How To Change A WordPress Theme Without Breaking Your Website

Learn how to change the WordPress theme on your website without breaking your website. Sometimes themes get outdated, or you find a better theme that suits the needs of your website better. But if you change to that theme you can lose data or even break your complete website. So how to do it? That is what I will show you in this video.
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
04:04 Make a Backup Of Your Current WordPress Website
05:10 Make A Backup Website
09:21 Download The Blocksy Theme (or your preferred theme)
11:01 Recreate The Header
25:35 Recreate The Webshop
29:33 Recreate The Footer
32:57 Replace Your Live WordPress Website With The New Website
I will show you how you can safely change the theme of your WordPress site that is already complete. So you have the up or running website, you want to change the theme. How can you do that without destroying your website? That is what I will show you in this tutorial. So I had a client today or a friend who said, Hey, I made his website with a certain theme I did not know. And I'm getting stuck. So I tried to fix things. And I was like, Okay, it's not working, what I can do, I can install a new theme, and when you change a few things, and then your website will work smoothly. And that's what we did. And that's what I'm showing you in this tutorial. But what I want to say to you is that changing a theme in your website is not a magic touch, there is no plugin that says, Okay, this is your website, choose a different theme, click on the button and copy and paste it and everything will be the same. Because everything has its own styles. What the theme does is the size, how your hair looks, the size, how your footer looks, the size, the overall style of your website. And if you have a blog post, it will define the style of your blog post. And if you have the Webshop at the will also define the style. So that's what it does. So if you make your website elemental, for instance, when you change themes, all the content you made with Elementor will stay the same. So that's a good thing. So what I will show you is how you can do this, yourself, we're gonna do it safely. We're gonna use backups and all that stuff. But it's not a thing that you do in just three minutes. It takes some time. But in the end, I believe you can be happy with the results. And I never had a longer intro than this one. So let's get started, I will show you how you can change the theme of your website. And I will use the black sea theme because I think that's the best free theme within WordPress. And let's get started. By the way, if you liked this video, feel free to like it. If you have a question, leave a comment. And if you want to learn more about WordPress, feel free to subscribe to our KZbin channel.

[@ChrisProutyVideos]

Super helpful! Thanks for sharing this. I've seen so many websites break with a theme change.

[@Eric-1701]

Every video you do is chock-full of helpful info! Thanks for posting!!!

[@BakewithBakabee]

Thank you very much for such a great tutorial again! I've learned so much from your tutorials and I built my own Wordpress website and my husband's one. Thanks again! You are awesome!!! 👍👍👍👍👍 By the way, I'm going to change the theme on my website. Fingers crossed!!! 🤞

[@exploringnature1800]

did it work out fine?

[@danielazhar7]

you are the best ferdy as always. Thanks so much. Love from Malaysia

[@razcue1]

This is gold, thanks Ferdy!

[@steliostsotras9050]

Thank you Ferdy!! Amazing and very very useful!! You are always in time!

[@ferdycom]

You are welcome 😊

[@mesutkullar]

Very nice tutorial, thanks a lot Ferdy

[@urielking4534]

Ferdy is the best your teaching is fantastic.

[@christopherwells7295]

Very interesting video, thank you for it. One of my other KZbin creators advised about content locking within themes, I have just tried to change a client from Divi to Elementor, if ever you want to see theme changing gone bad, you should try this combination - lol.

[@lukmonayinde5171]

Hey! Ferdy from Nigeria Well done and thanks for your Everytime valuable Contents.

[@backyardbees4355]

Thank you for your great tutorials! I've learned so much from you this week. I have to say though that I wish you had gone slower at the beginning and end of the video so I could have more confidence working in that new directory and then reloading when all my changes are finished. I am TERRIFIED to load my new site in place of old one!

[@trishalewisatphoenixfarm5495]

SAME !!! did you do it ? do you have tips for me ?

[@backyardbees4355]

@@trishalewisatphoenixfarm5495 Sorry, I can't remember a thing after it is working! All I can say is that it worked! Good luck!

[@StudyStream1998]

Thanks for the tutorial mate! Helped me out

[@AngeloTullio]

You're the best, Ferdy!

[@katalinmihaly2036]

Thank you Ferdi for this very infomative video. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

[@ferdycom]

Thank you! I wish you the same Katalin! 🎄

[@Enkormi]

This is great. thank you so much 🍀👌 best wishes for 2022 and a lot or success for you

[@mayhemartromalta]

Hi, thanks for your tutorials they are great. but i have one question, can you just change the template on to the existing website ?

[@boudrymichel890]

MERCI ... Quelle aisance vous avez pour ce travail !

[@bq6379]

very helpful thanks!

[@ebeiyambaokon8526]

Nice video Ferdy. Very timely. May i also suggest that you try and answer questions and enquiries posted by viewers. There are several questions posted on your channel that can help others learn from the answers. Thanks

[@ferdycom]

Thank you! I will do my best!

[@fkc2107]

You're the best Ferdy!

[@susangemayel-tapper3794]

Great tutorial Ferdy!!!

[@ferdycom]

Thank you Susan!

[@websitelearninglab]

Nice tutorial 👍

[@Asingh0825]

always nice ferdy, nowdays i see in many blogs ,,there is pagination of paragraph not pages,,,just like previous 1,2 next button in same paragraph,,,we can read a paragraph like book,,,plz make video and tell us how we can do this in any theme with help of code ....plz provide code ,,,I hope you will solve it soon..

[@Expertarabic]

Thank you, am solved my problem with your video 😁🎉😊

[@dospordos6239]

Always great vlog post. Hope you can post a toturial on how to create an MLM website.

[@its_ahmad_raza]

Great Video Learnt a lot ;)

[@drjimbarnes]

Top vid, Ferdy

[@Eric-1701]

I followed your directions and everything ALMOST worked perfectly. on the Single Product page is full width no matter what. WP and Blocksy are both set to 1024. I have had zero luck in tyring to figure out how to change the Single Product page. Very frustrating.

[@Boodini1989]

Hi Ferdy, thanks for the great video! This really helps🤗. I just had the problem that my current theme does not support newer versions of wordpress anymore so I will have to change it. Just one question: Do I understand right that in order to rebuild the site you need another domain (like a blank space) that is not live and in the end import everything into the live website? Is there any way of doing that without the need to buy / own another domain? Thanks in advance. Keep up the great work!

[@razakalsharafy4708]

Thank you Ferdy. How about video about things that WP can not do or its not designed for that functionality even it can be done with. Another one about uncommon usage of WP that many don't know it can be done with. For example: Helpdesk, Workflow, ERP ...etc. We hope to start seeing different vidoe from those regular (every year) WP-tuber videos (Elementor, Astra, Local server) Regards.

[@naimislam4316]

Thanks very nice Video I have one question If I change the website theme like this, will I lose SEO?

[@LoanNGUYEN-jj6jh]

Thank you ! My question is how to redesign the website without lose the seo ranking?

[@Lulu-kt6gr]

hi - is there any theme that will re-format my content automatically? I want to re-design the website but I don't want to make a huge mess. I have Astra now with Elementor - both Pro versions. Can I delete Astra and go with another theme easily somehow? I created most of my blogposts with Elementor, and then realized i could use Gutenberg instead and the speed would be better. I have 58 posts so far. I am not a developer. It took me a while to get the design i have now. Thank you.

[@jr4858]

PLEASE 2 Q from a newbie perspective: 1) When one gets a theme, can it be modified with any visual WP builder? Even if it didn't come with it? Such as maybe with Gutenberg? 2) And what if the theme doesn't come with a page builder? Must one do what you did? Thanks.

[@ytuser392]

Thank you for this video, it was very helpful! I have a question, in the final step of importing the customized site with new theme and overwrite the live site, do the links of pages and media stay the same as before? And does it retain SEO tags and information as well? Because it's very important when having an already ranked site to maintain the same links... thank you again!!

[@lizscrine]

Hi, I'm wondering if you found the answer to your question? Because I am wondering the same thing!

[@ytuser392]

@@lizscrine Hi! So actually I completed the job with the help of a webmaster and I understood that the media are sitting in their separate folder in the website database, so if you're using the same media you had in the previous website their links are going to stay the same. Also the pages, if you're not changing their slug will keep the same links. I worked on a subdomain so at the end of the job we had to move all of the content to the main folder, for this operation I relied on a webmaster since I'm not a professional, I suggest you make sure to have someone who knows how to set redirection of links properly when coming to the final step of publishing the new site if you're not familiar with it already cause it can be delicate. Also make sure when going live you're switching your wordpress settings back to "allow indexing of the website" cause I forgot it and for some reason it transferred the settings from the subdomain I was working on to the live version! Hope it helps!

[@lizscrine]

@@ytuser392 That is super useful, thanks so much. And very kind of you to send me such a thorough reply, I am going to copy/paste it into my notes! Yes it's all a bit daunting but there is help out there, as you have just demonstrated! Thanks again :)

[@ytuser392]

@@lizscrine Glad if I can be of any help! I went through many tutorials too and I really appreciate people helping with technical stuff so I'm happy to do the same!

[@DzBuZiness]

Thanks bro, please how to set gradient color with elementor on ocean wp theme? On top bar color for example

[@obertscloud]

I have a project the theme is old and not supported by themeforest anymore, but they have a free version everything except the header works, maybe try coping header code from the paid old version or something simple ?

[@major5maximus]

Can you make a video of all your KZbin video setup? That would be really helpful

[@nileshmsoni2343]

Just for few people who have missed it hearing properly. This plugin is Free only if your website size is 512MB and below, and if above this then you have to take yearly License of $69. I am writing this coz I missed it and now I am stuck with buying the license. Overall nice and informative video.

[@ferdycom]

Hey! I have a solution for you! Here is a free version with a bigger amount than 512MB. kzbin.info/www/bejne/qnrYo6Wtm9h2hcksi=UGSWGXYWK-YsmgSK

[@gpapazac]

Ferdy i have a video suggestion. You can make one about securing your site ( plugins, php preferences, database renaming etc). I dont know if its common knowledge but there is far less content on YT than what i expected.

[@ferdycom]

Thank you for your suggestion!

[@xnwebdesign1024]

Ferdy one question, after the replace the staging to live. Should i do redirects?? The urls will be 404 or not;

[@HelloWORLD_Verlag]

Hey Ferdy is there a actual tutorial that explains all the elements from Elementor Pro? This would help us a lot. Best regards and Merry Christmas!

[@ferdycom]

There is, but it's from 2017. I will create a new one.

[@victorfrancis1378]

have you created a new one sir@@ferdycom

[@sunflowerhk100]

Ferdy, but I have a Child theme with my previous theme. What do I do now the first few steps when changing to a new theme? Should I delete the old child theme and create a new child theme?

[@homebasenetworkmarketing]

I was wondering if I purchase a WordPress theme, do I have the right to have it recoded to function and operate the way I want it to work and flow?

[@aymamalik8201]

Super curious about one thing, exactly how did you create a dummy wp site to first test out and adjust before importing to your current site? That part got me confused

[@YoutuberJeremy]

when i backed up my website, it said, Archiving 50464 media files.., should i delete files that are not visually on my website moving forward? or will that mess up old seo

[@busrentaldubai6822]

Please make a video on how to change page builder. Like wp bakery to Gutenberg

[@daylenpollard]

Hey Ferdy! Do you have a video on how to add an affiliate program to your own Learndash courses? Or just adding an affiliate program to your site all together?

[@ferdycom]

Hey Daylen, not yet! I played around with WPAffiliate. WPCrafter has a tutorial about it: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fJXCZIiflstjnac

[@audunjemtland8287]

Ferdy. Any idea why a page might save as ENTIRELY different then what I saved it as? The buttons became small and slim, something I didn't change at all. Deleting cache doesn't change anything.

[@michaelm.3210]

For a somewhat SIMPLE website, it would seem that just remaking the website from the ground up would be simpler--no?!? If I have all the text, all the photos, know what all the sections are and what they were named before--and perhaps the names of fonts and/or the values for colors--why would I go to all the trouble of saving and renaming and making new permalinks and all the rest. It just seems like ... Too. Much. Work. (By the way, I LIKE all your videos/tutorials!!! And you're the first person I turn to when I need to undertake some new-to-me procedure, but .... Man; changing themes while trying to "save" everything in the process seems almost like a fool's errand. I would personally spend an extra 6-8 hours and start from scratch--and just modify, modify, and modify in order to massage a new theme to my liking. )

[@lizscrine]

Hi, I was thinking the same thing, so I'm wondering if you still think this six months later? After a bit more experience? I'm also wondering how that would impact ranking. My site is 15 years old which I think must benefit it's ranking.

[@TiệmChópChép]

I have a question, while editing the new site, will the audience see the old site or the blank site that we have just created

[@katyjones4108]

I wish you were my friend! It all seems so complicated. I have a word press site that I am quite proud of but I need to freshen it up and set up a business. Is it worth changing to a Wix site? Thanks for your content

[@ferdycom]

Hey Katy, Wix is very limited. I would never advise someone go use Wix.

[@siddharthgupta9549]

Hi sir,I want to change theme of my wordpress website and design it from scratch, is the process to do that I deactivate my current theme and delete all the pages,activate new themes and start working on it?

[@shyam5804]

Fredy can you please make a video on how to make ebook website like kindle Where people can read my ebooks but cannot download them.....to save them from piracy

[@HerCreativeSpace]

I tried changing the theme and now my client's website is completely messed up and i still can't edit anything. Everything loads slowly. I installed Elementor and Astra Theme and Starter Templates. I would really appreciate some help🙏

[@AbdouAbdou-hr9ql]

Hi Dear i'm learning alot by your vidéos. Now i have a issue prevent me to create m'y first store . Thé édit with elementor button IS missing . What IS thé solution . Please help me .

[@master_coaching]

Hi there Ferdy. Nice Video. I'd like to download your Prelude 🎹🎶🎧 that starts each one of your videos... Thanks for 😊

[@ferdycom]

Hey Jos, you can buy it at audiojungle 😊

[@master_coaching]

@@ferdycom thanks for your feedback. Can you share title please ?

[@gamaheos]

Hi :), just curious to know if this would work with a 74GB website backup ? Thanks

[@manojudgata4393]

Hi Ferdy, After exporting the file, this website will run or not?

[@lordpatricksiacor2975]

do we need to avail a domain in namehero to do the dummy website?

[@REDISCOVERTHEWORLD]

Can we change the both builder And theme also, I'm using Oxygen and now i wanna use Bricks theme And builder both, can i do it without breaking my website design

[@georgeparker9872]

What if it's a website like Avada theme that has its own built in page builder. Mine has over 200 pages and I want to move from Avada to Astra, would I need to totally re-build each page one by one with for example 'Elementor' (which works well with Astra)??

[@lilacDaisy111]

Did you end up doing it

[@panosparas8976]

Hello Ferdy , i want to change theme but i hav applied in google adsense , this will affect my website?

[@peterevans1371]

hey ferdy have you ever changed a site from wp bakery to gutenberg i wonder if it can be done without much hassle

[@ferdycom]

No I haven't but I know how to do it. I would recreate it using Gutenberg.

[@volkerschuster8079]

Hi Ferdy great Video as always, what happened to the all in one migration plugin your friend created, does that not work anymore?? Just asking for a friend😃

[@ferdycom]

Thanks! It still works.

[@volkerschuster8079]

@@ferdycom thank you Ferdy, I tried it once and it did not work, but let me try again, since I trust your tutorials but not sure if I can trust myself, so I am sure I did something wrong...thanks again for all your work you put in, it really helps!😃

[@newskura]

When applying the new theme, all the old posts have been removed. How to recover

[@redemptionshield]

I have a 1GB site. I have made so many mistakes. I am not sure what to do to fix everything. I was thinking about just changing the theme but that doesnt remove the size. How can I fix that issue? My site speed it good and but overall Im not sure what to do.

[@OluwaseunAjayi-gz1jr]

Hey! There, I can see you have a problem with your website . I can actually provide you solutions that will definitely help . Let connect to discuss more .

[@OluwaseunAjayi-gz1jr]

Your website may be too large due to unoptimized media, unused files, and possibly heavy themes and plugins. You can Compress Media, Clean Database, Manage Plugins and Themes and so on . Let discuss to make your website better and professional.

[@aymamalik8201]

my website file is roughly 1 gb and its too big to import. what do i do?

[@ScaleCrawling]

How to I reset the color combinations in Astra?

[@shinningraj]

where can i get Faveur theme download link?

[@waterfree612]

good

[@ronmoki1]

Hands down, you are honestly the best youtuber ive seen the last decade. You've helped me so much, I dont know how to thank you enough. A possible request.. That'd be great if you could make the following guides: 1. What essential plugins do u recommend to use before finishing the website (anti spam, security etc) 2. From the eagle's eye- How do you properly create the infastructures of a busniess/company (one google account to manage all your projects? Google Analytics? Admin permissions) 3. Steps of how do you properly hand over the website to your client clien in the cleanest way possible to avoid afterwork issues and questions... I cant thank you enough, honestly mate, youre awsome. Great content, Great man ❤ Cheers!

[@JulaWeg]

How if was MotoPress old theme with gutenberg builder

[@EliTessadroo]

hello! by mistake I changed the theme and lost all the content. Worst than that, new entries doesn't appear anymore.. Please, help! how do I make everything show again, does anyone know? I put my site in blank but still entries doesn't show (they mark as published publicly). Thanks indeed

[@ferdycom]

Hey Eliseo, I am sorry to hear that. Go to your webhosting account and put back a backup from bedore you made the changes.

[@user-dv1ln8ez3s]

Can you please give me All in one migration plugin link to download

[@wellwisher_a]

How to migrate from Gutenverse editor to Elementor?

[@OluwaseunAjayi-gz1jr]

Hello 🤗 I don't know if you have seen a solution or still having any other issues with your website, I will love if I can help .

[@valdavierling975]

Ferry, Ferdy, the All-in-one WP Migration plug-in has been banned by WordPress. Do you recommend another?

[@ferdycom]

Yes, WPVivid.

[@theherbs5039]

Changing WordPress theme will impact SEO ?

[@DalarnasFilmfotograf]

My hosting doesn't allow me to use more than one SQL database, could I do this with a free Wordpress website instead?

[@ferdycom]

I would upgrade your hosting account or switch hosting platform.

[@DalarnasFilmfotograf]

@@ferdycom Alright, THANKS! :)

[@uzomannaemekateflondon1144]

Ferdyyyyyyyyy

[@real-facts7101]

You said that you will be back on january

[@ferdycom]

Yes haha! I was so excited I took a break from my break 😇

[@narjesbinandeh9125]

how to move from wpbakery to elementor?please help me

[@ferdycom]

Create everything from scratch in Elementor on a different website or subdomain. When you are finished, replace your website with your elementor website.

[@narjesbinandeh9125]

@@ferdycom ok then I will start to work on the website in elementor after that replace that with a website?is it true?

[@ctchannel5509]

Please Sharing us Sir , How to create movies & series downloading Website earn money . Please reponse me Sir.Thanks.

[@bobarnold771]

Ferdy, I tried to send you an email. Can you send me a quote to do this on one of my websites?

[@pseudoplastic84]

Imagine seeing this video AFTER you just changed the theme 🥴

[@OluwaseunAjayi-gz1jr]

Hello Am happy to meet you here do you have a website you just changed the theme, I will love to discuss with you how you go about it.

[@user-yy8xc7ok6p]

I create a simple blog website and 4 month old I change a theme ?

[@Brianthecitizenjournalist]

Why cant you just change the theme without going through all of that?

[@ferdycom]

Because every theme has its own functionalities.