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WordPress Plugin: Theme Switcha

[ Theme Switcha ]

Announcing my latest WordPress plugin, Theme Switcha! There are many theme-switch plugins but none of them provide the simplicity, performance, and reliability that I require for my own sites. So I wrote my own plugin using the WP API and kept the code as focused and solid as possible. Only essential theme-switching features have been added, along with a simple yet informative UI. Theme Switcha gives you a consistent, quality theme-switching experience that you can optionally share with your visitors.

[ Theme Switcha UI ]
Theme Switcha – All your themes ready for switching

Plugin Features

Theme Switcha is Packed full of features:

  • Enables you to develop new themes while visitors use the default theme
  • Control who can switch themes (admins, users with passkey, or everyone)
  • Administrators can switch themes directly via the WP Admin Area
  • Enable visitors to switch and preview themes on the front-end
  • Each visitor can choose their own theme
  • Send preview links to clients via the passkey
  • Choose your own custom passkey code for preview links
  • Set the duration (cookie timeout) for switched themes
  • Enable/disable theme preview in the Admin Area
  • Enable/disable all theme switching without deactivating the plugin
  • Provides several shortcodes to enable visitors to switch themes
  • Shortcodes display themes as a list, select menu, or thumbnails
  • Changed options are saved when working on switched themes
  • Simple, stylish UI featuring screenshots of each theme
  • Works with any theme, parent themes and child themes

Theme Switcha makes it easy for the site admin to preview and develop new themes without changing the default theme. So visitors will continue to use your site normally without ever knowing that you are testing new themes behind the scenes. And if you want to enable your visitors to switch themes, you can do that as well by adding a shortcode to any WP Post or Page. Then each visitor will be able to select and preview any of your WordPress themes.

Useful for things!

Theme Switcha is useful for things like:

  • Maintenance mode – display a temporary theme to visitors while you update your primary theme
  • Theme test drive – preview and test new themes without disrupting anything on the frontend
  • Theme development – perfect for developing new themes to fit your existing site content
  • Client presentations – send clients special “theme preview” links to show off new templates

The beauty of Theme Switcha is that it’s all 100% transparent: visitors will never know that you are hard at work testing and building awesome new themes behind the scenes.

Download

You can learn more and download Theme Switcha from the WordPress Plugin Directory.

About the Author
Jeff Starr = Creative thinker. Passionate about free and open Web.
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12 responses to “WordPress Plugin: Theme Switcha”

  1. mateusz hauer 2016/11/17 4:40 am

    very nice feautres in this plugin, usually I use maintaince mode plugin to close website or work with website on other catalog.

  2. I used translation submission tool which is now built into wordpress.org. When you log in there, you can see the progress with translation of your plugins. I did strings for Russian, but those need approval from your side to be included into next build. As far as I understood the new process.

  3. Pecetowicz 2016/11/29 2:53 pm

    Its a Polish Language? Looks very good. Simple and Clean but I wonder if is multilanguage there.

    • Jeff Starr 2016/11/29 3:11 pm

      Theme Switcha is brand new so currently there is only one translation (Russian). But the plugin is fully internationalized and ready to go, so if you want to translate, you can do so here.

  4. This plugin looks awesome! I have one question. I’ve deleted all but one of my themes, ie, the theme I’m currently using, from my selection of themes. Would that theme then be the “default theme” that my users would see while I put together my new theme? Or is there some other “default” theme my users would see?

    Thanks!

    • Jeff Starr 2016/12/01 7:26 am

      Hi Nicole, whichever theme is currently active under the Appearance menu in the WP Admin Area is used as the “default” theme. That is the one that normal visitors will see.

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Perishable Press is operated by Jeff Starr, a professional web developer and book author with two decades of experience. Here you will find posts about web development, WordPress, security, and more »
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