Posts and Plugins

Look and feel · 3.2

Changing your theme safely

Last reviewed

The short version

  • You can change your theme at any time. Your posts and pages stay put.
  • Features that the old theme added may disappear.
  • Use the official directory, and preview a theme before you switch.
  • Back up first. Check your pages afterwards.

Before you start

Make a backup of your site. A backup lets you restore the site if there are any issues.[1]

If you can, try a new theme on a test site first.[2]

What changes and what stays

A theme takes the content that WordPress has stored and shows it.[3] So your posts and pages stay when you switch themes.

The look will change. That means colours, fonts and layout.

Some features may go. If the old theme added a feature, such as a portfolio, you can lose it when you change themes.[3]

Three rows. When you change themes, the look changes, features the old theme added may disappear, and the posts and pages that WordPress stores stay.
What happens when you switch themes.

Look through your site for features you rely on before you switch.

Find a theme

The official theme directory has over 15,000 free themes.[4] Every theme there is reviewed by a team and tested against a wide range of rules.[2]

The top of the WordPress theme directory page. It says there are over 15,000 free themes and has a search box and tabs for Popular, Latest, Community, Commercial and Block themes.
The official theme directory on WordPress.org. Screenshot: WordPress Theme Directory, captured 2026-10-18.

You can search by layout, subject and features.[2] A theme has its own page in the directory. You can use its Preview button to see a demo.[2]

The information page for a theme in the WordPress theme directory.
A theme page in the official directory. Screenshot: WordPress documentation, captured 2026-10-18.

Add the theme to your site

Go to Appearance, then Themes. Then click Add New. Find a theme with the search or filters. You can preview it or install it.[2]

If you have the theme as a zip file, use the Upload Theme button.[2]

The Themes screen showing installed themes as small pictures, with a button to add a new one.
The Themes screen shows the themes you have installed. Screenshot: WordPress documentation, captured 2026-10-18.

The Themes screen shows each theme you have installed as a small picture. Roll your mouse over a picture to see buttons. You will see Activate and Live Preview.[5]

The safe way to switch

Five steps to change a theme safely: make a backup, find a theme in the official directory, use Live Preview, activate the theme, then look over your site.
A safe way to change your theme.
  1. Back up your site.
  2. Find the theme in the official directory.
  3. Preview it. Live Preview shows your own content in the new design.[2] Block themes can be previewed in the Site Editor too.[2]
  4. Activate it. Only one theme can be active at a time.[2] The change happens straight away.[2]
  5. Look over your home page, a post, a page and any special features.

If a theme's preview is blank, do not activate it. Look into the problem first.[2]

Deleting a theme you do not use

Delete removes a theme completely. The files go too. If you changed that theme, those changes go with it. So consider backing up before you delete.[5]

Where next

Themes shape the look. Plugins add features. Start with what plugins are.

Sources

  1. Updating WordPress, WordPress.org Documentation (accessed 2026-10-18)
  2. Work with themes, WordPress.org Documentation (accessed 2026-10-18)
  3. What Is a Theme?, WordPress Theme Handbook (accessed 2026-10-18)
  4. WordPress Theme Directory, WordPress.org (accessed 2026-10-18)
  5. Appearance Themes Screen, WordPress.org Documentation (accessed 2026-10-18)