One of the best things about WordPress is the easy customization options that you get with WordPress themes and plugins.
You can also take these customizations to the next level by adding your own code snippets and CSS styles to your WordPress theme.
The problem arises when an update becomes available for your theme. If you are not careful, then there is a high chance that you’ll lose some of those changes you made to your theme.
In this article, we will show you how to easily update a WordPress theme without losing customization. We will also cover how to properly customize your themes, so you are not affected when a new theme update is released.
How Theme Updates Work in WordPress?
WordPress comes with a powerful system to install updates for not just WordPress itself but for plugins and themes as well.
Your WordPress website regularly checks for updates and display them under Dashboard » Updates page.
When a theme update becomes available, you’ll also see a notification on the Appearance » Themes page.
Updates are really important for the security and performance of your WordPress website. Aside from security and bug fixes, theme developers can also introduce new features with these updates.
You can simply click on the update button to install the new version.
WordPress will then download the theme package, unzip it, and replace the old files with the newer version.
This will overwrite all old theme files installed on your website. If you manually added custom code to your WordPress theme files, then you’ll lose those changes.
That being said, let’s take a look at which theme changes are safe and which customizations will be erased.
What Type of Theme Customizations Can You Lose During an Update?
There are multiple ways you can customize a WordPress theme. Some of these theme customizations are safe because your changes are stored in the WordPress database itself.
This includes all changes made through the built-in WordPress theme customizer which you can access by visiting Appearance » Customize page.
The theme customizer allows you to modify your WordPress theme and store all changes in the WordPress database. You can change the header image, colors, layout, custom CSS, and more.
Your WordPress widgets and navigation menus are also not affected by the theme updates.
Popular WordPress themes like Astra and Ocean WP now come with companion plugins. These plugins are used to add extra features to your theme. Any theme changes made using these companion plugins are also not affected by the theme update.
If you customize your WordPress layout using a WordPress page builder like Divi, Beaver Builder, Elementor, etc, then those changes will also not be impacted.
Any other features that you have added to your website using a plugin are also safe. For example, your WordPress contact forms, Google Analytics, email newsletter popups, and more.
Customizations that you’ll lose during the update
If you have added any code to your theme’s functions.php file, then it will disappear. Any CSS changes that you have added directly to your theme’s stylesheet (style.css) file will also be wiped off.
Now that we know which changes will be erased, let’s talk about how to preserve and restore them after the theme update.
Step 1. Preparing for The Theme Update
First thing you need to do is connect to your WordPress hosting account using an FTP client.
Once connected, go to the /wp-content/themes/ folder and download your theme folder to your computer.
This folder will be the backup of your theme, and we will use it later to copy and paste customizations after updating the theme.
Step 2. Download The Updated Theme and Move Customizations
Now we want to transfer customizations we have made to the old theme files to the updated version.
Simply visit your theme’s website and download the latest version to your computer. Locate the theme’s zip file and extract it.
You should now have both, the new version and your old customized theme on your computer.
If you remember the changes you made to your theme, then simply copy and paste the code snippets from the old theme to the new version.
On the other hand, if you do not remember the changes you made, then you will have to find them first. The easiest way to do this is by comparing your theme files.
You’ll need to use a file comparison software like WinMerge (kaleidoscope for Mac, Meld for Linux).
Open both theme folders in file comparison software. It will show files side by side allowing you to quickly compares files to locate the customizations you have added to the old theme.
You can then copy and paste the code from the old theme file to the same file in the new theme.
Step 3. Upload the New Theme Folder
After copying your changes to the new theme, you are now ready to upload the updated version to your website.
Simply connect to your website using the FTP client and go to the /wp-content/themes/ folder. Select the new theme folder and update it to your website.
Your FTP client will warn you that the files with the same name already exist. You need to choose <strongOverwrite to make sure that your old theme files are replaced by new files.
That’s all. You have successfully updated your WordPress theme. Visit your website to make sure that everything is working as expected.
How to Avoid Losing Changes During Theme Update
If you want to add code snippets or custom styles to your WordPress theme, then there are some best practices that you should follow.
The best solution is to create a child theme and add your custom code to child theme’s files.
However, many WordPress beginners may not feel comfortable creating a child theme. Luckily, there are easier solutions available.
For all your custom code changes, you can use the code snippets plugin.
It allows you to safely add custom code snippets without breaking your website, and your changes will not be affected by theme updates. You can even change your WordPress theme without losing those changes.
For CSS code, you can save it all under the theme customizer’s ‘Additional CSS’ tab.
For more information, see our guide on how to add custom CSS in WordPress.
Alternatively, you can also use the powerful CSS Hero plugin to easily customize the styles without even writing any CSS code.
We hope this article helped you update your WordPress theme without losing customization. If you come across any issues, then check out our guide on most common WordPress errors and how to fix them.
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I am wondering over the following: I have created a child theme to an existing theme. I have installed it, but since then I have added some changes via additional CSS. I would also like to change something in the functions.
I want to add the CSS changes to my child theme, and then update the child theme. If I want to replace the whole child theme via WordPress dashboard, I loose all my settings (disable and remove child theme and then add new version). Could I just replace the functions.php and style.css via the FTP without loosing settings etc. or is there another way to update the child theme?
If you wanted you could update the files using FTP
Hello WP Beginner , I have made a WordPress site recently thanks all to your youtube videos. I was looking for updating my website with Google Adsense and some other edits but not figuring out how to edit them .I tried using the editor and editing the theme php files but I couldn’t edit it and it gave out some error saying uploading files through SFTP can help. Can you help me out in this matter.???
Thanks in Advance
Gursehaj Singh
I have bought a theme in my name as a new customer, but i am trying to use it on a different site that needs the update, i have admin details and can get access to the site but struggling to link my new theme to it ?? help
Once I have made customizations to my child theme will the changes transfer when I update it or will I need to back it up somehow?
Hi Kaylee,
Your child theme will not have any updates. You will still get updates for the parent theme. Updating parent theme will not affect your child theme.
I definitely will use this on my template upgrade. Thanks
Hi Guys,
If I make changes to a child theme using the WordPress Customizer or for example using the Storefront Powerpack extension (of course, for a Storefront theme) will I lose the changes when my theme is updated? I understand that when a theme is updated I lose all the customization but what about using the WordPress Customizer or Powerpack (Storefront) or Design Palette Pro (Genesis)? Thank you very much for your help!!
Hi Felipe,
If you are using a child theme you will not lose those changes. Customizer changes are stored locally so they are not affected by updates to your theme.
To apply updates properly, do I first have to deactivate my child theme, and reactivate my parent theme? Or can I just apply the updates from within the activated child theme?
Thanks.
Hi John,
You can update your parent theme without deactivating child theme.
Hi guys! I always use your site for reference when having doubts about WordPress.
And today, it seems I can’t find an answer to my question right away. Perhaps you could write a post about this thing that is going round in my head:
What happens when you have a free wordpress theme installed in your web and the theme creators stop updating it? How does this impact the future performance and functioning of the site?
I guess that for a few months or even years, nothing important will happen to the site an it will not be affected too much. But I wonder what happens, for example, if with new versions of WordPress there could be a danger.
Thanks for your response!
Esther
Hi Esther,
If a theme hasn’t been updated, then you can reach out to theme authors. You can ask them if they are still maintaining the theme. If they are not planning to release an update, then you should look for another theme to switch.
Can i just directly update the theme, last time i have updated the theme, directly i just copied and and pasted my updated theme in the folder. nothing happens to my website everything was perfectly running.
today again there is an update for my theme, i am thinking to do the same, as i have kept a copy of my customized code that i have done, so the copy and paste method will work fine. should i proceed with this steps.
Hi Ravi,
To be on the safe side, make sure that you create a back up of existing theme before uploading the new version.
Hey Guys!
I am going to have my site in other languages. Some of them are RTL such as Arabic and Farsi and some others are LTR.
As Enfold is a translation ready theme, could you guys let me know the steps (1- 2 – 3 …) I need to take to create my website in other languages. I’ll start with Farsi.
Thanks,
Mike
Hey,
I have a question!!! My website is live with a wordpress theme, and I have another paid theme with me which I want to first customize the whole new theme and then making it live without disturbing my website. How can I do that? Is there any method or plugin, because I’m zero in coding extra.
Hi there,
In the WinMerge part my comparison result has left only the majority and only one right only. Nothing more. The case is that it is supposed to have identical and different files and doesn’t have any… very strange. Why is this happening? Am I doing something wrong?
Hello WP Beginner Staff,
I am slightly familiar with WordPress and lately I’ve been looking into new ways to optimize my site. I have found a coder who I actually “watched” bring a site up from a score of 70/100 on Google Pagespeed Insights to a 99/100 by going into the wordpress and editing the code.
He did NOT use a child theme. He is new to this type of optimization and is just winging it. What happens when WP updates the site he was working on, kaboom?
Better yet -can a child theme actually protect THIS type of work on a site? I thought it mostly protects design elements of the site. Please give your valued opinion. You guys are well trusted and I’m sure others have similar questions to this.
Thanks!
If the coder made changes directly to the parent theme, then updating the theme will undo those changes. Using a child theme to make those changes would have been a better approach.
What happens if I do not update my theme? Any danger in that?
Yes, it is unsafe to not update your WordPress theme. WordPress is updated regularly and often it retires old functions and replaces them with better methods. Theme authors, then apply those changes to their themes. Also your theme author may add some new features or fix some bugs, you wouldn’t be getting those as well. Lastly, if there is a security issue with the theme, then by not updating your site will remain vulnerable.
i’m about to inherit a site in which the original creator did not use a child theme. having edited the parent files instead, i cannot update the wordpress version at all, or any of the plugin updates.
i am of course doing my research and i know i’m facing quite a bit of headache, just wondering off the top if maybe someone can save me some research time – once i determine the changes that were made to the parent theme, can i set up a child theme and fix this once and for all? or am i stuck making changes with the above method?
Hi Dori,
If you don’t know what changes are made to the parent theme, you will have to first compare the original theme with the one you have installed on your website. There are file comparison tools which will help you find the differences between the original theme files and the files on your website.
does updating new wordpress version affects parent theme customization and child
Only if the parent theme is one of the default theme, and there is something changed in the new version. Otherwise, customizations made in other themes will not be changed when you update WordPress. It will certainly not affect a child theme.
WordPress also introduces new functions and regularly retires old functions. This could cause some issue with a theme or child theme but it is not that common. WordPress developers are very cautious about not breaking thousands of sites when they release a new version.
Hi all.
I’m in the process of setting up a non-profit and I’m having an extremely frustrating problem with themes on the WordPress site. When I edit the text and then update the page it completely ruins the theme. i.e. I’m using the Pique theme which is perfect for what I want. For example, It has an “about” page and the ‘about’ text is within this artistic square above a picture with some text below. This is exactly what I want for my charity’s “about” page and I already have a great picture for the background… great… but when I edit the text and update the text randomly has moved below the picture and the theme is ruined. The text is not within the square box anymore. And all the text is no longer above the picture but below it.
What could I be doing wrong? I am just editing the text as it is… I even tried just editing the letters within the word “about” by replacing the ‘bou’ and it still ruined the theme once previewed or updated.
I’m using windows 7 on firefox and using the word press site linked to my domain, as frankly I do not know how to do it otherwise.
Please contact your theme developer for support, they will be able to help you better.
I am using Free Spacious Theme, but I don’t know how to create Child theme for it?
Please let me know, if there is any way to make Child Theme?
Thanks.
Pretty interesting article with useful information.
It is strange how web-buffs don’t seem to understand the real world. For most people, creating a WP website is not undertaken from scratch but from some other point. In my case, and I image in most cases, users want to change the theme of their existing site for a new one. This means all the editing instructions you have explained, don’t work properly.
Why does WP so often miss the obvious? I can find nothing which explains how to change an existing WP theme with a newer, better theme. My WP has operated for the last four years, generating about £100k per year but now I want to completely change it with a newer, better website without it costing me an arm and a leg.
So I get a new WP theme from WPs own theme stock. Can I change the theme with my existing one? No I can’t because the ‘View site’ doesn’t view. The menu is all jumbled up and doesn’t respond to the menu editor. The side bars don’t move and headers won’t move.
Most importantly, SOMETHING NEVER MENTIONED by WP geeks is, CAN A NEW THEME BE CREATED WHILE THE OLD ONE IS STILL IN USE?
In the real world we understand we get what we pay for.
Also asking nicely might go a long way.
This article is about updating a theme, not switching over to a new theme.
Here are the articles you are looking for:
https://www.wpbeginner.com/beginners-guide/checklist-15-things-you-must-do-before-changing-wordpress-themes/
Yes, you can create a new theme while the old one is in use. Creating a new theme won’t affect anything on your site until you activate it.
Remember, no one here is pretending that WordPress is something easy that anyone can do, it does require you to be a bit of a “web buff”. There is a reason it would cost you an “arm and a leg” to pay someone to do it for you.
Child themes are really flexible, but there’s a certain class of changes that the Real-Time Find and Replace plugin is good for. It lets you define rules that match html code that you can then replace with other html code. Code in this case can also just be plain text.
The changes are non-destructive and are applied as the page is being assembled by WordPress before it is delivered to the user’s browser. And if you use caching, the changes are stored in the cached copy so there’s no performance hit.
Thanks for the post. I’m trying to migrate customizations done by another developer from one theme to a different one. Since comparing differences with WinMerge won’t work for different themes, could you share any advice on viable alternatives?
Hi,
I am new to WP and I am currently working on my first website and I noticed it says I should update my theme to a new version. My question is, I didnt alter any code, i am just customizing the theme from the theme options, adding blog posts and photos etc. If I upgrade, will I lose all the customization as well or does that only refer to people who altered the code?
Thank you,
No you will not loose any customizations if you didn’t modify any code.
Hi people,
Am a newbie to WP.
am a little unsure on how to ask this, but i will try.
I have spent the last few days designing my flatsome theme. I’ve only just noticed that it comes with a child theme.
how do i convert over to the child theme? if i do will my files move over with me? when i get an theme update will i lose all my mods on the original them?
cheers in advance
You will need to move all your customizations to the child theme.
I use Linux, recommendations on Software to compare?
I am about to do an update, I will do a Backup first before anything.. that will include the Database, just in-case.
We have updated the article to add Meld, a file comparison and difference checker tool available for Linux based operating systems.
why not just include your customised changes . if update is done, just redeclare include again and that way is simple and faster.
I just tried this but failed. I have a back up and I’m willing to try again.
My QUESTION: Should I just copy all the changes as a whole from one file into the next until it says ‘Text files are identical’? Or It doen’t have to say that before the file is okay to load?
Dude…this way is way too complicated.
I’d do that only if I was in a SERIOUS jam.
Hi Guys .
Great site .I enjoy reading your blogs .
Question .Im running WordPress Twent Fifteen Theme version 1.0 Can i update to 1.1 without loosing my customed changes
If you directly edited the theme files then you will loose those changes when you update the theme. You may want to create a child theme and then update your theme.
I’ve just overwritten my customised theme by mistake. What do I do?!! I’ve not got back-up installed on wordpress. Am I in trouble?
Did you customize it yourself or did someone do it for you? If someone did it for you, they might have a backup.
nice sharing… many ppl say you have to remember edited code. but your 2nd method is awesome
To my opinion, the only effective way of keeping in track with your customizations, is working with child themes. This is a lot of work to do as described above !!
I really liked that with the site specific plugin where you put all your customisations in the same place.
What plugin do you use for that?
i use winmerge 4 years ago and it’s a good software.
Child theme is a good solution with a custom plugin to insert all custom function for filter instead to put inside function.php