Theme Preview
Allows you test how a theme looks on your site without activating it.
The facts
- Rating
- 5★ from 1
- Active installs
- 200+
- Price
- Free
- Last updated
- 17 Feb 2016
- Added
- Oct 2007
- Requires WP
- 2.6.0
- Tested up to
- WP 4.4.34
- Downloads
- 41,803
Our analysis
AI-assistedTheme Preview is a WordPress plugin that allows you to view how a new theme looks on your site without activating it. This means you can test themes privately before making them live for all visitors. It is particularly useful for site owners who want to experiment with different designs without disrupting the user experience.
The plugin is designed for users who want to preview themes without the risk of immediate activation. It has potential future enhancements planned, such as an options screen and the ability to restrict previews based on user roles. However, it may not function correctly with child themes.
Best for: Site owners looking to test WordPress themes without affecting live site appearance.
What it does well
- ✓Enables theme previews without activation
- ✓Useful for testing themes privately
- ✓Free to use from the WordPress.org directory
Where it falls short
- •May not work properly with child themes
- •Limited features based on current description
Verdict
Theme Preview provides a straightforward solution for previewing themes, though its limitations with child themes and current feature set may affect some users.
From the developer
Dougal Campbell's own description of Theme Preview, lightly tidied.
By default, the only way to see how a new theme looks on your site is to
activate it, making it visible to everyone who visits. With this plugin, it
is possible to view how a new theme looks without activating it.
Todo
Possible future enhancements:
- Add an options screen.
- Allow choice of theme to preview from a known list of installed themes.
- Provide persistent previews by setting a cookie.
- Restrict preview ability by user Roles/Capabilities.
- Child-theme friendliness.
Notes
May not work properly with child themes. This is because it will not be able
to inherit from the parent theme as it normally would.