Worried about losing some features in the WordPress theme while switching to a new one? We know, we all have Been there, done that!
Tweaking your site to perfection is the requirement of the hour. And the creation of some unique websites is the best thing that a CMS can offer. If you’re thinking to make some modest changes to the existing theme or see if it “fits” the existing content, WordPress itself offers all the tools. Some of the available tools allow updating a theme.
To suffice this need for updating or customization, every business owner needs to Hire a WordPress Developer. They exactly know which utility to use and take the full advantage of the customizer.
We know that your developer has given a lot of efforts in creating the existing WordPress theme and you probably you don’t want to lose the customization. Let’s put an end to the concern. This post will draw the eyes of all WordPress developers out there as we share, Ways to save WordPress customization with a theme update.
WordPress has been a quintessential platform for website developers. A Code once written, can easily be edited and customized according to the requirement. The code indeed is the living creature of the whole Website. No doubt that you always be worried about it, but also understand that Updates are vital.
The website gets susceptible to security threats or performance if you neglect to update it. Having said that, even the slightest thought of an update should give you the idea of Backup. Specifically saying, don’t update without creating a back up of the current and working copy of the site.
Themes and plugins with no question are the major requirements for developing a WordPress site. They give your website a stellar look, but for doing this you may need a WordPress Development Service provider.
Business owners mainly hire developers for doing theme customization or plugin customization. Saving the existing WordPress customization comes with some restrictions. The restriction here doesn’t mean a literal one but yes, you may have to sacrifice on data sometimes. There are different ways, you can carry out the customization.
Let’s know more about this:
Theme customization:
There are a number of ways to carry out customization but we suggest doing it by creating a child theme. This child theme works as a layer on the current theme. It inherits parent theme functionalities and allows you to make customization without having an impact on the current theme.
When the new update pops up, you can safely upgrade the parent theme and take advantage of the customization bundled with your child theme. The custom functionality will remain in its place.
The above procedure definitely updates the parent theme, but updating the child theme is the new task then. To update them you can buy premium products or can take help from third-party developers.
The Risk:
You may lose the implemented customization if the third party developer throws an update of the theme. So it’s better to pack all your customization in the custom WordPress plugin which can be further installed on to the premium child theme.
Update it with plugin customization:
The process of updating the WordPress website with custom or extended functionality plugin is quite different from the normal ones. Unlike child theme, you can not create a “child plugin”.
The best way is to tell the developer to take advantage of the hooks i.e actions and filters.
This method allows you to update the plugin in the future if required.
The Risk
It is not recommended to use a duplicate plugin because a major release might replace some functions on your plugin or simply discontinue the old ones or can break the custom functionality. That’s why hiring a WordPress developer should be on your cards.
To Wrap up the discussion:
You should never overlook this task of updating the wordPress website. It’s a mandatory and recurring task. Whichever above-mentioned practice you follow for updating the theme, pay attention that you don’t wipe out the customization.
We hope this article will make you understand on How to Update WordPress Theme without Losing Customization! Have a happy and safe update!
