How to Switch from Genesis or Another Theme to Kadence

Switching to one of our new Kadence child themes? Here are some important tips to follow before installing your new theme and importing the demo content:

01. Make a backup of your website

I cannot stress enough the importance of making a website backup before installing a new theme! Get in touch with your host about creating a backup of your current website before getting started.

02. Set up a "staging site"

– For established sites with a lot of content:

I recommend setting up a staging site if you have a large & well-established site. A staging site is essentially a clone of your current website that your visitors can't see. This will allow you to install the new Kadence theme and plugins, customize and edit to your liking, and test your website without modifying the content your visitors see on the current live site. Once you're happy with how the staging site looks, you can push the staging site content to your live site!

Your website host should have instructions on how to set up a staging site. If you need help, get in touch with your host's support team or submit a support ticket to let them know you want to set up a staging site because you're getting ready to switch to a new theme.

– For new or simple blog sites:

If your website is brand new, you don't need a staging site.

If you don't have a lot of content on your website or just have a simple blog, you probably don't need to set up a staging site, even though it's never a bad idea!

03. Header or Footer Scripts

Genesis or other parent themes that have a built-in Header and Footer scripts section in Appearance > Customize > Header and Footer Scripts – any codes you have placed here (Google Analytics tag, pop-up codes, ad scripts, etc) will not transfer over.

You'll want to copy any codes you've placed here and paste them into a notes or text app. You can then follow this guide on how to add your codes back using the Insert Headers & Footers plugin.

04. Custom CSS

If you or a designer has added custom CSS that applies to any important plugins you're using in Appearance > Customize > Additional CSS, make sure you copy this content and paste it into a notes or text app. Then after activating your new Kadence child theme, you can paste it back.

05. Plugins (Genesis themes only)

Genesis has many add-on plugins that you may have installed on your site. I am not 100% sure if all of their plugins are compatible with Kadence. If you encounter errors or issues after installing your new theme, I would deactivate other Genesis plugins as they might be the cause.

If you have a WooCommerce shop on a Genesis theme, you most likely use the Genesis Connect WooCommerce plugin to make WooCommerce compatible with Genesis. You will need to deactivate this plugin to prevent any WooCommerce issues.

06. Block Editor

Make sure you do not have the "Classic Editor" plugin installed and activated. Our Kadence child themes use the block editor/Gutenberg to build all of the pages. You will not be able to edit your homepage or any page templates using the Classic Editor.

I have also seen issues with the "TinyMCE" plugin. I do not recommend this plugin either, and it will most likely cause issues when editing pages.

07. WordPress & PHP Version

Please make sure your WordPress is up to date and you're running on PHP version 8.1

What happens to my current site and content after I switch to a Kadence child theme?

Your customizer options and the overall design of your website will be different because you now have a new theme design.
Your existing website content (blog posts, media, pages, menus, blog categories, etc) is 100% safe when you switch to a new theme – none of this content will be deleted.
Some of your widgets will most likely be moved to the "Inactive Widget Area" because different themes have different widget areas. You can place them back to the new widget areas after installing your new theme if you'd like.
Your menus will most likely be replaced with the demo menus, but old menus will not be deleted. You can set your old menus back if you'd like by going to Appearance > Menus > select your menu(s) and assign it to one of the new menu locations.