How to Update a WordPress Theme Without Losing Customization

By Naveed Ahmed, WordPress Expert with 15 Years of Experience

Updating your WordPress theme is crucial for keeping your website secure, up-to-date, and running smoothly. However, if you’ve made any customizations to your theme, you might be worried about losing those changes during the update process. This is a common concern for many WordPress users, but fear not! There are several reliable methods to update your theme without losing any of your hard-earned customization.

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll cover all the essential steps you need to know to update your theme without losing customizations. We’ll delve into the intricacies of how theme updates work in WordPress, explain the various types of customizations that can be affected, and provide clear, actionable steps for preserving your changes. Whether you’ve added custom code snippets, modified theme files, or customized your theme’s appearance through the Customizer, this guide will equip you with the knowledge to update your theme confidently.

Let’s embark on this journey to ensure your WordPress theme updates are as seamless as possible, without compromising your unique customizations.

Understanding Theme Updates in WordPress

WordPress has a built-in system for managing updates for the core software, plugins, and themes. Your website automatically checks for updates and displays available updates on the Dashboard “ Updates page.

When a theme update is available, you’ll also receive a notification on the Appearance “ Themes page. Theme updates are vital for improving your website’s security, performance, and for introducing new features. Theme developers use updates to address security vulnerabilities, fix bugs, enhance performance, and often introduce new features and design elements.

You can easily install the new version by clicking the “Update Now” button. WordPress downloads the updated theme package, extracts it, and replaces the older files with the newer version. This process of replacing old files can lead to the overwriting of any manual customizations you might have made to the theme’s files, causing you to lose those changes.

What Customizations Can Be Lost During a Theme Update?

Before we dive into the solutions, let’s understand what types of customizations can be affected by a theme update.

Customizations That Are Safe During a Theme Update:

• WordPress Customizer Settings: Changes made using the WordPress Customizer, accessible from the Appearance “ Customize page, are stored in the WordPress database and are unaffected by theme updates. You can adjust settings like header images, colors, layouts, and add custom CSS without worrying about losing them.
• Widgets and Menus: WordPress widgets and navigation menus are managed separately from theme files, so they remain intact during theme updates.
• Companion Plugins: Many popular themes like Astra and OceanWP come with companion plugins that extend their functionality. Customizations made through these plugins are not impacted by theme updates.
• WordPress Page Builders: If you use a WordPress page builder like SeedProd, Divi, or Beaver Builder to customize your website’s layout, your changes will be safe during theme updates.
• Plugin-Based Features: Any features you’ve added to your website using plugins are also secure. This includes contact forms, Google Analytics integration, email newsletter popups, and more.

Customizations That Can Be Lost During a Theme Update:

• Direct Theme File Modifications: Any code you’ve added directly to your theme’s files, like functions.php or style.css, will be overwritten during the update process. The same applies if you’ve made modifications to theme templates like index.php, header.php, or footer.php.

Methods to Update Your WordPress Theme Without Losing Customization

Now that you know what customizations could be lost, let’s explore the most effective methods to preserve your changes while updating your theme.

Method 1: Using a Code Snippets Plugin (Recommended)

If you’ve added custom code to your theme files, the simplest way to protect it is to move it to a code snippets plugin like WPCode before updating your theme. This plugin allows you to add custom code directly from your WordPress dashboard, making your customizations future-proof. It’s like adding code snippets to your theme files without actually modifying the files themselves. This method is highly recommended for its ease of use and effectiveness.

Here’s how to move your custom code to WPCode:

1. Locate Your Custom Code: Go to Appearance “ Theme Editor in your WordPress Dashboard. Navigate to the sidebar on the right and click on the functions.php file to open it in the editor.
2. Copy Your Custom Code: Find the location where you added your custom code, usually at the end of the file. Copy the code and paste it into a plain text editor on your computer, like Notepad.
3. Install and Activate WPCode: Install and activate the free WPCode plugin from the WordPress Plugin Directory. (For detailed instructions, see our guide on installing WordPress plugins.)
4. Add a New Snippet: Go to Code Snippets “ Add Snippet in your WordPress Dashboard. Hover over the “Add your own code (new Snippet)” option and click the “Use Snippet” button.
5. Paste Your Code: Paste the code you copied in the previous step into the “Code Preview” field. Ensure you select “PHP Snippet” as the code type from the dropdown menu on the right.
6. Save Your Snippet: Add a descriptive title for your snippet (optional) and then toggle the switch on the top from “Inactive” to “Active.” Click the “Save Snippet” button. WPCode will automatically load your code on your WordPress website.

Note: Repeat this process for each custom code snippet you’ve added. You can apply similar steps to transfer customizations from header.php and footer.php to the WPCode plugin. For a step-by-step guide, refer to our guide on adding header and footer code in WordPress.

Once you’ve moved all your code snippets to WPCode, you can safely update your theme without worrying about losing your customizations.

Method 2: Creating a Child Theme to Preserve Customization

A child theme is a special type of WordPress theme that inherits the functionality, features, and style of another WordPress theme, the “parent” theme. You can then customize your child theme without making any changes to the parent theme. This approach is particularly effective when you’ve made extensive customizations to your theme or plan to make more changes in the future.

Here’s how to create and use a child theme to protect your customizations:

1. Create a Child Theme: You can create a child theme using a plugin or by writing code. Check out our beginner’s guide on how to create a WordPress child theme for detailed instructions. Ensure the theme you want to update is the “parent” theme.
2. Download Theme Folders: Connect to your WordPress hosting account using an FTP client (File Transfer Protocol). Navigate to the /wp-content/themes/ folder and download your theme folder to your computer. This folder serves as a backup of your theme and customizations. We’ll use this folder later to copy your customizations into the child theme folder.
3. Download the Theme Update: Visit the website of your theme and download the latest version to your computer. Extract the downloaded ZIP file to access the theme’s folders.
4. Compare and Copy Customizations: Now you should have three theme folders on your computer:
   • The new updated version of your theme
   • The old customized version of your theme
   • The child theme you just created.

To identify the changes you’ve made, compare the files of your old and new themes. You’ll need a file comparison software to highlight the differences between the old and new versions of each file. We recommend WinMerge for Windows users, Kaleidoscope for Mac users, and Meld for Linux users.

Open your file comparison software and drag the updated version of your theme into the left pane and the old customized version into the right pane. The software will highlight all files that have been changed or added.

1. Copy to the Child Theme: Copy all the highlighted files (except functions.php and style.css) from the right pane to your child theme folder. The child theme already has its own functions.php and style.css files, so we’ll handle them differently.
2. Copy Changes to functions.php and style.css: Open both the updated and old versions of the functions.php file in your comparison software. Copy the highlighted text from the customized version to your clipboard.
3. Paste into Child Theme Files: Paste the copied text at the end of the functions.php file in your child theme folder. Ensure you save the file. Repeat this process for the style.css file if it has been modified.
4. Upload the Updated and Child Theme Folders: Connect to your website using an FTP client and navigate to the /wp-content/themes/ folder. Upload both the updated theme folder and the child theme folder to your website. Your FTP client will warn you about files with the same name already existing. Choose “overwrite” to ensure your old theme files are replaced with the updated versions.

Importing Customizer Settings to the Child Theme:

Remember, customizations made using the WordPress Customizer are not saved in the theme files. We need to import these settings into the child theme. We’ll use the Customizer Export/Import plugin to achieve this.

1. Install Customizer Export/Import: Install and activate the Customizer Export/Import plugin on both your export and import sites. (See our step-by-step guide on installing WordPress plugins for details.)
2. Export Customizer Settings: With your parent theme still active, go to Appearance “ Customize. Click on the Export/Import field to reveal the settings and then click the “Export” button. The plugin will export your Customizer settings and save them to your computer as a .dat file.
3. Activate the Child Theme: Go to Appearance “ Themes and click the “Activate” button under your child theme.
4. Import Customizer Settings: Return to the Appearance “ Customize page and click the Export/Import field. Click the “Choose File” button to select the file you exported earlier. Check the box next to “Download and import image files” to import header images and other image files.
5. Complete Import: Click the “Import” button to start the import process. The plugin will import the Customizer settings from the exported file. Once complete, preview your changes in the Customizer and then click the “Save & Publish” button to apply them.

You’ve now successfully moved all your customizations to the child theme. In the future, you can update the parent theme without needing to repeat these steps.

Conclusion

Updating your WordPress theme is essential for keeping your website secure and up-to-date. However, maintaining your customisations is a crucial aspect of the process. By following the methods outlined in this article, you can confidently update your theme without losing any of your hard work. Whether you opt for using a code snippets plugin like WPCode or create a child theme to house your modifications, remember to always prioritize backing up your website before making any significant changes.

FAQs

What happens if I don’t update my WordPress theme?

It’s not recommended to skip theme updates. Unupdated themes can become vulnerable to security threats, miss out on performance enhancements, and may not be compatible with newer versions of WordPress. In some cases, unupdated themes might even stop functioning correctly.

Can I update my WordPress theme without using a child theme?

While it’s possible to update your theme without a child theme, it’s not recommended unless you’re comfortable with manually moving your code or are willing to risk losing customizations. Using a child theme or a code snippets plugin provides a much safer and more efficient approach.

Do I have to update my child theme?

No, you don’t need to update your child theme. Child themes are designed to inherit updates from the parent theme. Updating the parent theme will automatically apply those updates to your child theme.

What if I’ve made changes to my theme’s templates (like header.php or footer.php)?

You’ll need to copy those changes to the corresponding templates in your child theme when creating a child theme. If you are using WPCode, then you can move those code snippets to WPCode by following the steps outlined in the article.

How do I find the latest version of my theme?

You can usually find the latest version of your theme on the developer’s website or within the WordPress theme directory.

Can I use both a child theme and a code snippets plugin?

Yes, you can use both. Child themes are great for managing large-scale customizations, while code snippets plugins are ideal for smaller code snippets. Using both methods allows you to organize your customizations effectively.

What if I’m not comfortable with using FTP?

If you’re not comfortable with FTP, you can consider using a file manager plugin. These plugins provide an interface within your WordPress Dashboard to manage files on your website.

What should I do if my theme update breaks my website?

If your theme update breaks your website, immediately revert to a backup of your website. You can also contact the theme developer for support.

Is it possible to update my theme without losing my customizations without using a child theme or code snippets plugin?

While it’s technically possible to update your theme without using a child theme or code snippets plugin, it’s highly discouraged. This approach requires meticulous manual copying of every single customization, which is very prone to errors and can lead to data loss. It’s much safer and more efficient to rely on child themes or code snippets plugins to preserve your changes.

What are some other things I should consider before updating my theme?

Before updating your theme, it’s a good practice to:

• Back up your entire website
• Test the update on a staging site (if possible)
• Read the theme developer’s documentation about the update
• Contact the theme developer for support if you encounter any issues

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