Easy Theme Preview Question

Hello @tickmatrix

So that image of the theme you are seeing is an example with example content already loaded. It’s to give you an idea of what it could look like. It looks like your site doesn’t currently have much content so you are getting the theme preview with what you have available on your site.

Does that make sense?

ok thanks, I just expected to see the same site? not sure how helpful this is … choosing a theme that could look like the image shown (but isn’t). Probably due to copyright issues or something?

In the case of themes in the WP repository, you can install themes on your site and preview what it would look like using your site’s content. This will not affect other site visitors until the theme is activated. If you don’t like what you see you can always delete it and try another.

When you preview themes through a demo page or site, it may take some effort to get your site to look similar. The theme may provide the tools to achieve that look, but you may not get it by simply installing and activating. It’s generally not a copyright issue. More of practicality and marketing.

OK thanks for responding, appreciated.

I suppose I got use to looking at WordPress templates with demos that are the same as the image.

Maybe this is a service that could be added to your site and invite contributors? Similar to plugins.

Again I’m new to WordPress so forgive any incorrect conclusions.

I’m trying to move my website off a commercial platform to WordPress on my Web server but struggling to find a theme (and plugins that are compatible with the theme)

You’re forgiven ?? You don’t learn what you need to know unless you ask questions. Na?veté in questions is expected. The purpose of themes are to manage the appearance and presentation of your site. The purpose of plugins is to extend your site’s functionality. Ideally the two are mutually exclusive and any theme should work with any plugin and vice versa. In practice that’s not always the case, especially with commercial products. It’s generally true of plugins and themes found in the WP repository here.

Getting your WP site to match the appearance of your current site could prove to be difficult. The content can be identical, but unless the theme is custom developed, appearance will likely be different. This is a good opportunity to freshen your site’s appearance.

There are thousands of plugins that do all sorts of things, yet new, unique needs come up every day where there’s no ideal existing plugin and some custom development is needed to achieve certain functionality.