It's 'Easy' to Change the Theme on Your Website
Oh Boy! I learned a nice big lesson yesterday. It was the kind of day that makes me really really appreciate all of the great days that I've had here even more.
So far, I've been taking my time and trying to focus on learning as much as possible and then applying what I am learning a step at a time. There's so much awesome and helpful information here that I feel a bit overwhelmed at times. I want to learn it ALL right now!! I am completely surprised at how much I am actually enjoying building my website and creating the content along with all of the learning.
I watched Kyle's video lesson about changing the theme on a website when it just isn't right. I didn't put much thought into my choice when I picked my first theme. I had no thoughts to put into it because I have had no previous experience with any of this before. It is all completely new and unfamiliar. Kyle is an awesome teacher though and he makes everything seem so simple. He did warn that a couple of items might be out of line, so I was ready for that.
I decided that I could change my theme to one I might like better. It took a few minutes but I found one and it was super easy to change it. All of my content stayed intact, and the pictures were there too. A couple of them were moved slightly, but that was easy enough. I just removed them and then re-inserted them where I wanted them. And then I noticed that none of my widgets were on the sidebar. The new theme completely deleted every widget! And I also got some extra experience in making the menus because all of the menus were gone too. The new theme has different placements so all of my menu items won't fit. I still haven't figured out completely how to get my 'About' page and 'Privacy Policy' back on the page. I think I'll have to try to set them in the footer maybe.
Anyway, not to complain because I needed that practice but if anyone else is considering changing the theme after you have it set somewhat, you should probably consider my experience so you can plan your time accordingly.
It really was simple to change, but it was just a bit frustrating to lose a day in trying to figure out everything that was different and then reset it all.
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That's good to know about changing themes. The theme that I am using has an update it might not be to wise to update if I lose my widgets and menus.
Hi Frex,
I had a couple of updates with my first theme too, but I never had a problem with those. They were very smooth.
I didn't have a problem until I decided to change from my initial theme to a different one with a different name.
You want to keep your website updated because often they will have little technical fixes that will make it more secure, and that's important.
I didn't mean to be discouraging, I just want people to understand clearly that while changing the theme really is easy, there really is a bit of work involved and they should be ready for it. ; )
Thanks for commenting!
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I changed my theme to. No stress. Good results. My web site was quite simple at the time. That probably helped.
Trevor
I'm glad to hear that. I lost a whole day trying to get everything set back up. Oh well, I'll be more prepared next time. Lesson learned. ; ) Everything back on track now.
Thanks for the note!