Child theme late install

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  zoharhaketer · Member · Jul 11, 2022 at 8:14 am

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  we just realized it is best to work on a child theme and NOT on the parent theme.
  so now, we have the parent theme designed as we like :) but we want to change some php, and its better to do so on the child theme

  Q: what happens if we install a child theme (now when we are happy with the parent design) will a Child theme affect and change the parent theme?
  or will we actually continue from now on to work on the child theme, and the basic design we made – remains.
  thanks

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  cintacks · Member · Jul 11, 2022 at 8:45 am

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  Hi! 👋

  These things happen! Changes to a child theme do not affect the parent theme. You can safely make any customizations to the child theme, keeping the parent theme intact.

  You have a couple options moving forward here:

  1. **Create a child theme based on your current theme** (including the edits you’ve made). You can export and copy the theme as it is now, saving the current state as your parent theme, and allowing you to make new changes in the newly created theme. So, instead of creating a child theme from the default parent theme, you would instead duplicate your theme as it currently is.
  2. **Recommended**: **Download the original theme files again, and then use your currently modified theme as the child**. This is similar to the first option but will ensure that the parent theme is the standard theme, which will help with future theme updates.

  We can walk you through either of these options in more detail. Also, please see this guide for reference: https://wordpress.com/support/themes/child-themes/

  ### Caveats
  When switching themes, you may lose some changes made in the Customizer (and other database-related changes). You can avail of a plugin to ensure everything is carried over, not just code changes. The following resources might be useful to you:

  – https://wordpress.org/plugins/customizer-export-import/
  – https://www.wpbeginner.com/plugins/how-to-import-export-wordpress-theme-customizer-settings/
  – https://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-themes/how-to-update-a-wordpress-theme-without-losing-customization/

  If you have any further questions, feel free to reach out to us at any time! Have a great day! 👋 😊

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  zoharhaketer · Member · Jul 11, 2022 at 10:36 am

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  great thanks! so, how to follow the 2nd step? keep the current design as a child theme and re-upload the original?

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  staff-doublebassd · Staff · Jul 11, 2022 at 2:40 pm

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  Hi there,

  I see that you have a Pro plan and therefore you have access to our live chat support. Please start a chat session from the link below and we’ll help you with the 2nd step in real-time.

  https://wordpress.com/help/contact

  Thanks!