Hello,
I am trying to use the official child theme following the official documentation at https://forum.tagdiv.com/the-child-theme-support-tutorial/
I have downloaded the full Newspaper package and located the official child theme in the /code/ folder. I have placed this folder in my /wp-content/themes/ folder. When attempting to activate this theme, I receive a fatal error on my site:
There has been a critical error on this website. Please check your site admin email inbox for instructions. If you continue to have problems, please try the support forums.
Inspecting error logs, I find this error:
2025/08/06 22:27:18 [error] 53#53: *900 FastCGI sent in stderr: "PHP message: PHP Warning: require_once(/www/kinsta/public/mysite/wp-content/themes/Newspaper-child/blocks/acf-blocks-loader.php): Failed to open stream: No such file or directory in /www/kinsta/public/mysite/wp-content/themes/Newspaper/functions.php on line 644;
It looks like the parent Newsletter theme is looking for files/folders it expects to be in the active theme instead of the template. The child theme should not be required to contain specific files/folders from the parent theme unless the child theme intends to make changes in these files. This causes the child theme to be highly vulnerable to future updates from the parent theme.
When looking at the official child theme documentation you state:
!Important:
Since all of the theme functionality was moved to the tagDiv Standard Pack, the root theme folder is wp-content\plugins\td-standard-pack\Newspaper.
You do not have to place this path in your child theme though. Simply add the files in newspaper-child directly and the system will rewrite files from the above folder.
However, the td-standard-pack is an optional plugin, and I have a few questions:
1.) Does it need to be activated in order for child themes to work?
2.) Is it required to copy the files/folders from this plugin into the child theme folder?
3.) If it was your intention for the child theme to contain these files, why does the official child theme not come with them?
4.) Is the official child theme intended to be broken as-is until these files are added?
Thank you for any help you can provide.
Hi,
Please do like this:
Go to the child theme in the theme package and zip it (ot will become Newspaper-child.zip), then use WordPress to install a new theme by uploading it and select the child theme. This should resolve the problem.
Notice: If you are using an old theme, the new child theme will not work, and if you use a new theme with an old child theme. Ensure that you have the latest theme version, Newspaper 12.7.1, and that the child theme is the current one provided with the theme when you download it from your ThemeForest account.
Thank you!
Hi Calin,
Thank you for your response. The error did not resolve after following your suggestions. These are the steps I took.
– I verified I am using the latest Newspaper theme 12.7.1.
– I removed the child theme folder from wp-content/themes
– I refreshed the themes page in wp-admin to verify the theme was gone.
– I created Newspaper-child.zip from the theme package.
– I installed Newspaper-child.zip by uploading it into the WordPress admin panel. – WordPress said the installation was successful.
– I went back to the themes page and tried to preview the child theme.
– The same error showed.
2025/08/08 21:18:37 [error] 118#118: *1710 FastCGI sent in stderr: "PHP message: PHP Warning: require_once(/www/kinsta/public/mysite/wp-content/themes/Newspaper-child/blocks/acf-blocks-loader.php): Failed to open stream: No such file or directory in /www/kinsta/public/mysite/wp-content/themes/Newspaper/functions.php on line 644;
It is still looking for the /blocks/ folder in the child theme:
PHP message: PHP Fatal error: Uncaught Error: Failed opening required '/www/kinsta/public/mysite/wp-content/themes/Newspaper-child/blocks/acf-blocks-loader.php' (include_path='.:/usr/share/php') in /www/kinsta/public/mysite/wp-content/themes/Newspaper/functions.php:644
Thank you for any help you can provide.
Hi,
When a file is required from the child theme and is also related to ACF (Advanced Custom Fields), which is an external plugin, this indicates a custom implementation. In this case, it appears to be connected to a custom plugin or custom code specifically created for your website.
The file in question, acf-blocks-loader.php, is referenced using a path set within your child theme. However, this file does not exist in our theme, which confirms that it was custom developed likely by someone who previously worked on your site.
Thank you!
Hey Calin,
Yes, a developer modified functions.php of the parent theme and that was the issue. All modifications have been moved to the child theme and the child theme functions. Thank you for your help.
