Random thoughts on art, technology, stuff, and occasionally Real Estate: Awesome WordPress Plugin: Theme Test Drive

Awesome WordPress Plugin: Theme Test Drive

Do you ever feel like trying out a new WordPress Theme or hacking your present theme ... but you don't want to make your blog inaccessible - or worse yet, scrambled - while you are in the process of testing new themes.

This plugin is the answer to your prayers:  Theme Test Drive by Vladimir Prelovac

Here's how to install and use it.

Download the plugin.

 Unzip/extract using your favorite UNZIP utility.  My current favorite is CAMUnzip

 Upload the plugin folder to your /wp-content/plugins/ folder.   I'm using WS_FTP.

 

In the WordPress dashboard, click the Plugins tab, find Theme Test Drive in the list of plugins, and click activate.

Now click the Presentation tab in the WordPress Dashboard.  You will see a new sub-menu tab titled Theme Test Drive.  Click Theme Test Drive, and choose the name of the theme you want to experiment with from the drop down list.  Then click "enable".

Now when you click View site you will see your blog dressed up in the new theme.  But you will be the only person seeing it that way. 

All visitors to your site will still see your blog dressed in your currently active theme

When you are ready to go public with the new theme,  click the Presentation tab, then the Theme Test Drive tab,  and click Disable

Then click the Presentation tab, Themes tab, and set your newly designed theme as Current Theme

19 comments • Cheryl Johnson • January 19 2008 09:08AM

Comments

Cheryl:

 

I saw this but have not had a chance to check it out.  Thanks so much for the post!  Some great plugins are being developed now for Wordpress.  One of my favorite blogs!

Posted by Caryn Webb Digital Coaching by an e-PRO over 2 years ago
I love it...I'll need to give it a test drive. Thanks so much!
Posted by Monika McGillicuddy~REALTOR®~ N.H. Real Estate Broker & Trainer (Prudential Verani Realty/Hampstead) over 2 years ago
Thanks for the step by step pics. I will check this out
Posted by Flagstar Bank over 2 years ago
Cheryl - This looks like a great plug-in. I have been messing around with my wordpress blog trying to get it just right, but I am having a hard time finding a theme that I really like.
Posted by Ryan Martin - Bellingham Real Estate Agent (Windermere Real Estate / Whatcom Inc.) over 2 years ago
Ryan -- Little by little I plan to make some notes and take screen shots on customizing themes ... you know, changing out headers, colors, layout......  Stand by.
Posted by Cheryl Johnson, Bob Taylor Properties, Inc., Los Angeles, CA over 2 years ago
Cheryl - I was able to take the Hemmed theme and change out the header to an image. I know quite a bit of HTML, so I can go in and edit a lot of stuff. It is just a lot easier to find a good template though. I better stand by ;)
Posted by Ryan Martin - Bellingham Real Estate Agent (Windermere Real Estate / Whatcom Inc.) over 2 years ago

Ryan,  I just took at look at the Hemmed theme.    http://www.randomprocess.ca/2006/05/26/hemmed-without-the-ajax/   Yeah, I  like it.

Believe me whatever notes I post will just be simple HTML hacks, probably nothing you don't already know.

Posted by Cheryl Johnson, Bob Taylor Properties, Inc., Los Angeles, CA over 2 years ago

Cheryl - Hmmm. Here is my hacked version of the theme. I like that it is simple and matches my website's general theme, but I am still working on it. I think that I did a lot better with this one.

Posted by Ryan Martin - Bellingham Real Estate Agent (Windermere Real Estate / Whatcom Inc.) over 2 years ago
Fascinating Cheryl and ya know I 'm going to have to play with this.  I wish you could do that with all plug ins!
Posted by Carole Cohen Realtor®, ePRO (Howard Hanna Cleveland City Office) over 2 years ago
That's a great find!!!!   You are pretty relentless once you jump on board with something, aren't you???
Posted by Bob Carney Licensed MD/PA Real Estate Agent (Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc.) over 2 years ago
Bob:  Word for the day:  Obsessive.   Now, if I could only focus my obsessive abilities on stuff that ~really~ needs to get done.  :-)
Posted by Cheryl Johnson, Bob Taylor Properties, Inc., Los Angeles, CA over 2 years ago
Monika mentioned this to me as I missed it and I am always playing with new themes and plug-ins.
Posted by Jay McGillicuddy~Real Estate Broker (Prudential Verani Realty) over 2 years ago
Cheryl - are you thinking of becoming a wordpress convert?  I love changing the themes - thanks to your experiments I changed things around and found one that I love.  I think I'm done playing around with it.  I'm gonna call 'er done.  :)
Posted by Maureen Henry - Rockland Home Staging over 2 years ago
Maureen -- Not a convert.  I just wanna be bilingual.  :-)
Posted by Cheryl Johnson, Bob Taylor Properties, Inc., Los Angeles, CA over 2 years ago

Bilingual?  Cheryl, you must be octalingual by now!  Thanks for posting this tutorial.

Mike in Tucson

Posted by Mike Jones (SUNSTREET MORTGAGE, LLC) over 2 years ago
What a great plugin and excellent tutorial too!  How nice to test drive before committing to the change!
Posted by Ginger Wilcox, Marin County Realtor (Alain Pinel, Marin Real Estate) over 2 years ago
Thank you for all of your great advice on Wordpress!
Posted by Monica Ray (JAM Media Group) over 2 years ago

Guys now you can forget the wordpress themes for real estate agents or the plug-ins that  let you put your listings by hand in your wp theme. Look for the wordpress real estate plugin which imports the listings on a daily basis and you don't have to do a thing. And you can even blog on a particular listing.

Posted by jeannie about 1 year ago

Wow! This is extremely helpful information. We want to to a major site renovation and this is just the ticket.

Posted by Vickie Nagy, Realtor, Pre-Foreclosure Specialist Certified, CDPE 925.407.7987 (Keller Williams Realty in Danville CA) 5 months ago

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