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Zodan Theme Switcher

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Zodan Theme Switcher

by martenmoolenaar

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Description

When we are developing themes, we quite often like to switch between the old (active) and the new (to develop) version of a theme. Sometimes without other people noticing.
This plugin does exactly that.

What does it do?

It lets users with certain roles see another (than the currently active) theme, by
* Selecting a theme from the list of installed themes
* Selecting which user roles are permitted to switch themes and
* Optionally, selecting user roles that can use a ‘switch theme/back’ button on the front-end

This plugin is under active development. Any feature requests are welcome at plugins@zodan.nl!

Install the Theme Switcher from within WordPress

  1. Visit the plugins page within your dashboard and select ‘Add New’;
  2. Search for ‘Zodan Theme Switcher’;
  3. Activate the plugin from your Plugins page;
  4. Go to ‘after activation’ below.

Install manually

  1. Unzip the Theme Switcher zip file
  2. Upload the unzipped folder to the /wp-content/plugins/ directory;
  3. Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress;
  4. Go to ‘after activation’ below.

After activation

  1. On the Plugins page in WordPress you will see a ‘settings’ link below the plugin name;
  2. On the Theme Switcher settings page:
    ** Select the theme you want to be able to switch to
    ** Select the roles with the permission to switch
  3. Save your settings and you’re done!
Does it work in a multisite environment?

Yep. It does.

The Switch theme button on the front-end is not showing, can you help?

Hm. It could be that you are using a theme that does not call wp_footer() (which is the hook it is linked to).
In that case, you can use the custom hook/action for this.
Just add the following php code (make sure it is somehow called on every page):

Do you have plans to improve the plugin?

We currently have on our roadmap:
* Adding translations
* Adding a custom capability (to be used next to roles, for those who want to add a custom role)
* Set the preference per user

If you have a feature suggestion, send us an email at plugins@zodan.nl.

A simple but very useful tool for theme developers

By Daan Verbaan (daanverbaan) on June 30, 2025

Z Theme Switcher has quickly become one of my favourite tools when working on new WordPress themes. It solves a very specific problem in a clean and effective way: being able to preview a different theme — just for yourself or selected user roles — without changing the live site for visitors.

What I really like:

  • It’s lightweight and easy to set up
  • You can control exactly who sees the development theme
  • The optional front-end switch button is handy during testing
  • It keeps everything safe and invisible to regular users

I often need to develop or fine-tune a new design while a site stays online. With this plugin, I can work directly on the live server, test things in context, or share previews with clients — all without setting up a separate staging environment.

It’s clear the developer understands real-world needs. The plugin is actively maintained and feels reliable. If you work with custom themes, this is definitely worth adding to your toolkit.

Makes developing a lot easier!!!

By Henry Peters on June 30, 2025

Very handy plugin to quickly switch between themes. Makes developing a lot easier.

1.3.2

  • Name changes

1.3.1

  • Removed load_text_domain()
  • Fixed text domain mismatch

1.3

  • Added setting to also switch in the backend

1.2

  • Added JS to copy PHP code

1.1

  • Changed front-end JS and CSS loading method

1.0

  • Very first version of this plugin
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