John Davidson

Message:

I have locally built a new theme for my website which is a Woocommerce store. I only added a few products to the local version to test but now I want to add the new edited theme to the production site.

What's the best solution to moving a new customised theme to a production site without losing the user and product data?

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My Answer:
One way to replace the WordPress theme on your production site without losing any user or product data is to follow these steps:

1. Backup your production site: Before making any changes, it's important to backup your production site to ensure that you have a copy of all your data in case anything goes wrong during the theme replacement process.

2. Upload the new theme to your production site: You can upload the new customised theme to your production site by going to the Appearance > Themes section in your WordPress dashboard and clicking on the "Add New" button. Then, upload the theme files and activate it.

3. Test the new theme: Once the new theme is activated, make sure to thoroughly test it to ensure that all the functionality is working correctly and that it looks as expected.

4. Migrate user and product data: If you have added any new users or products to your local site for testing purposes, you can migrate this data to your production site using a plugin like WP All Import or by manually exporting and importing the data.

5. Update any customizations: If you have made any customizations to the new theme that are specific to your local site, make sure to update them for your production site. This may include updating any hardcoded URLs or paths in the theme files.

6. Go live: Once you have tested the new theme and migrated any necessary data, you can go live with the new theme on your production site.

By following these steps, you should be able to replace the WordPress theme on your production site without losing any user or product data.