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: • When and why to switch themes • Troubleshoot theme switching bogeys • What happens when you switch themes • Recommendations for smooth flights • 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? • Core WordPress features will remain • 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: • • • • Galleries Slideshows Custom widgets Page builder • • • • 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 • HAS CUSTOM CODE BEEN ADDED? • NOTE WIDGETS AND THEIR POSITIONING • NOTE MENU/NAVIGATION STRUCTURES • 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 @evanwebdesign 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 @evanwebdesign 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 http://goo.gl/cz78mB @evanwebdesign 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 • • • • • • • 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? • Studiopress (makers of the Genesis framework) • Theme Foundry • 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
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