Theme Test Drive WordPress plugin allows you to safely test drive any theme on your blog as administrator, while visitors still use the default one. It happens completely transparently and they will not even notice you run a different theme for yourself. Best part is you can even set the testing theme options (if it has them) in the Admin panel while you are testing the theme.
Since version 2.0 Theme Test Drive features instant theme preview using a website thumbnail service.
You can also preview any theme by adding "?theme=xxx" to your blog URL. For example http://www.myblog.com/?theme=Default (theme name is case-sensitive!)
For all questions about the plugin please visit my WordPress forums.
Download
Installation & Usage
- Upload the plugin folder to your /wp-content/plugins/ folder.
- Go to the Plugins page and activate the plugin.
- Use the Options page to set the theme you want to test drive.
The selected theme will be visible only to blog administrator. Other visitors of the site will always see the default theme.
Note: if you use WP-Cache plugin, you might need to disable it (or setup to exclude pages)
Changelog
v2.6: Added user access level
v2.0:
- Instant theme preview using a live thumbnail preview
- Added "?theme=xxx" to your URL's to preview the desired theme. Example http://www.myblog.com/?theme=Default
Nov 29th, 2007 v1.0
* Initial release
Visit my other interesting WordPress Plugins or my WordPress theme Amazing Grace.
If you are looking for WordPress consulting services feel free to contact me
267 Comments
I am not a coder. I am new to WP also. Can I uduse Theme Twest Drive to work on the Theme I have installed in Preview while I try to make changes to the Theme I am using? i.e. not test drive a different theme- but use test as a tool for previewing changes to the theme I haam running and decide to back out or save depending on the results?
Thank you
Thank you very much a good plugin ^^
Thank you! This is the plugin I've been waiting for!
iTs useful
Hi there,
Plugin used to crash my whole WP admin panel (it said "you're not allowed to be here" until I deactivated it in the DB). But... I found the solution!
The plugin didn't work with my localized version of WP (French, in this case). Removed the language files and it seems to work fine.
Hope it helps!
omg, very usefull plugin, l m tring it now, wish u a very good luck.
thank youu
Hiya Vladimir,
Is there a way to rig this to create different theme settings if people are logged in? Basically, what I'm wanting to is not show my newsletter subscription widget, if people are logged in. Logically, then, I am wanting to show a widget only if users are not logged in. If this plugin would automatically show a particular theme to logged in subscribers, then I would just use the same theme twice, and add particular features for subscribers.
Does that make sense, and how could I do it?
Best,
Dainis
thanks....
thans ı love you
How do I actually view a new theme when I enable a test drive? I'd like to see what my home page looks like, where do I go to view it? (Clicking on visit the site at the top of the dashboard takes me to a page with my current theme).
danke admin:)
Also crashes in WP 2.7 for me. I read somewhere that your plugin requires PHP 5.0 or higher? Is that true?
Hi Vladimir,
Once upon a time I hacked up a WordPress plugin that looks to accomplish the same thing that you're doing with your Theme Test Drive plugin. I haven't been blogging or maintaining the plugin beyond keeping it available to the public for a few years now and was curious if you had any interest in taking over the code I used and doing with it what you want? I'd also be interested in redirecting to this site from mine so that users looking for a properly maintained theme preview plugin could be steered to your website if that's something you're comfortable with.
Regarding my plugin, as I say on the site, I make no claims as to the usability/cleanliness/etc of the code I wrote and/or modified, but I've been hoping someone would take over maintenance of it or create their own plugin with similar functionality, which you look to have done here.
If you're interested drop me a note via email or on my site with what you'd like to do, but either way nice job on your plugin!
Yes, thanks for the reply.
I would like to allow visitors to test drive a theme. In the admin area the theme test drive is enabled and the access level is 10 (which is ignored if using the ?theme=xxx parameter).
I create a post which includes a text link to the theme folder to test drive - http://wpwatch.net/?theme=folder-name - and publish. When the link is clicked I am taken to the home page of my site and the requested theme does not appear. The address in the address bar is http://wpwatch.net/?theme=folder-name
I hope I have set this up correctly? Any help would be appreciated. I have a few plugins installed but not WP Cache.
The plugin works fine if I want to test drive a theme as the administrator, just not as a site visitor.
Can you explain 2.7 problems in more detail? The plugin should work without problems on 2.7
Its perfectly working in 2.7. Whats the problem?
One suggestion is that, widget testing should also be included in theme testing.I mean,when testing a new theme and deleting any widget in either new theme or old theme should not happened unless theme test drive is disabled.
If it's sounds weird, forget it!!
I can't get this to work in 2.7 either. Have you come up with a fix yet? I would really like to try this plugin out!
Thanks
Any Install theme test drive for WordPress 2.7?
What is the problem?
Im read the source code but everythings looks fine!
Thanks (but really thanks) for that.
Thanks. I loved the plugin and it really (but really) helped in my site re-design.
Is everything else in your life apocalyptic? :)
Installed it and it completly crashed my blog.
there was an error called something like ERROR in /wp-includes/dontknowanymore and the error was like wp_get_user or something like that - anybody else having trouble with it?
Hey, this is exactly what I need to keep my website running whilst developing a personalized theme...which might take a bit longer since it'll be my first one :D
I love this plugin! Thank you