Can I do testing with more than one theme?

  • Unknown's avatar
    slsbearings · Member ·

    Hi, I would like to know if there is any way or function that allows me to work with two themes or more at one time.

    This is to show how my content looks like on different themes, without having to change and start over every time I switch themes.

    Any possibility?

    The blog I need help with is: (visible only to logged in users)

  • Unknown's avatar
    timethief · Member ·

    There is a preview function for every theme. I suggest you create some temporary post and page content before using the preview function in the theme customizer. https://en.support.wordpress.com/customizer/

    Note that if you are using the preview mode for the Custom Design upgrade https://en.support.wordpress.com/custom-design/#preview-custom-design-before-purchase some of the settings in that mode will save but they won’t show up on the front end unless you purchase the upgrade.

    To go back to the free options, go to Appearance → Themes → Customize → Colors and click the “exit the preview” link in yellow at the top of the panel on the right.

    See also: http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2014/01/18/video-tutorial-customizing-your-theme/

  • kathrynwp · Staff ·

    Timethief’s suggestion to preview another theme via the Customizer is a very good one.

    If you really want to get more hands-on before switching themes then creating a second test site and importing your content there before making the changes on your real site is another option.

    timethief – I just wanted to let you know that the Custom Design preview no longer has this issue:

    Note that if you are using the preview mode for the Custom Design upgrade some of the settings in that mode will save but they won’t show up on the front end unless you purchase the upgrade.

    The Custom Design preview mode now lasts only as long as a single session in the Customizer – it doesn’t persist between sessions. Hopefully this will reduce the confusion it had been causing.

  • Unknown's avatar
    slsbearings · Member ·

    Thanks for the detailed information, timethief and kathrynwp.

    I would like to know, if I switched to another theme, and then decided to switch back to the original, will I have to reorder the elements, ie. add stuff like widgets all over again, or will it automatically synchronise from the previous elements?

    Sorry if this sounds weird, just need to clarify to make sure, don’t want to lose all my information.

  • kathrynwp · Staff ·

    You won’t lose any data after switching themes, but you may need to reassign three things to their rightful places: widgets, menus, and custom CSS.

    Custom Menus

    If your custom menu has gone missing after a theme switch, reassign it to the location you want it in the new theme. Each theme supports different locations, so visit My Sites → Menus or WP Admin → Appearance → Menus to reassign them as you wish.

    Widgets

    If any of your widgets are missing or in an unexpected spot, you’ll want to get the back where they should be. Like Custom Menus, each theme supports different widget locations. If any widgets seem to be missing, never fear – they should be resting safely in the Inactive Widgets section of the Widgets-management page in WP Admin (Appearance → Widgets) and can be reassigned to your desired widget location from there.

    Custom CSS

    When you switch themes, your custom CSS editor will be reset to a blank slate, because most custom CSS is theme-specific. You can still access past custom CSS though, at the CSS revisions link located at My Sites → Customize → CSS.

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