{"id":4471,"date":"2021-03-10T08:20:00","date_gmt":"2021-03-10T08:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.futurestatemedia.com\/?p=4471"},"modified":"2021-03-10T22:18:58","modified_gmt":"2021-03-10T22:18:58","slug":"how-to-change-wordpress-theme-without-going-live","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.futurestatemedia.com\/en\/how-to-change-wordpress-theme-without-going-live\/","title":{"rendered":"How to change wordpress theme without going live"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are times when you&#8217;d like to test a wordpress theme without going live.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Maybe you&#8217;re thinking about trying a new design or new look for your WordPress site or WooCommerce store.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Or Maybe you&#8217;re trying to figure out if a problem with your site is being used by the theme you have active.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Either way there&#8217;s one main option for changing a WordPress or WooCommerce theme without going live&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:100px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_to_change_WordPress_theme_without_going_live\"><\/span>How to change WordPress theme without going live<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2><div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_86 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-white ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a835b6565698\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseprofile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a835b6565698\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.futurestatemedia.com\/en\/how-to-change-wordpress-theme-without-going-live\/#How_to_change_WordPress_theme_without_going_live\" >How to change WordPress theme without going live<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.futurestatemedia.com\/en\/how-to-change-wordpress-theme-without-going-live\/#How_do_I_change_my_WordPress_theme\" >How do I change my WordPress theme?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.futurestatemedia.com\/en\/how-to-change-wordpress-theme-without-going-live\/#How_to_work_on_WordPress_theme_without_activating\" >How to work on WordPress theme without activating<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.futurestatemedia.com\/en\/how-to-change-wordpress-theme-without-going-live\/#How_to_change_WordPress_theme_without_losing_content\" >How to change WordPress theme without losing content<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Working on your live WordPress site is dangerous when making big changes such as changing theme. You risk losing data and impacting user experience for website users whilst you&#8217;re making edits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Working on your live WooCommerce store is even more risky &#8211; with sales being made and orders being placed on your live site, you risk losing customers, not just orders!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So the best way to test a new WordPress theme without impacting your live site is to create a staging site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A staging is a direct copy of your  site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You can safely change WordPress theme without going live by activating your new or alternative theme on your staging site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:100px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_do_I_change_my_WordPress_theme\"><\/span><span class=\"\">How <\/span>do I<span class=\"\"> change my WordPress theme?<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span class=\"\">Once <\/span>you&#8217;re<span class=\"\"> satisfied with the theme change on your staging <\/span>site<span class=\"\">, you can then revert back to your live site.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span class=\"\">To perform a theme change on your live site, you should put your WordPress site or WooCommerce store into maintenance mode.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span class=\"\">Once in maintenance mode, you <\/span>can then<span class=\"\"> activate your new WordPress and WooCommerce theme on your live site.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:100px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_to_work_on_WordPress_theme_without_activating\"><\/span><span class=\"\">How to work on WordPress theme without activating<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span class=\"\">If <\/span>you&#8217;re<span class=\"\"> trying to make edits to the WordPress theme files <\/span>without having<span class=\"\"> the theme active, you need to edit theme files in the theme editor.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span class=\"\">You can <\/span>also<span class=\"\"> edit theme files directly in file manager via <\/span>CPanel<span class=\"\">.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span class=\"\">If you install a File Manager plugin such as WP File Manager you can also edit theme files directly in the themes folder.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:100px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_to_change_WordPress_theme_without_losing_content\"><\/span>How to change WordPress theme without losing content<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span class=\"\">Changing themes SHOULDN&#8217;T lead to losing content, as content is stored in your database &#8211; not in your theme (put simply).<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some<span class=\"\"> themes do have specific content blocks and areas which get stored in <\/span>the database<span class=\"\"> and only displayed by that specific <\/span>active<span class=\"\"> theme. This is less and less the case, but some older themes can work like this.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span class=\"\">If you change <\/span>WordPress Page Builders<span class=\"\"> however, you do risk losing content as this <\/span>data<span class=\"\"> IS <\/span>stored<span class=\"\"> in containers created by the Page Builder.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span class=\"\">So if using Elementor or Divi Builder, be conscious that you CAN change WordPress themes BUT <\/span>you<span class=\"\"> need to keep the WordPress Page Builder the same to keep your content.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:100px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span class=\"\">You searched for:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WordPress work on theme without activating <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">how do i change my theme <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">how to work on wordpress site without going live<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There are times when you&#8217;d like to test a wordpress theme without going live. Maybe you&#8217;re thinking about trying a new design or new look for your WordPress site or WooCommerce store. Or Maybe you&#8217;re trying to figure out if a problem with your site is being used by the theme you have active. Either&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.futurestatemedia.com\/en\/how-to-change-wordpress-theme-without-going-live\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">How to change wordpress theme without going live<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[30,20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4471","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ecommerce-stores","category-website-design","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.futurestatemedia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4471","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.futurestatemedia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.futurestatemedia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.futurestatemedia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.futurestatemedia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4471"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.futurestatemedia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4471\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.futurestatemedia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4471"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.futurestatemedia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4471"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.futurestatemedia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4471"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}