Undrar du vad du bör göra innan du byter WordPress themes?
När du byter ditt WordPress theme finns det några mycket viktiga steg som du måste ta för att säkerställa att processen går smidigt och att du inte förlorar några viktiga data.
Vi har arbetat med otaliga webbplatser och bytt teman utan problem, så vi vet en sak eller två om hur man gör det på rätt sätt.
I denna WordPress checklista delar vi med oss av de saker som du högst upp måste göra innan du byter WordPress themes.
Editor’s Note: Om du letar efter steg-för-steg-instruktioner om hur du byter themes, vänligen se vår guide för nybörjare om hur du byter WordPress theme på rätt sätt.
Att byta tema är ett viktigt beslut som varje ägare av en website fattar åtminstone en gång vartannat år.
Självklart måste du bestämma dig för din motivering till varför du byter och välja ett theme som passar all dina behov.
Vi har en lista över de bästa WordPress multi-purpose themes och bästa WordPress blogg themes som du kan kontrollera om du letar efter rekommendationer.
När du har valt det theme som du vill byta till är det viktigt att du följer checklistan under för att säkerställa att du inte förlorar något content eller data under processen.
1. Obs/observera alla WordPress Theme Customizations
Vissa WordPress-webbplatsägare kommer att customize sina WordPress-teman genom att lägga till code snippets direkt till sina temafiler. Code snippets kan vara ett bra sätt att add new funktioner till din website som inte ingår i standardtemat.
Men om du addar dessa snippets direkt till dina theme-filer kan det vara lätt att tappa bort dem.
Om du eller en webbutvecklare gjorde dessa ändringar, se till att du går igenom dina aktuella theme-filer och noterar all extra kod som har lagts till.
För att lägga till code snippets i framtiden rekommenderar vi alltid att du använder ett code snippets plugin som WPCode. På så sätt kan du behålla dessa snippets även om du byter themes senare.
Mer detaljer finns i vår guide för nybörjare om hur du klistrar in snippor från webben i WordPress.
2. Få aktuella metrics för WordPress Theme Performance
Innan du byter theme bör du kontrollera din nuvarande websites laddningshastighet och prestanda. Detta gör att du kan jämföra eventuella skillnader i sidans laddningstid efter att du byter themes.
Eftersom WordPress hastighet och prestanda spelar en viktig roll i användarupplevelsen och WordPress sökmotorsoptimering, måste du se till att det nya temat är snabbare än det du använder nu.
Du kan enkelt kontrollera din nuvarande webbplats hastighet metrics med hjälp av en WordPress hastighetstestverktyg som IsItWP: s gratis webbplats hastighetstestverktyg.
Mer detaljer finns i vår guide om hur du run testar hastigheten på en website.
3. Obs/observera nuvarande temas sidebars och widgetar areas
Sidebars används för att lägga till olika widgetar på din website, gillar formulär för prenumeration av nyhetsbrev, knappar på sociala media, populära posts och mycket mer.
Eftersom alla teman har olika area för widgetar kan dina widgetar oväntat flytta sig eller försvinna från din site om du byter theme.
Det är därför det är viktigt att du obs/observerar vilka widgetar du använder i dina sidebar i WordPress och andra widget-områden på din website innan du byter theme. Då kan du enkelt replikera dem efter bytet.
Om du har add to någon custom code eller shortcodes, se då till att kopiera denna kod och save den på ett säkert ställe så att du kan använda den med ditt new theme.
4. Kopiera befintliga tracking-koder för WordPress
Många användare kommer att add to analytics tracking code direkt till sina theme-filer. Some WordPress themes also allow you to add tracking codes directly into your theme options panel.
Det är ett vanligt misstag att förbise dessa viktiga tracking-koder.
Du måste se till att du kopierar alla dina webbplatsspårningskoder som du använder för analys, Advertising med mera, så att du kan add to dem till din nya website.
Om du vill göra det enkelt för dig själv rekommenderar vi att du använder ett plugin som gillar MonsterInsights för att installera Google Analytics i WordPress.
Genom att använda MonsterInsights kan du vara säker på att det inte kommer att bli några avbrott i din analys eller förlorade data. Du kommer också att låsa upp bonusspårning som gillar spårning av linklick och knappklick, WordPress kategori- och tagganalys, författarspårning och mycket mer.
För alla andra tracking-koder kan du använda det gratis tillägget WPCode. För mer details, se vår guide om hur du lägger till header- och footer-kod i WordPress.
5. Säkerhetskopiera din nuvarande website i WordPress
Det är alltid en bra idé att säkerhetskopiera din website med jämna mellanrum. Innan du byter theme bör du säkerhetskopiera dina posts, pages, plugins, media och databaser.
Det enklaste sättet att göra detta är att använda ett WordPress backup plugin för att skapa en backup av hela din site.
Vi rekommenderar att du använder tillägget Duplicator. Det allow you att enkelt skapa automatiserade, tidsinställda backups och save dem på molnlagringstjänster som Dropbox, Google Drive, med mera.
Det finns också en gratis version av Duplicator för att få dig att komma igång. För mer detaljer, se den här guiden om hur du gör backup på en site i WordPress.
Detta hjälper dig att se till att du enkelt kan återskapa din website om något går fel när du byter themes.
6. Sätt din WordPress site i underhållsläge
När du gör ändringar på din site är det alltid en bra idé att sätta den i underhållsläge. Maintenance mode gör att du kan displayed ett användarvänligt notice till dina visitors.
På så sätt undviker du att dina visitors ser din website när den är halvfärdig eller under uppbyggnad.
För att göra detta rekommenderar vi att du använder SeedProd plugin. Det är den bästa drag and drop WordPress page builder som används av över 1 miljon websites.
Det låter dig enkelt skapa custom underhållslägesidor, landing pages, coming soon pages, 404 pages och mer.
För mer detaljer, se vår guide om hur du sätter din WordPress site i underhållsläge.
7. Testa all funktionalitet och installerade tillägg till WordPress
När du har aktiverat ett nytt tema för WordPress måste du se till att du har samma funktionalitet som tidigare och att alla dina gamla tillägg fungerar med ditt nya tema.
Du kan börja med att lägga tillbaka de code snippets som du kopierade från dina gamla WordPress theme-filer. Mer detaljer finns i vår guide för nybörjare om hur du klistrar in code snippets i WordPress.
Lägg sedan lite tid på att använda de funktioner på din site som drivs av tillägg till WordPress. Om du upplever några error i det här läget, se vår guide för nybörjare om felsökning av WordPress-fel.
8. Testa new WordPress Theme i olika webbläsare och på olika devices
Cross-browser testing hjälper you att se till att din new website ser bra ut på olika webbläsare, skärmstorlekar, operativsystem och mobila devices.
De flesta av dina besökare kommer förmodligen att använda Google Chrome för att besöka din WordPress blogg. Men andra web browsers som Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Safari med flera används fortfarande av hundratals miljoner användare över hela världen.
Om din new website inte fungerar i någon av dessa webbläsare går du miste om besökare och trafik.
Som tur är kan du använda allsköns tools för cross-browser testing för att se hur din website ser ut i olika webbläsare och på olika devices.
För mer detaljer, se vår guide om hur du testar en WordPress site i olika webbläsare.
9. Delete WordPress tillägg som du inte längre behöver
Vissa teman i WordPress förinstallerar tillägg när du installerar temat. Vissa av dessa kan vara användbara, men andra gånger behöver du dem inte.
Gå bara till Plugins ” Installed Plugins för att se om your theme har lagt till några nya plugins.
Nu är också en bra tid att gå igenom hela din lista över tillägg för att se om några plugins är värda att borttages.
Om du letar efter högkvalitativa tillägg att använda med ditt new theme, se våra val av de permanentaktiverade tilläggen till WordPress.
10. Låt dina användare veta att din nya website är Live
När du är redo att ta ditt new theme för WordPress i drift kan du stänga av underhållsläget.
You should also get contact with your läsare to tell them about your new website. Detta kommer att förbereda din publik så att de inte blir förvirrade av några stora designförändringar, och det kommer också att bidra till att hålla dina prenumeranter engagerade och återvända till din webbplats för att se den nya designen.
Här är ett exempel på ett inlägg som vi delade på Facebook om vår nya webbplats.
Vi rekommenderar att du aviserar din publik via ditt nyhetsbrev via e-post, sociala media och push notifications.
Om du letar efter fler sätt att främja din site kan du läsa vår guide om hur du delar dina blogginlägg med läsarna.
11. Testa hämtarhastigheter för ditt new theme i WordPress
När ditt nya theme är live och du har gått igenom stegen ovan är det dags att göra ett nytt hastighetstest. Idealiskt sett kommer din new website att vara snabbare och få bättre poäng på ditt hastighetstest.
För att göra detta använder du helt enkelt samma website speed tool som you använde tidigare och jämför resultaten.
Om det nya temat är långsammare än ditt gamla tema, se till att du run flera tester, testa från olika area och kontrollera om du har några inställningar för caching eller firewall som kan orsaka dip.
12. Övervaka bounce rate på din website i WordPress
Avvisningsfrekvensen är den procentandel av besökarna som landar på din website och lämnar den utan att gå vidare till en andra page. En hög avvisningsfrekvens innebär att du inte lyckades övertyga din visitor att stanna kvar på din site tillräckligt länge för att vidta action.
När du har bytt themes är det viktigt att övervaka din avvisningsfrekvens. Vissa teman är helt enkelt vänligare när det gäller att hjälpa besökare att navigera runt på din site.
Om din avvisningsfrekvens har gått upp sedan du bytte theme, vill du arbeta för att sänka den. Du kan göra detta genom att förbättra dina navigation menyer, lägga till en populära inlägg widget, lägga till fler interna länkar, och mer.
För mer detaljer, se vår guide om hur du ökar sidvisningar och minskar avvisningsfrekvensen i WordPress.
13. Lyssna på återkoppling från läsare för att förbättra din website i WordPress
Slutligen är det viktigt att du lyssnar på läsarnas återkoppling när du byter till ett new theme. Vissa Läsare kanske älskar eller hatar vissa delar av din design.
You behöver inte lyssna på alla läsare och göra de ändringar som de föreslår. Men om det finns en grupp läsare som upplever samma issue, då är det förmodligen värt att titta närmare på.
Du kan samla in återkoppling från besökarna genom att lägga till ett kontaktformulär på din website eller genom att runna en undersökning där du ber läsarna om återkoppling på din new design.
Det enklaste sättet att göra detta är genom att använda WPForms. Det är det bästa WordPress-enkätpluginet på marknaden som används av över 6 miljoner webbplatser.
Det låter dig enkelt skapa engagerande undersökningsformulär med drag and drop-byggaren.
Dessutom skapar reporting section automatiskt beautiful reports för att hjälpa dig att analysera dina resultat.
För mer detaljer, se vår guide om hur du skapar en undersökning i WordPress.
Vi hoppas att den här artikeln hjälpte dig att lära dig exakt vad du bör göra innan du byter WordPress themes. You may also want to see our list of best WordPress themes for fashion blogs and how to customize your WordPress theme.
If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.
ArParvez
hey, iam using supernews theme by acmethemes. its good but i cant find page option it only show older post to go next page. i have used wp pagenavi plugin but it same. it dont show pages number. pls give me a solution, or tell about a good newspaper theme
Enka Wardana
thanks for a good news!!!
William
I changed themes and there seems to be some code from my previous theme in some of my posts on the new theme. Is there a way to delete or suppress all of the previous theme editor codes across the board or do they have to be done manually?
WPBeginner Support
If by code you mean shortcodes, then yes you can hide them. See our guide on how to find and remove unused shortcodes from WordPress posts
Administratör
Michael Echekoba
Hi WPBeginner Support
I have just updated my theme and failed all the rules you suggested.
Everything seem to work but I can only view coming soon pages on other computer.
What do I need to twick?
Michael
Michael Echekoba
Hi
I have just updated my theme and failed all the rules you suggested.
Everything seem to work but I can only view coming soon pages on other computer.
What do I need to twick?
WPBeginner Support
Seems like you fixed it yourself.
Administratör
Laurie
I was getting the 500 error message. Your advice on removing plugins and slowly adding them back was a great help. I have used those plugins for a long time but maybe they do not like my new theme. Thanks for the help.
WPBeginner Support
Glad you found it helpful
Administratör
DAWOOD
WPB Support,
How to remove plugins as I have 500 error message and cannot customize WordPress.
Thanks
WPBeginner Support
Hi Dawood,
Please see our guide on how to deactivate all WordPress plugins via FTP.
Tzachi
Hi there
First of all, great post.
I’m looking for a theme that can support 2 writers, do you know a theme that can give this use?
Thanks
Tzachi – His side her side
WPBeginner Support
All good WordPress themes support multiple authors.
Administratör
Jaswinder
I am using Spacious free theme for my Niche Blog-Ease Bedding. But now I am planning to change theme to pro.
Is it going to effect my site or not?
Ahmed LAHMAR
Thank you for sharing those valuable tips with us. Migration from a wordpress theme to another is not as easy as one might think espcially when it comes to complicated themes that require certain skills.
It took me one week to migrate to my current theme and those are the steps i followed:
1- backing up database and files (wp-content folder).
2- importing the database and the files to a localhost to explore the new theme.
3- restoring backup after making necessary changes to the server.
Duan Le
Very helpful for me, I am preparing to change new theme. Thanks!
Sarah
Hi,
I am considering temporarily changing theme as my theme (free theme Virtue) for whatever reason doesn’t give access to the header or footers and I need to add some code to have my site verified. I have tried everything – also uploading the file using filezilla and that was also rejected! I would rather not change theme if I can avoid it as I like a lot about Virtue – but can you tell me what the effects of changing theme temporarily and then changing it back – (of course, I would back everything up) but would it cause an issue for the site to change, put in the code – get verified and then change back – or would I find a lot of things changed when I get back!?!?
Thanks,
Sarah
WPBeginner Support
Instead of switching themes you can try using Insert Headers and Footers plugin. It allows you to add code to your site’s header without modifying your WordPress theme.
Administratör
stephanev
Hi, i cannot see the Theme that I activate. It shows another menu and layout. Is there a change to make, something to select or deselect on the Page section? widget? Menu?
Thanks for the help
rebekah
i don’t get it can someone tell me some other way i am new to wordpress?
Steve
Great article. Thanks for list.
I’m a total beginner in coding and Wordpress. My current Wordpress site (non-responsive and Genesis Prose theme) was done by a developer (no longer use him). I find that Genesis is too hard for me. Now I want to change the theme something that is easy for me to install and update without an experienced web developer, maybe like GeneratePress. If I change theme, will I lose all my Google search indexing that I’ve accumulated over the years?
Thank you again.
WPBeginner Support
Switching to any standard compliant WordPress theme should not affect your search rankings. However make sure you follow the checklist above. You may also want to follow instructions in our tutorial on how to update a WordPress theme without losing customization.
Administratör
Karen
Hi Thanks for the article. I have a word press zerif-pro theme ”shared on wix-theme. I have had alot of people tell me they can’t open my website on there iPhone and I am wondering if this is a server compatibility problem. I also have run into problems with not being able to carry out automated deliveries through my PayPal plugin on the site even though I have filled it all in correctly. I was told to take it out of the wix theme and buy it directly to possibly fix these issues. Have you heard anything like this before? Plus how would one take it out of wix theme and just pay for the premium site? I had some one from fiverr do it for me originally . Thanks for your time and your site!!
barun
Sir I am facing a problem with my self hosted WordPress site that I kept my website in maintenance mode for few weeks to change my theme…. My site is fully approved by Google adsense… But now after deactivating maintenance mode, my adsense ads are not showing… I thought it may take some time so placed the ad on side bar…. But after 2 days, it still not showing any ads…. I am a newbie to blogging so please help me out…
WPBeginner Support
Please refer to the troubleshooting section in Adsense support website. You may want to test if the Google Adsense bot can crawl your website. You may also want to check your site in webmaster tools to make sure that Google crawlers can crawl and index your website.
Administratör
ahmet lika
Hello,i costumized my theme i af posts and i putted the ad code in my header,then i clicked get starting on godaddy settings,i pressed personal website and then i choosed a theme there,then it shows ”your websitr is under construction” then all my posts were gone and i think my ad code is gone too,what ca i do?
WPBeginner Support
Please contact godaddy support.
Administratör
vicky
hey bro i just changed my theme from (SETRA) to (SCHEMA) why did i lost my visitors? there were 550 to 650 regular but now i jxt have 160 visitors?? plz help how do i go back and bring my visitors?
Srimoyi Kundu
I really love this website. It offers so much helpful guide for anyone working in wordpress. I never used anything such as maintenance mode, I am going to use it now onwards. Thanks
Nadya
I cannot agree more. The site is extremely useful.
Thank you very much!
Logan Cale
You can do this using the htaccess file, and customize it with a simple webpage/background image.
WPBeginner Staff
First make sure to backup your complete WordPress site. Then switch your WordPress theme and see how it affects you. If your specific image size is lost then you can add it to your new theme.
Maria
Great article! I’m thinking to change my theme but I have a a question: What happens with my blog posts images if I change theme? Mine have a specific size at the moment. Should I change each of them?? Thanks!
Husain Ahmmed
Thanks It’s a great information
Madhav
Hi,
My biggest concern is losing the Yoast SEO data after migrating to a new theme. Since the interface in the new theme is going to be so very different than my current theme, I think I’ll have to manually re-publish my pages in the new theme keeping in mind that the new pages retain their old ”SEO Title” and ”Meta Description”.
Whats your take on it??
Thanks a lot!!!
Prem
Hi I have changed the my website theme 2 days back.. My theme is not getting loded properly when i search from Internet.. But when i login to wordpress and see everything is looking fine.. how to resolve this isue
Tor Ivan Boine
nice checklist.
But, what should I do so I dont loose the facebook and google+ likes and plusses? Is it enough to copy the code i wrote in the header?
Julie Parker
Hello,
We are currently using Classifier on our community based site and after a trial run are considering switching to FacePress…any idea how time intensive this switch could be? And would it require a shut down of the current site for longer than your suggested 20-30 minutes to implement the change?
WPBeginner Support
We would recommend creating an staging environment on your localserver first. Once you know what needs changing you can export those settings (Depends if the theme has theme settings export/import feature) or make a list of changes to implement. The actual time may vary. Each site is different and you may come across an issue that would require more time in fixing.
Administratör
Imran Faisal
I am beginner and I have already install WORDPRESS using XAMPP/localhost. Now I have a question about wordpress Footer…. If i change the copyright section or powered by section of any WORDPRESS theme. Is that OK ?
WPBeginner Support
Yes, it is OK to remove them.
Administratör
abdulazizansari18
Really Fantastic Post,
Maddy
Hi,
I have just registered with hostgator and have changed my theme to Hiero. However, I can see the changed theme only when logged in as admin. Otherwise, its just the old Twenty Twelve theme.
Please advise
Thanks!!
WPBeginner Support
You probably have a caching plugin like ”WP Super Cache” or ”W3 Total Cache” installed on your website. If this is the case, then you will need to disable the caching plugin and then visit your website. You can reactivate the plugin later.
Administratör
Tali
Hi,
I am wanting to change from the Modernise template that has a child theme to the Advocate template. Is this as simple as just changing the template? Do I have to disable the child theme? Create new child theme? All I really want to retain is all the content, and a couple forms. Any help appreciated!!
Many thanks!!
WPBeginner Support
Changing themes is not supposed to affect your site or plugin’s data. So you can switch among themes and see if you like another one better. If you don’t, then you can always revert back. However, whenever you are making the switch make sure you have backed up your WordPress site.
Administratör
femi iyaomolere
I really love this forum. I am new to wordpress and I need mentors to look up to. I am working on a theme called corpo from wordpress.org. I have almost finish the project then I started having issues like. When I paste content and save or update it won’t appear in the font end. Then recently some when I click on some of the pages it will bring up. 404 msg that the page cannot be found.
Is it a hosting problem or theme problem
WPBeginner Support
To find out if its a theme problem, try switching to a default theme like twenty thirteen or twenty twelve and see if you can reproduce the problem.
Administratör
Kara
Hi,
I just found your article which came at a great time because I’m thinking about switching from WP Twenty Twelve to a Genesis Theme. But I’d like to know whether my posts that I already have on my blog will be automatically updated when I make the switch. Or, do I have to manually update and publish each post when the new Genesis theme is installed?
Thanks,
Kara
WPBeginner Support
Switching a theme does not affect your posts in any way. When you will switch theme WordPress will automatically display your posts with the new theme. In case if you don’t like your new theme, you can always deactivate it and reactivate your old theme.
Administratör
Nargis
I am NARGIS,
I’m trying to learn something about WORDPRESS –
After WordPress installation I have successfully INSTALLED THEME ZIP file that (NOT IN FREE SITE) in an own hosted site,
but some of the contents, such as original MENU / original IMAGES / original IMAGE SLIDER are not showing in any browsers!
Where is my fault/mistake …! Or do I need to do some work …!
I wanted to show WordPress theme originally that it’s look a like.
If you do have suggestions or tutorial from that I will be helpful !
Regards;
NARGIS
WPBeginner Support
Sometimes premium themes display images and sliders in their demo which are actually not included in your theme. You have installed your theme correctly. Please contact the theme developer for support.
Administratör
Bel
Hello there,
I am so glad that I found your blog. I am new to wordpress.org and I’ve never used their software before. Although I am a bit familiar with blogspot.com but since joining wordpress it’s a big transition.
I have just hosted my sites with hostgator and I really like their customer support and the cPanel.
Anyway, my main questions are the following:
1) I am about to start building my blog on wordpress but because this will be a long term investment and I wasn’t sure whether to select one of the free wordpress themes that allows me to customize once installing them or buying a wordpress paid theme. However, if I decide to change my theme in future (e.g: if my site becomes successful and if I’ll be able to monetize) I might want to change to a paid theme. Is this going to be a hassle changing from a free wordpress theme to a paid theme? If this can be done in future, do I have to backup all the time? My hostgator package will back up my sites everyday. Is it necessary for me to back up still on BackupBudy before installing to a new wordpress paid theme? Obviously, I don’t want to lose any of my contents.
2) I am also worried about using the wordpress free theme because I’ve read everywhere that whenever wordpress updates its software the current free theme that people are using may not be compatible with the new wordpress update. However, I went to wordpress.org/freethemes there are quite a few reliable free themes that provides support and developers are also up to date with their themes to keep up with the compatibility with wordpress and therefore wordpress users are satisfied too.
To conclude, would you suggest that I would use wordpress free theme for now (as I am still a beginner and still trying to build my site on wordpress) and change to a paid theme later once it becomes successful? Hostgator backs up my contents all the time, do I still need to backup before changing to a new theme? That’s all for now, thank you very much for providing these information. It’s very useful for newbies.
I hope you can reply to my questions above as soon as you can.
I am your new reader from now on and will be bookmarking your site.
WPBeginner Support
Bel, welcome to the WordPress community.
1. Backup. Yes you should still backup your site. If you do not want to invest into BackupBuddy right now, then you can create a complete WordPress backup for free with BackWPup. However, BackupBuddy comes with premium support and we highly recommend it.
2. Free themes can be very reliable too, themes in WordPress theme directory go through extensive testing before getting approved. Create a child theme to customize your WordPress theme so that when there is a new version for your theme available, you can update it without loosing your changes.
Administratör
Blackie Swart
Thank you for an excellent resource. I took the plunge and started building my site myself at the beginning of this month. You were an awesome help as I am not all that PC literate. I am now seriously considering changing my theme as my initial goal with the site has changed since getting a feel for word press. I suppose that ones goal should determine the choice of theme? Therefore asking for advice on cool themes may be a waste of my time? Should I rather concentrate on functionality than looks?
Editorial Staff
Functionality always trumps looks in our eyes. Yes asking for cool theme suggestions is a waste because beauty is in the eyes of beholder. Also you are the only person who knows exactly what you want in terms of functionality.
Administratör
Oğuzhan İsa Temiz
Thanks nice article :).
Scott Webster
I recently changed my theme and didn’t take note on my google analytics code. So now every time I look into my analytics it comes up with a flat line on zero. What can I do to retrieve my old code?
Thanks
Scott
Editorial Staff
Login to your Google Analytics and get the code from there.
https://www.wpbeginner.com/beginners-guide/how-to-install-google-analytics-in-wordpress/
Administratör
Dice
I am hoping to change my theme to ’Made’ theme this Weekend.
This article is really good. I hadn’t considered many of the issues you have raised.
Thank you for coming up with such a useful guide.
Many thanks.
Editorial Staff
You are very welcome
Administratör
David Price
Currently going through a Wordpress one-on-one bootcamp with a seasoned WP developer. I’ve hit three of his WP-Black-Holes and ”Changing Themes is Easy” is the third one. Changing themes is easy if you have a simple theme with minimal customization BY THE DEVELOPER. If a theme has 8 custom admin areas for sliders, additional menus, special content areas within the post area or sidebar, etc, and you switch themes to something you think ”looks nice” you are in for a nightmare. DEFINITELY not ”just a few clicks.” ”Changing Themes is Easy” is a total myth. Just read this article and ask yourself, ”Does it sound like just a few clicks?” Really?
Wordpress would be better if there were more honesty from the development community about the realities of using it as a CMS. Still a great checklist for what to watch for when changing themes.
Editorial Staff
Any developer that tells you that changing themes is easy is probably NEW or do not understand the reality themselves. Blaming the entire community based on your experience with a few is not fair. We created this article for this vary reason.
Administratör
Divyansh
Great read!
One more thing to keep in mind is to check the behaviour of theme by testing it locally using something like wamp server, to be sure that the end product is user friendly
Carmen
I just downloaded a new theme, but can’t install unless it is a zip file. How do I do this. I tried by selecting all and compressing, but nada. thanks.
Editorial Staff
Use FTP to upload it.
Administratör
Carmen
thank you – just saw this response.
Anurag Rathod
A nightmare has happened to me when I changed my popular theme to a new theme.
Most of my nice sidebar widgets are gone forever and I have to again create them.
Still I am missing lot of them.
Editorial Staff
Yes if you are using a theme that registers its own custom widgets, then you will lose them upon switching. There is no way around that.
Administratör
jamielee841
Can you elaborate more on the RSS portion of this? I redirected everything..so I thought..but I went from 1500 subscribers to 500ish. Initially it went down to 47 but then I used a feedsmith plugin and it went up to 500. I’m at a loss for what to do and could use some help!
wpbeginner
@jamielee841 You have to make sure /feed/ of your domain name is pointing to the feedburner feed. Other than that, not sure why u r losing subscribers.
Harry
Really helpful suggestions! Some of them I really overlooked. I use Lubith in order to design and change my wordpress themes so most of the compatibility problems I haven’t yet encountered. It’s a very flexible and intuitive editor, you work directly in the browser which means you can test immediately the compatibility between the editor and your WP site or between your theme and your browser and you can quickly make the required modifications.
designbuddy
Thanks for the checklist…will prove helpful tomorrow when I change my theme. I am a bit concerned that old files from my older themes will linger when simply changing themes. Does anyone know if this happens or does switching themes wipe everything clean? I just want to make sure I’m starting with a clean plate.
Also, you mentioned ”Wordpress SEO” by Yoast. Is that better in your opinion than ”All in One” or ”Platinum SEO”? Thanks for any response.
wpbeginner
@designbuddy Yes we believe WordPress SEO to be a more complete solution.
designbuddy
@wpbeginner Ah, thanks, good to know.
ChristopherAnderton
Just one word of advice on using some of the Maintenance plug-ins. Some of them (be sure to check out WordPress forum feedback) tend to bog down servers, resulting in unreachable WP Admin, and in the worst case scenario have your host shut down the account or charge you extra.
BGR
i read somewhere that theme change kills google rank. If installed correctly like from twenty eleven to thesis, and GA code intact, should there be any penalty for changing a theme?
codesignllc
@GraphPaperPress that IS a good #wordpress checklist.
Liz Bismore
Wow is THIS helpful! I’m getting ready to change themes on my new blog already! It took actually using WP for a few weeks before I knew what I was looking for in a theme and now I see that I need to plan wisely before switching. Thanks!
Jal
Can you keep those images a little smaller.. or at best not use them at all. Doesn’t really serve much purpose.
wpbeginner
@Jal Images are eye candy… when you read sites that doesn’t have them in longer articles, it looks dead. Just trying to keep the article lively.