized browser testing, and Webpack for asset compilation and optimization. Sage also offers optional CSS frameworks like Bootstrap 4 or Bulma and supports modern JavaScript and Sass for stylesheets, providing a more opinionated and feature-rich environment for building better themes faster.

HTML5 Blank

HTML5 Blank is another strong open-source, self-hosted WordPress theme alternative to Underscores.me. It focuses on providing a very minimal markup with extremely neat and easy-to-read code, similar to _s. However, HTML5 Blank distinguishes itself with annotated support throughout its code, offering basic and advanced functions out-of-the-box. This makes it an excellent choice for developers who appreciate _s's minimalist approach but desire more guided support and pre-included essential functions to streamline their theme creation process.

Ultimately, the best Underscores.me alternative for your project depends on your specific needs, desired workflow, and comfort level with different development tools and frameworks. Explore these options to find the perfect fit that empowers you to build exceptional WordPress themes efficiently.