Experimental themes are themes that may not fit under the current theme requirements but have exceptional code quality and a unique idea and / or niche.
The theme directory has always welcomed special case themes, but the process has not been well known.
The team would now like to officially call for experimental themes. So show us your best, funniest and weirdest!
Communication is key:
To be able to submit a special case theme, you need to present your idea and the theme itself to the Themes team before you submit your theme.
You can leave a comment on this post or reach out in the #themereview Slack channel.
If we love our idea, you will be allowed to submit a blank theme (that passes the checks made by the uploader). The moderators will perform some magic in the admin area of the directory, and will let you know when you can submit the experimental theme.
The theme will be placed in the same review queue as the other themes but will be reviewed by the moderators.
Examples of special case themes:
Themes using the WordPress REST API.
JavaScript based themes.
Exceptional block based themes (full site editing).
Exceptional niche themes.
Something hilarious.
What is not a special case theme:
Themes that only include a custom post type like portfolio, testimonials and similar that are already well covered by plugins.
Basic one page themes or basic multipurpose themes without a particular niche.
A theme submitted only to avoid specific requirements, but without a real purpose.
Requirements
Be 100% GPL compatible, be secure, no PHP or JS errors, no obtrusive upsell. Only one theme by the same author can be submitted to the queue at the time.