How to Change Your WordPress Theme (Without Breaking Your Website)

In this article, we will show you how to safely change your WordPress theme if you already have another theme and plugin on your WordPress website.

Changing a WordPress theme is a relatively simple process. Essentially, all you have to do is install your WordPress theme and activate it after installation. If you are uploading theme files from your computer using an FTP client or cPanel, the whole process may take a few minutes.

If you choose to install your theme via cPanelgo to root folder and find the way themes folder. This is usually a folder with the name wp content / themes unless you have multiple website subfolders in the root folder. In the Themes folder, click on it. Upload button.

In the popup, locate the theme folder on your computer and then confirm its installation so you can activate the theme.

you will use the same method If you are using FTP client To connect your computer and server. Find the theme folder on the left panel. In the right panel, click on the folder wp content / themes It contains all the themes on your live site.

Drag local theme folder from left to right panel. This will automatically make a new theme available on the live site.

using the option Appearance > Themes Find the theme installed on your site and activate it.

Before activating the theme, you can preview it using . Live preview. This option can show you the look of your new site as well as how the new theme might affect your website.

Finally, there is a possibility change theme and preview to use Theme Switcha plugin. After installing and activating this free tool, navigate to: plugin settings and enable theme switching.

When you save the changes, the plugin lists all the themes installed on your website. It only takes one click on the new theme to open a preview in a new tab of your browser.

Manually Changing a WordPress Theme

If none of the previous methods work for you, you can learn how to manually change a WordPress theme. Some troubleshooting methods also include these steps.

This method is extremely useful when you cannot access the control panel due to a website crash. This way, you can clear the error by manually removing the currently active theme.

This method also uses phpMyAdmin’s capabilities to change the active theme directly within the database.

Start by connecting your computer to the server using FTP software. Locate the themes folder with all the themes installed in your WordPress installation.

Folder names represent the names of currently installed themes. If you need to add a new theme, follow the steps in the previous section – open the folder for the new theme on your computer and transfer it to the wp-content/themes folder on the server.

When you access the themes folder with all the available themes on your WordPress site, remember the name of the theme you want to activate.

Sign in to your WordPress hosting plan cPanel and click on option phpMyAdmin.

When you access the phpMyAdmin panel, on the left you will see a list of databases. Select the database you are using for your WordPress site and click on it. wp options.

short reminder: WordPress uses “wp_” as the prefix for the default names of the tables. However, this prefix can be changed, so you may see tables with a different prefix.

Later, find template and style sheet lines in the right panel.

Click To organise in the option template line to open the editor. In the editor, find: Option value field and change its value by entering the name of the theme you want to use. This name must match the name of the theme’s folder in the /wp-content/themes/ folder.. When you’re done making changes, click on it. Go button to save them.

Repeat this process with style sheet line. Once these regulations take effect, you will have a new theme on your website. Check your live site to make sure all is well.

While changing your theme is a relatively simple process, you may run into some issues with your WordPress website after editing. The most common problems include:

These are the most common issues after changing your WordPress theme, so there are a few tricks to avoid them.

3 Steps to Safely Change Your WordPress Theme

To avoid issues with compatibility and your website crashing, there are three steps to help you get around potential issues.

1. Make a Backup Copy of Your Website

It is recommended to create a backup before making any significant changes to your WordPress site. That way, if something goes wrong, you can easily revert to the latest working version of your website.

if ever created a backup copy of your siteThere are two ways to do this – manually or using a plugin like UpdraftPlus, BackupFriend or replicator.

If you want full control over the entire backup process, avoid using plugins and back up the site manually. If you are not an experienced administrator, add-ons may be a better solution because of the automated processes.

For the purposes of this article, we will install UpdraftPlus, one of the most popular backup plugins, to show you how to create a backup using the plugin. Once you have installed the plugin and enabled its options, click on it. Back Up Now button:

Whichever plugin you choose, add the database and all related files to your backup copy to create a complete website backup.

The duration of the backup process depends on the size and number of your website files. It may take some time if you have a more robust site. When the backup is complete, you will be able to see the copy of your site in the backup folder.

If something goes wrong with your site, you can easily revert to the last working version by clicking on it. restore button.

2. Create a Staging Environment

To avoid testing your theme on the live site, it is recommended to create a staging environment where you can see how your site behaves with the new settings. The staging environment is a replica of your live site with restricted access that allows you to freely try any theme, feature, and plugin you want to add to your site.

this simplest way to create staging site is to install WAMP or XAMP on your computer. This tool simulates a server hosting a copy of your WordPress website. Depending on your operating system, you can choose another server simulator such as MAMP.

It is common practice among developers to create a staging site before transferring it to a live server. They also keep this site for any future experiments.

However, there is a problem with this approach. Some things that work on your local server may not work on a live server due to different server configurations. Therefore, it is much better to create a staging site on your live server.

There are two ways to do this – you can create a staging environment manually or using a plugin. Embedded hosting providers offer a staging site as a built-in option with their hosting plans. It is easily implemented, making it the easiest way to create a staging environment. Contact your hosting provider for more information.

If your hosting provider doesn’t offer this option, you can use plugins like below. WP Staging – DB & File Duplicator & Migration plugin, All-in-One WP Migration, Duplicator. You can also opt for premium plugins like the ones below. WP Stagecoach and Blog Vault.

For the purposes of this article, we will be using the WP Staging – DB & File Duplicator & Migration plugin. Start by installing and activating the plugin. Next, go to: add-on dashboard and click on Create new staging site.

The next step requires naming your test environment and marking the files and database you need.. After finishing, click the “button.start cloning”:

The process may take some time, but the final result should look like this.

If you haven’t successfully created a staging environment or an error has occurred, the full tutorial on using WP Staging can be found here: documentation for the plugin.

Since you are creating a complete online copy of your website, this process can hurt your SEO ranking. Therefore, it is recommended that you do not index your staging environment. Simply go to: Settings > Reading and select the option Prevent search engines from indexing this site. This is how you will add the “noindex” tag to your test environment.

3. Test Your Pages, Posts, and Plugins

Finally, you can start testing! Install and activate your new theme in the staging environment. Review your pages, posts and plugins and check for any errors and incompatibilities. Because every WordPress website and theme is unique, there is no one-size-fits-all solution for identifying common issues and their causes. However, here are some things to watch out for:

Remember that changing your theme will mess things up on your website. But the important thing is to keep the main features of your site intact. If that doesn’t happen, your site will need coding fixes and theme functionality tweaks. In this case, you may want to reconsider your theme selection.

final thoughts

After making sure that the new theme won’t crash or break your website, you can install it on your live site. If you want to be sure, you can follow these steps one more time. Don’t forget to clear the cache after any theme or style change., so your edits are immediately visible. All you have to do is enjoy your new theme!