Today we’re releasing STS Starter 1.0.0, a free WordPress block-theme foundation for developers who want a clean, native place to begin.
STS Starter grew out of a familiar part of our work: every custom website needs a dependable starting point, but that starting point should not decide what the finished site has to become.
We wanted the useful structure we reach for repeatedly—design tokens, templates, template parts, patterns, responsive foundations, and native WordPress editing—without turning the foundation into a finished identity.
Why we built it
Starting from nothing can create unnecessary repetition. Starting from something too opinionated can create a different problem: the project spends its early life undoing decisions it never needed.
STS Starter aims for the useful middle. It provides an understandable foundation, then leaves room for the design, content, and technical choices that belong to the actual project.
That matters to us because the websites we build are not interchangeable. The foundation can be reusable. The finished experience should still belong to the organization and people it serves.
WordPress first
STS Starter is a native WordPress block theme. It uses WordPress templates, template parts, patterns, blocks, Navigation, Search, Comments, the Site Editor, and the normal editing model instead of replacing them with a separate system.
There is no parent theme and no required plugin. Developers can work directly with a small, readable theme architecture and extend it according to the needs of each build.
For editors and clients, everyday content work stays in WordPress. For developers, the architecture remains visible and under their control.
A foundation, not a rulebook
We still use page builders when a project calls for one. STS Starter does not exist to dismiss those tools or pretend that one workflow fits every job.
Page builders stay in the toolbox. STS just owns more of the toolbox now.
The point is choice. A native foundation gives us another capable starting point—one that keeps WordPress itself at the center and lets us add tools because the project needs them, not because the foundation demands them.
What is included
- Native block-theme templates and template parts
- A semantic design-token foundation
- Reusable patterns for common WordPress states
- Responsive Navigation, Search, and Comments support
- Site Editor and translation-ready foundations
- Developer-focused documentation for testing and derivation
Version 1.0.0 is intentionally focused. It is ready to use as a foundation, but it does not try to become a page builder, component library, commerce system, or answer to every WordPress workflow.
Built by STS
Built by STS is where we turn lessons from real work into useful foundations, tools, resources, and ideas. Some projects will become public releases. Others may simply improve how we work. The common thread is purpose: understand the problem, respect the foundation, and build what is actually needed.
STS Starter is our first public product, but it is not the boundary of Built by STS. It is one practical expression of the way we want to create: start with a sound foundation, keep the architecture understandable, and leave room for what comes next.
Download STS Starter 1.0.0
STS Starter is free. The download is direct, with no account, license key, required plugin, parent theme, or required email signup.