will updating my theme make me LOSE all customizations? Or should I not update?
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Hi everyone. I need some expert advice on several questions. I was thinking of moving my 30+ page website over to WordPress. I’m trying to decide if it should be wordpress.com OR wordpress.org (or some web builder out there instead).
I read somewhere that when a theme is updated you may lose all the changes you made, so a child theme is recommended. Especially with wordpress.org because of the plugins. I’m confused about how to make a child theme and would rather not attempt it, so … can I get away with NOT making a child theme because:
~ On wordpress.org, I wouldn’t plan to mess with code very much, maybe just a couple of css tweaks.
~ And obviously on wordpress.com I would just be entering my data and doing whatever the theme itself makes possible in its Customizer.Also, can I get away with not updating the theme?
If I choose wordpress.org, my hosting company will automatically update WordPress each time a new version comes out. Will that endanger my customizations?
I hope I’m expressing this clearly. Any advice and pointedly clear references would be really appreciated!
: )
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Hi everyone. I need some expert advice on several questions. I was thinking of moving my 30+ page website over to WordPress. I’m trying to decide if it should be wordpress.com OR wordpress.org (or some web builder out there instead).
Around here we tend to recommend WordPress. It is a pretty flexible and robust system. The real question is; WordPress.com or WordPress.org? Take a look here for more on the differences: https://en.support.wordpress.com/com-vs-org/
I read somewhere that when a theme is updated you may lose all the changes you made, so a child theme is recommended…
That is correct about changes be lost without a child theme. That is specific to WordPress.org. It is not as hard as it looks to create a child theme for a few small tweaks. On WordPress.com you can purchase a plan and use custom design to tweak your site.
Also, can I get away with not updating the theme?
If I choose wordpress.org, my hosting company will automatically update WordPress each time a new version comes out. Will that endanger my customizations?
You should definitely update themes, since the updates usually address security issues, not just adding features. Also, as WordPress is updated the theme needs to be updated to keep up with it. Typically WordPress updates do not effect customizations.
I hope I’m expressing this clearly. Any advice and pointedly clear references would be really appreciated!
You expressed yourself quite clearly. I hope I helped give you some information to make an informed decision. Please let us know if you have any more questions.
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Thanks so much for my first reply, very helpful!
When you said this …
That is correct about changes be lost without a child theme. That is specific to WordPress.org
… do you mean I wouldn’t need to make a child theme if I used wordpress.com?
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What I meant about child themes, is that they don’t exist on WordPress.com. You use one of the themes provided and can then purchase a plan that allows you to play with CSS, or spend even more for a special custom design.
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The only themes we can use on any WordPress.COM blogs are found here https://wordpress.com/themes/
There is no FTP access to free hosted WordPress.com blogs for security reasons and we cannot:
upload any third party themes,
create child themes,
create our own themes,
edit templates,
create own own layouts,
or use stylesheets from other themes.See:
http://en.support.wordpress.com/ftp-access/
http://en.support.wordpress.com/themes/adding-new-themes/
http://en.support.wordpress.com/plugins/There is no upgrade you can purchase here that changes that reality.
CSS editing is limited. See here for details on purchasing the annually renewable Premium bundle http://store.wordpress.com/plans/premium/ that contains a custom design upgrade required for CSS editing.
Custom design – Frequently Asked Questions
http://en.support.wordpress.com/custom-design/#frequently-asked-questions
http://en.support.wordpress.com/custom-design/
http://en.support.wordpress.com/custom-design/editing-css/
http://en.support.wordpress.com/custom-design/custom-fonts/ -
Wow, thanks you guys!
So … if I use wordpress.com, there is no danger of losing anything when a theme updates? All of my customized data stays intact?
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So … if I use wordpress.com, there is no danger of losing anything when a theme updates?
There is not theme “updates” on WordPress.com
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There is not theme “updates” on WordPress.com
The staff will sometimes tweak / update a theme after it has been released on WordPress.COM – usually you are not really aware when the change is made
Your content is always safe – if the staff breaks something on a theme when they update it here – just show up in the forum and open a ticket here on what went wrong – the staff then need to fix the bug – does not happen often however
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YAY! Thanks so much everyone! I’ve decided to just keep it simple and go with wordpress.com and get a domain name.
However, I am a little worried about the “we sometimes display advertisements on your blog to help pay the bills” but they say “We run these types of ads sparingly in an attempt to interfere as little as possible with the experience of reading a site.” So far I haven’t seen any ads on mine (or anyone else’s). $99/yr for the ad-free upgrade is $8.25/month, which is just too much. For that or less, I could go with one of the popular site builders that offer more flexibility and simplicity. So I guess I’ll just take my chances.
I hope I’m understanding it correctly.
Once I get the hang of WordPress I’ll pay it forward by sharing tidbits gathered along the way.
: )
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