Creating a new theme
To avoid causing changes to your already live site, we recommend first starting with the creation of a new theme or making a duplicate of your current theme if you want to use it as a starting point. This new theme or duplicate is what you will edit with the redesign in mind, publishing as you go so you can see how it affects your new pages, but it still won't affect your live site. This allows for your current site theme to stay live and even receive small edits while you are still working on the redesign.
If you want to use your current theme as a starting point and then start molding that as the redesign, then you can go to the Themes menu in SnapPages, click on the three dots next to your current theme, and select "Duplicate". After giving the duplicate a name (I recommend something obvious like "Theme 2.0" or "Redesign"), you will see it listed in the Theme menu as well.
If you would prefer to start a new theme from scratch using one of our pre-made themes, you can instead select "Create Theme" in the top right corner while in the Theme menu. Here, you will see a list of premade themes, the same options you saw when you first started your site. Pick one you like, then select "Use This Theme" at the bottom right of the preview. This will add the new theme to your account alongside your current applied one. Make sure to rename the new theme to something clear and obvious by clicking on the three dots and going to Settings.
Once you have your redesign theme, you can click on the three dots next to it and select "Edit" to start making changes.
In the three-dotted menu, you will also see the option to "Make Default". Make sure not to touch this yet, it will come at the end of the rebranding process.
Duplicating Pages
Re-branding isn't an overnight process, it is going to take some time. So we recommend duplicating your already existing pages. This way, even while re-branding, you can still make updates to your existing live pages.
The duplicate pages should have names like "Home 2" or "Home - draft" so they are easily identified when you are editing. These pages can live within your Online section in the Page Menu.
You can also password-protect these pages, so in case anyone accidentally navigates to the pages, they won't be able to see the page without a password. You can do this by going to the Pages Options and enabling password protection.
Theme Application During the Rebrand
On the re-branded pages you are working on, go into the Page Settings and change the theme to the rebrand theme instead of "Default". This allows you to preview the new Theme on the pages without it affecting your live site, assuming you have Published the changes you have made to the new theme so far.
Launching the Rebrand
When you are ready to launch the rebranded site, there are two main steps: Replacing the live pages with the new versions and applying the rebranded theme to your whole site.
Starting with the pages, you will first need to rename the originals, freeing up the name you will want to use so that your live page doesn't end up labeled "About 2" to something similar. Change the page titles to something like "Home 1" or "Home (old)", then archive those pages. You can then move the rebranded version to the position that the original held, whether in the Navigation or just under Online, and rename it from "Home 2" to just "Home."
Next, you will go to the three-dotted menu for your new theme and select "Make Default". This will apply the theme to not only the pages you had manually applied it to but to all of the live pages on your site.
Congratulations on the new look!