I’ve released Cornerstone, my first WordPress theme, built for the IndieWeb community. After months of development and testing, it’s now available on GitHub under the GPL v2 licence.

The name reflects a core IndieWeb principle: you own your digital home. Cornerstone is the foundational piece that helps you build that home whilst connecting with the open web.

What Makes It IndieWeb?

The theme passes all IndieWebify.me validation tests with proper microformats2 markup:

• Representative h-card – Your identity is properly marked up with photo, name, URL, and bio
• h-entry markup – Posts include proper author information and metadata
• Syndication links – Cross-posting URLs display with u-syndication classes
• ActivityPub integration – Fediverse likes and boosts appear directly on posts
• Webmentions – Comments from across the web display in threaded conversations

ActivityPub Interactions

One feature I’m particularly pleased with is how the theme displays Fediverse interactions. When someone likes or boosts your post from Mastodon, their avatar appears after your post content:

The theme queries your WordPress database directly to show these interactions without relying on external APIs. Avatars link back to the person’s Fediverse profile.

Built for Simplicity

The design is intentionally minimal:

• Mobile-first responsive layout
• Single-column focus on content
• Clean typography
• Accessible navigation
• Dark mode support (respects system preferences)

Getting Started

To use the theme:

1. Download from GitHub
2. Install the recommended IndieWeb plugins (ActivityPub, Webmentions, IndieAuth, Syndication Links)
3. Configure your author bio and social links
4. Start publishing

The README includes detailed setup instructions.

Why I Built This

This project has been an itch I’ve wanted to scratch for several years, but I never made the time. After configuring my own site’s IndieWeb features years ago, I realised the paid themes I used didn’t properly support IndieWeb tooling. Rather than continue hacking together solutions, I decided to finally build a theme from scratch with IndieWeb principles baked in from the start.

The hesitation was real. Despite being a full-stack web application developer in the past, I haven’t written code professionally since 2013. I worried I’d forgotten too much. So I used Claude.ai to help with the gnarly bits – complex microformats2 markup, database queries for ActivityPub interactions, and debugging CSS conflicts. Having an AI pair programmer made it possible to bridge the gap between what I remembered and what the modern web requires.

The open web needs more options for people who want to own their content whilst participating in federated networks. This theme is my contribution to that effort, made possible by combining old skills with new tools.

What’s Next

I’m planning future enhancements:

• Dark mode toggle (currently auto-detects system preferences)
• Social media icons in author bio (currently shows URLs)
• Additional customisation options

If you use the theme, I’d appreciate feedback via GitHub issues.

#indienews