Blog Growing Pains and Changes

Geek Mamas is about to experience some blog growing pains as I make changes to the entire set-up with a new blog theme. I’m writing this in an effort to pin it to the front, because this kind of thing never goes smoothly, and I know there will be some weird stuff happening.

My current blog theme Chronicle, which I’ve had for about eight years, has been retired. I’ve held onto it way longer than I should, and apparently now there are critical issues affecting just about everything and it’s time to finally switch to a new theme. Excuse me, while I go have a meltdown about dealing with this when I have million other things to do today.

What Happens When WordPress Retires Your Theme?

On WordPress, a retired theme is one that is no longer offered to new sites. If your website already uses it, you can generally continue using it, which is what I’ve been doing. I really like my theme, and know how to use it.

However, retired themes no longer receive new feature updates. WordPress also cautions that continued compatibility with its evolving software cannot be guaranteed. Themes may be retired because their designs or underlying features have become outdated.

Support is limited, and WordPress does not provide CSS support for retired themes. You can read the details in its retired themes guide.

Can You Switch Back After Trying Something New?

This is why I’ve been reluctant to change – retired themes cannot be reactivated after you switch away, even if you previously used them. Once it’s gone, it’s gone!

That makes activating a replacement a bigger decision than casually trying on a new look. It’s a major decision.

In an effort to try on different themes without the commitment, I created a staging site and have been trying out new themes all morning. A staging site is a copy of your website that you can make changes to, and it doesn’t affect your main site.

Will Changing Themes Delete Your Blog Posts?

Changing themes preserves your existing content, including posts, pages, and media. The way that content appears can change substantially, and that’s my main issue.

The homepage uses a different layout, all my menus need to be reassigned, and custom CSS does not automatically transfer. Moving from a classic theme to a block theme can also mean rebuilding sidebar or footer content using blocks. And I can’t stand working with the block themes.

Embracing Change and the Growing Pains Along with It

I know this is a positive step in the right direction for the blog. It needs to be done. I’m just not looking forward to days in front of the computer making all the little tweaks that are needed to make everything look right.

Things will be weird for a bit. Categories and menus may not be displaying correctly. But I am behind the scenes working on it.

Hopefully I’ll be able to get it all fixed rather quickly and have a new blog look with a fresh new theme.