Choose a theme that supports your store’s content, shopping experience, and preferred editing tools. Before changing an existing store’s theme, test the replacement on staging so you can check the design and complete a purchase without disrupting customers.
Choose a theme for your store
↑ Back to topCompare themes using your own products and content, rather than relying only on a demo. A free theme is not necessarily better or worse than a paid one; consider the setup work, support, and extra plugins each option requires.
| Check | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Shopping experience | Confirm WooCommerce compatibility and test product pages, product options, Cart, Checkout, and My Account. |
| Mobile and accessibility | Check readable text, navigation, buttons, and forms on different screen sizes. Try the main shopping flow with a keyboard as well as touch or a mouse. |
| Editing tools | Decide whether you want to build your design with the Site Editor, use a classic theme’s controls, or depend on a separate page builder. |
| Features and dependencies | List the layouts and features you need. Check which are included and which require extra plugins, licenses, or setup. |
| Support and maintenance | Review the theme’s requirements, update history, documentation, and support options. Confirm compatibility with the extensions your store depends on. |
| Demo and performance | Find out which images, demo content, or plugins the example uses. Test loading and usability with your own catalog and hosting. |
Understand the editing tools
↑ Back to top- Block themes use Appearance > Editor to work with site templates, navigation, and styles.
- Classic themes commonly use Appearance > Customize and theme-specific settings. The available controls depend on the theme.
- Page builders and other plugins may add their own editing tools. Check whether those tools and any required licenses are included.
A theme does not need the Customizer to be a suitable choice. In particular, the Customizer is normally hidden for block themes unless another feature requires it.
Change an existing store’s theme
↑ Back to topPlan the change on staging
↑ Back to top- Make a current backup and create a staging copy of your store. You need administrator access to install or activate a theme.
- Record the current theme and the parts of your design you want to keep, including the home page, menus, header, footer, widgets, product layouts, and special content.
- Check whether the current theme supplies features or content that the replacement does not support. Ask the theme provider how to preserve anything your store depends on.
- Follow the theme installation instructions to install and activate the replacement on staging.
Check content and product pages
↑ Back to topSwitching themes keeps core WordPress content such as posts and pages, but the new theme may display it differently. Check a representative selection of posts, pages, products, categories, and any special content such as portfolios.
If content disappears or formatting instructions appear as visible text, the old theme or a related plugin may have supplied the feature. Do not delete that content as a first fix. Identify the dependency and ask the provider for a supported migration path.
Rebuild theme-specific layouts and features
↑ Back to topCompare the staging site with your original design. Set up the new theme’s home page, navigation, header, footer, and product templates. Menus, widget areas, templates, and other theme-specific settings may need to be assigned or configured again.
If a required feature is missing, check the theme’s documentation or ask its provider whether the theme supports it or needs a compatible plugin. For a custom design or feature, work with a developer before making the change live.
Test the complete shopping flow
↑ Back to top- Review the home page, search, navigation, product pages, and account pages on desktop and mobile.
- Test the product types and extensions your store uses, including variations, subscriptions, or bookings where relevant.
- Add products to Cart, change quantities, apply a coupon if you use coupons, and check shipping and tax calculations.
- Use a payment method’s documented test mode and safe test email addresses on staging to complete an order. Confirm that checkout, the order confirmation, and expected emails work.
- Check the result in the browsers and devices your customers use. If a problem appears, reactivate the previous theme on staging and compare the same steps to help identify the cause.
Make the tested change live
↑ Back to topOnce the staging checks pass, make a fresh backup and follow your host’s deployment process. Preserve orders and customer activity added to the live store during testing; do not overwrite them with an older staging database. Repeat the key page and checkout checks after the change is live.
For problems with a specific theme, share your staging test results with that theme’s provider.
Questions and support
↑ Back to topDo you still have questions and need assistance?
This documentation is about the free, core WooCommerce plugin, for which support is provided in our community forums on WordPress.org. By searching this forum, you’ll often find that your question has been asked and answered before.
If you haven’t created a WordPress.org account to use the forums, here’s how.
- If you’re looking to extend the core functionality shown here, we recommend reviewing available extensions in the WooCommerce Marketplace.
- Need ongoing advanced support or a customization built for WooCommerce? Hire a Woo Agency Partner.
- Are you a developer building your own WooCommerce integration or extension? Check our Developer Resources.
If you weren’t able to find the information you need, please use the feedback thumbs below to let us know.