Experimenting with a New Theme

  • I recently found an interesting new theme that I’d like to play around with to see if it would be a viable replacement for my current site: mountsforsolar.com

    I assume this falls into the realm of a child theme, but have very little experience with them. My current understanding is to use a plugin to create a child theme which I can manipulate and decide to activate at a later date.

    Is this correct? And if so, is there a plugin or tutorial video that could be recommended for me?

    Thanks

Viewing 5 replies - 1 through 5 (of 5 total)
  • Thread Starter jshanker

    (@jshanker)

    Additionally:

    Can I create a child theme with an entirely different theme or does it need to be a copy of my current theme?

    Appreciated

    Each theme would require a child theme, which would pull from the style sheet of the parent theme.

    Thread Starter jshanker

    (@jshanker)

    Noah,

    Thanks for your quick response. Would there be a way to create a “test” site to edit my current site under a different theme, much in the way one would use a child theme to edit their site under the same theme?

    I originally thought I could change the child theme to another theme, and work from there. But if the child relies on the parent for a lot of the original content this doesn’t seem possible.

    Yes,
    However, you would need to create a “Local Install” of your theme and child, then migrate to your current host. This is the best way, but it isn’t the easiest thing in the world to accomplish, especially the first time.

    2. You could do a “sub directory install” on your current WordPress installation. ( This might be a little easier for you than using Localhost )

    Each way will take you some time to setup and get going, then you will have to migrate, if you use the LocalHost, and if you use the Sub Directory, then it’s a little less work.

    No super easy answer here.

    Thread Starter jshanker

    (@jshanker)

    This is not the answer I was hoping for, but sort of the one I was expecting. I have become pretty comfortable with making adjustments to my current site, but what you are talking about is totally new to me.

    Would it be feasible to, instead, backup my site as it is and then proceed to activate and perform edits to a new theme? This way it wouldn’t be perfect immediately but I could improve it knowing that I could revert back to my original site if need be?

    Although I have never had to revert to a backup, I have a plugin automatically performing them. I imagine it would be easier to load a backup than do a “local install” or “sub directory install”. I will learn how to do those if need be, but it doesn’t sound like much fun.

    Thanks again

Viewing 5 replies - 1 through 5 (of 5 total)
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