How to Change Your WordPress Theme
Changing your WordPress theme is a great way to add new life to a stale and outdated blog. People often renovate their homes and offices, so why shouldn't bloggers and website owners do the same thing for their digital properties? However, as with any new project that involves changing the design and structure of a website, careful thought and consideration needs to be exercised.
Factors to consider
As mentioned above, it's essential to carefully consider the impact of changing your theme and weigh out the pros and cons. Let's take a look at several things to consider before changing your WordPress theme.
- Is the new theme compatible with your current design and layout?
The new theme may not accommodate the content on your blog very well. Is there enough room for your current text, images, and other media? How will your current menu system look when its incorporated into your new theme? These are just a few things to consider before switching over to a new theme.
- How will your visitors react to your new theme?
Something else to consider is the overall reaction that your visitors might have to your new theme. Will they like or dislike your new theme? Will the new theme affect the readability or accessibility of your current design and layout? Although time-consuming, it might be a good idea to deploy several different test versions of each theme and ask your visitors which version looks and works the best.
- How compatible is the new theme with each web browser?
Webmasters often overlook the compatibility of their designs when it comes to web browsers. Each theme is designed differently, therefore, each theme may appear and function differently in each web browser. Always test a new theme in as many different web browsers as possible (such as Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Vivaldi, etc.). Also, make sure the new theme looks and functions correctly on desktop computers/laptops and mobile devices as well.
Making the switch
Before making any changes to your blog or website, we highly recommend that you perform a full backup of your entire blog or website. In fact, it's always a smart idea to keep regular backups of your entire blog or website, just in case the unexpected happens. Backups also come in handy if decide you don't like your new theme and want the old theme back.
1. As mentioned above, backup your entire blog or website before making any changes.
2. Next, log in to your WordPress admin dashboard.
3. On the left-hand side, click on "Appearance" and then "Themes".
4. At this point, you should see a group of themes that are currently installed. Click on "Add New" at the top pf the screen.
5. You should now be in the WordPress theme directory. From here you can click on "Featured", "Popular", "Latest", or you can do a search if you know the theme's name.
6. Once you've found a theme that you like, you can simply click on the "Install" button or click on the "Preview" button to get an idea of what the theme looks like.
7. After installing the new theme, go back to your WordPress admin dashboard and click on "Appearance" and then "Themes".
8. You should now see the theme that you just installed, click on the "Activate" button to apply the new theme.
Your new theme
Now that your new WordPress theme is installed and activated, visit your blog or website and verify that everything looks and works correctly. Have fun with your new theme!