switching to a new template when already live.

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  joannadd5031cb19 · Member · Mar 10, 2020 at 4:04 pm

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  If I already have a site live but want to shift to a different template, how do i go about creating the new site and only publishing when I’m ready. Essentionally, I want to switch the template I’m using with no gap in user experience.

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  staff-blorbo · Staff · Mar 10, 2020 at 10:35 pm

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  Switching themes is for the most part not destructive. You may need to re-position some widgets and menus, but that’s it, it’s very safe. :)

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  jenlkessler · Member · Mar 19, 2020 at 2:51 pm

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  I have a similar question.

  My employer just deployed a new site developed by an overseas firm. It’s… terrible.

  I started recently and want to rebuild the site using Elementor.

  Is there a way I can rebuild the site using the Elementor plugin and then transfer over when the new pages are complete?

  We’re currently administrated under the developer’s username. Could I create a new WP account for our company, build new site, and then do a transfer?

  Thanks for help in advance.

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  staff-mckluskey · Staff · Mar 19, 2020 at 3:43 pm

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  @jenlkessler, what’s the address of the site you’re working on?

  Please note that these forums are for WordPress.com hosted sites only. If your site is using the open-source WordPress.org software, we won’t be able to help you out and you’ll want to seek help at these forums:

  https://wordpress.org/support/forums/

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  jenlkessler · Member · Mar 19, 2020 at 4:00 pm

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  http://www.advancementstrategy.com

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  staff-blorbo · Staff · Mar 19, 2020 at 7:03 pm

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  You could do that, but you’d need to keep the Elementor plugin running to still display anything created with Elementor, and to use any plugin here, you’ll need a paid Business Plan: https://wordpress.com/support/plugins/#using-other-plugins

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  jenlkessler · Member · Mar 19, 2020 at 7:15 pm

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  sure. Purchasing licensing isn’t a problem. I’m just trying to figure out how to build new pages without breaking the old ones – nervous installing the plugin on the current site with current admin user (our development team, not internal) will screw everything up.

  Will:

  1. creating a new user for company
  2. building out new site under that user as a draft
  3. adding new user as admin to existing site
  4. removing developer user
  5. moving domain to draft and go live

  work?

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  staff-blorbo · Staff · Mar 19, 2020 at 7:24 pm

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  What I’d recommend doing here is starting a new site here on the Business Plan. You need to choose a custom domain, but you don’t need to direct that domain to the site until you’re ready.

  You’ll be able to build the site here under the staging domain we provide, and since it will be on the Business Plan, you’ll be able to use Elementor.

  When the site is built on the staging domain, and you’re ready to launch, it’s time to direct your domain to the new site, and for that we have two options:

  Mapping allows you to keep the domain registered with your current domain registrar and direct it to your WordPress.com site: https://wordpress.com/support/domains/map-existing-domain/

  A transfer would allow to manage both your site and domain from the same place: https://wordpress.com/support/move-domain/incoming-domain-transfer/