How To Prevent Screwing Up Your WordPress Theme in 5 Steps

If you either don’t know php well, or are new to WordPress, having a messed up blog is the most annoying thing that can happen when you are trying to get maximum exposure to your blog or business.

To make matters sweeter (yes I am being sarcastic), it is super easy to mess up your WordPress theme on accident, or even by being proactive with your own blog, as you attempt to learn php code and make changes to your own blog.

How To Prevent Messing Up Your WordPress Blog

To avoid messing up your blog on a whim, or due to the periodic accident, make sure to take the following steps:

1) Always Keep a Backup of Your Original Blog Theme Files

When you have a backup of your original theme files, and you don’t have a php master on your beck and call, you can always disable your broken theme, switch to another theme, and then reinstall your original theme.  Taking these steps will help you get your theme back to its original shape.

Note:  It is also always good to back up all of your files (images, themes, and database) in the event something else goes wrong.  Better to always be safe than sorry.

2) Change Your File Permissions so That You Don’t Mistakenly Edit

If you must edit yourself change the permissions when you have to edit.  It can easily be the case that you edit a core file without realizing it from the “Appearance => Editor” area on the left hand side of your WordPress Dashboard.  Make sure to familiarize with how to change file permissions.

NOTE: If you installed WordPress yourself, you likely do not need to modify file permissions.

3) Connect with other WordPress Bloggers Who are More Code Savvy

Mastermind.  Connect with other bloggers who are more technical or code savvy than you are.  If you’re pretty technical, it is always good to bounce ideas off your peer(s).  It helps especially when it is taking you longer than 30 minutes to fix something on your blog.

4) Refer to the WordPress Codex

The WordPress Codex is a wealth of knowledge.  If you ever have any php or code-related questions, there is tons you can learn by simply surfing the WordPress Codex.

5) Hire a PHP Guru

If you can, hire a PHP Guru as needed to help you tweak your files.  Although WordPress rocks to help non-code savvy business owners and coaches create a dynamite web presence on the fly, it can be challenging to work around the “techie” aspects of WordPress.  Don’t let this side of WordPress put a damper on your blogging spirit.  Hire or outsource when absolutely necessary.

Taking these steps will save you from a broken WordPress Blog theme and make you super happy to know that your visitors aren’t coming to a messy virtual house!

About The Author

Dali Burgado, also known as "The Dali Blogger" teaches creative entrepreneurs how to carve a web presence that connects with their Inner Guru and their target audience. Her first online marketing love is SEO. She's an avid connector on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+. When she's not coaching or teaching, she's tweaking sites for Search Engine Visibility, working on her PHP and Javascript coding skills, Singing Opera, or learning about gardening. Circle Dali on Google+