Slides from the presentation can be found here

http://goo.gl/cz78mB
@evanwebdesign
Evan Scheingross
WordPress Theming Maverick
•
Own and operate
evanwebdesign.com - a San
Diego based web design,
development & consulting
business.
•
Working with WordPress since
2007. Attended every WordCamp
San Diego
•
Develop custom WordPress
themes in my daily work.
•
Dad. Husband. Native San
Diegan. Good snowboarder, bad
pilot.
http://goo.gl/cz78mB
@evanwebdesign
Welcome to Top Gun Theme School
WHAT YOU WILL LEARN:
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When and why to switch themes
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Troubleshoot theme switching bogeys
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What happens when you switch themes
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Recommendations for smooth flights
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What makes it difficult to switch themes
http://goo.gl/cz78mB
@evanwebdesign
Beware the
Need for Speed
http://goo.gl/cz78mB
@evanwebdesign
http://goo.gl/cz78mB
@evanwebdesign
Start With Why
Is a new theme really necessary?
Don’t believe the beautiful demo
Understand when change can be good
What Happens When You
Switch Themes?
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Core WordPress features will remain
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All plugins and their features will remain
•
Anything that is theme-specific will no longer be available
to you
http://goo.gl/cz78mB
@evanwebdesign
What makes it difficult
to switch themes?
IF YOUR THEME HAS “PLUGIN TERRITORY” FUNCTIONALITY BUILT IN, SUCH AS:
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•
•
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Galleries
Slideshows
Custom widgets
Page builder
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•
•
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Custom Post Types
SEO options (title/meta tags)
Analytics scripts
[shortcodes]
YOU WILL LOSE THIS STUFF!
Be awesome. Make life easy.
Use plugins instead.
http://goo.gl/cz78mB
@evanwebdesign
Backup
Backup manually or using a plugin like BackupBuddy
Take notes on your current theme
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HAS CUSTOM CODE BEEN ADDED?
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NOTE WIDGETS AND THEIR POSITIONING
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NOTE MENU/NAVIGATION STRUCTURES
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COPY ALL TRACKING SCRIPTS NOT ADDED BY PLUGINS
Consider using WP Maintenance Mode plugin
http://goo.gl/cz78mB
@evanwebdesign
http://goo.gl/cz78mB
@evanwebdesign
The Switcharoo
http://goo.gl/cz78mB
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Live Preview Customizer
You can set nav menus, but this won’t show existing widgets
from your current theme.
http://goo.gl/cz78mB
@evanwebdesign
PROBLEM:
The New Layout
Is All Messed Up
http://goo.gl/cz78mB
@evanwebdesign
SOLUTION:
Customize the settings for the new theme in either
Appearance > Customize, or a custom theme
options panel if your theme has one.
http://goo.gl/cz78mB
@evanwebdesign
PROBLEM:
Navigation Menus
Disappeared
http://goo.gl/cz78mB
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SOLUTION:
Your custom menus aren’t gone, they just need to be
matched to a new theme location.
http://goo.gl/cz78mB
@evanwebdesign
PROBLEM:
Widgets Disappeared
http://goo.gl/cz78mB
@evanwebdesign
SOLUTION:
Check the “Inactive Widgets” area of the Widgets
page. Widgets must be moved to a new widget area.
In very rare cases widgets do disappear.
If widgets were bundled into the old theme or rely on your old theme framework
you must find a replacement plugin.
http://goo.gl/cz78mB
@evanwebdesign
PROBLEM:
Custom Post Types
Disappeared
http://goo.gl/cz78mB
@evanwebdesign
Wait, a What??
Custom Post Types are content
types like posts and pages, but
named something different and
unique.
Examples:
• Portfolio
• Products
• Testimonials
• Events
• Staff
• Slideshow
http://goo.gl/cz78mB
@evanwebdesign
SOLUTION:
All custom post content is still in your database, it just
isn’t accessible in your new theme.
CASE 1:
NOT MUCH CONTENT IN OLD CPT
Switch back to your old theme and copy the content from your custom post type
into standard pages/posts. (Easiest solution, no coding necessary.)
CASE 2:
LOTS OF CONTENT IN OLD CPT
Look up the name of the old CPT, and re-create that exact CPT within your new
theme using Custom Post Type UI plugin. (Requires looking at code. See article Freeing content
from custom post types.)
CASE 3:
NEED TO MOVE CONTENT FROM OLD CPT TO NEW THEME’S CPT
Follow steps in case 2. Use the Post Type Switcher plugin to switch posts from old
CPT to new CPT. (Most complicated solution.)
http://goo.gl/cz78mB
@evanwebdesign
PROBLEM:
Images Aren’t Sized
Properly
http://goo.gl/cz78mB
@evanwebdesign
SOLUTION:
Your new theme likely uses different dimensions for
featured images.
Use the Regenerate Thumbnails plugin to
automatically create the new versions of your image
sizes required by your new theme
http://goo.gl/cz78mB
@evanwebdesign
PROBLEM:
Something Else Isn’t
Working Right
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SOLUTION:
There is likely a conflict between your new theme and
one or more of the plugins.
If part of your theme is broken
Deactivate all plugins. If the problem goes away, reactivate plugins
one-by-one until you find the culprit.
If a plugin is broken
That plugin probably has a conflict with your new theme. Consider
finding a replacement.
http://goo.gl/cz78mB
@evanwebdesign
Give Your New Theme a Few
Test Flights
Test your new theme in as many browsers and on as
many devices as possible.
Mobile/tablet viewing can account for 25-50% of your
traffic depending on the industry.
http://goo.gl/cz78mB
@evanwebdesign
What Makes a Theme Easy to Switch?
NO “PLUGIN TERRITORY” FUNCTIONALITY BUILT IN
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SHORTCODES: Standout Color Boxes and Buttons
GALLERY: Responsive Lightbox by dFactory, SharePrints
SLIDESHOW: Soliloquy
CUSTOM POST TYPE: Custom Post Type UI
PAGE BUILDER: Beaver Builder
TRACKING CODE: Header and Footer Scripts, WP Google Analytics
SEO: WordPress SEO by Yoast
Use a recommended plugin for this stuff
http://goo.gl/cz78mB
@evanwebdesign
Where can you find themes that are
easy to switch?
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Studiopress (makers of the Genesis framework)
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Theme Foundry
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WordPress Theme Directory (all free)
http://goo.gl/cz78mB
@evanwebdesign
Thank You & Additional Reading
Lucy Beer - What Happens If I Change My WordPress Theme?
Chris Lema - Was it easy to switch WordPress themes? Yes.
Theme Foundry - Changing WordPress Themes
WP Beginner - Checklist: 15 Things You MUST DO Before Changing WordPress Themes
http://goo.gl/cz78mB
@evanwebdesign