Add to Chrome — first conversion freeWhy this conversion is different
Bootstrap templates are everywhere: they are the default starting point for agency landing pages, admin dashboards and thousands of ThemeForest HTML templates. Getting one into WordPress by hand means recreating the container/row/col structure inside PHP templates and re-enqueuing bootstrap.min.css and bootstrap.bundle.min.js correctly.
The tricky part is that Bootstrap's look depends on both its own stylesheet and any Sass overrides you compiled on top of it. A conversion that copies only the HTML loses those overrides. Reading the computed styles from the rendered page keeps the compiled result — your brand colours, your spacing scale, your customised component variants.
Bootstrap JS components have state. A collapsed navbar, an open accordion item or a hidden modal each render differently. Set the page to the state you want shipped before you capture.
How it works, step by step
1. Serve the compiled Bootstrap build
Compile your Sass first if you customised variables, then open the built page over http://, not file://. Bootstrap's JS bundle must be able to load or interactive components will not initialise.
2. Set component state, then capture
Close modals, collapse the mobile menu, choose the tab you want visible by default, and scroll so carousels and scrollspy sections have run. Then click Generate theme in the Themify popup.
3. Install and re-test the breakpoints
Upload the .zip in Appearance → Themes → Add New → Upload Theme, activate, then resize the browser to confirm the sm/md/lg/xl breakpoints behave as they did on the original.
What gets converted — and what doesn't
Converted
- The full 12-column grid: containers, rows, columns and gutters
- Bootstrap's responsive breakpoints and every media query in your build
- Compiled Sass customisations — brand colours, spacing, typography overrides
- Components as rendered: navbar, cards, buttons, badges, alerts, forms, footers
- Icon fonts and SVG icon sets used on the page
- Hover states, transitions and CSS animations
Not converted
- JavaScript-driven behaviour of Bootstrap widgets (a modal is captured in one state, not as a working modal)
- Server-rendered content from a backend behind the template
- Data-bs-* behaviour that depends on the Bootstrap JS bundle being re-added by you afterwards
- Contact forms, which need a WordPress form plugin
A real example
Before
A Bootstrap 5 agency template with a sticky navbar, a hero carousel, a three-column pricing grid and a contact section.
After
A WordPress theme reproducing the same layout at every breakpoint, with the compiled Bootstrap CSS and custom overrides applied, images and icon fonts bundled into /assets.
The page is captured with the navbar in its default state and the carousel on its first slide; the pricing grid keeps its column behaviour because the media queries travel with the stylesheet.
Benefits
- Skips the tedious re-templating of container/row/col markup into PHP
- Sass overrides survive, because the compiled output is what gets read
- Responsive behaviour is preserved rather than reimplemented
- One free conversion so you can test a template before committing
Limits to know before you start
- Interactive Bootstrap widgets ship as static, styled markup unless you re-add the JS bundle
- Multi-state components need one capture per state if you want variants
- Templates with heavy runtime data loading need WordPress-side content afterwards
Frequently asked questions
Can I convert a Bootstrap template to a WordPress theme?
Yes. Serve the compiled template in Chrome and capture it with Themify. The grid, components and your Sass customisations come across because the conversion reads the styles the browser actually applied.
Do Bootstrap modals and dropdowns still work after conversion?
They are captured in the state they were in at capture time. To make them interactive again, re-enqueue the Bootstrap JS bundle in the generated theme — the markup and data attributes are already there.
Is the responsive grid preserved?
Yes. Bootstrap's breakpoints live in the stylesheet, and the stylesheet is captured, so sm/md/lg/xl behave the same after installation.
Which Bootstrap versions work?
Any of them. The conversion looks at rendered output, not at the framework version, so Bootstrap 3, 4 and 5 builds all convert the same way.