Browsing and previewing themes

Explore available website themes and preview how they look with your content before applying.

Want to change the look of your wedding website? WedSites offers beautiful themes you can browse, preview, and switch between! Each theme has a unique design that you can customize with your colors and fonts.

What are themes?

Themes are professionally designed templates for your wedding website. Each theme has:

  • Unique layout and design
  • Default fonts and colors
  • Background textures and patterns
  • Different styles (modern, romantic, classic, rustic, etc.)

You can apply any theme and then customize it with your own colors, fonts, and content!

Accessing the theme browser

  1. Go to Site in your main navigation
  2. Click Themes in the submenu
  3. You'll see the themes page with all available options

The page title is Site themes with the message "Choose a theme to customize."

Browsing available themes

On the themes page, you'll see:

Current theme:
- Your active theme appears first
- Has a Current theme badge
- Shows the theme name and collection

All available themes:
- Displayed in a grid layout
- Each shows a screenshot preview
- Theme name appears below each preview
- Collection name shown under the theme name

Scroll through all the options to see what's available!

Theme organization

Themes are organized into collections. Each collection contains related themes with similar design styles.

Collection label appears under each theme name, showing which design family it belongs to.

Similar themes in the same collection share design elements but have different variations!

Previewing a theme

To see a theme in detail before applying it:

  1. Click on any theme screenshot from the browse page
  2. You'll go to the Theme preview page
  3. The preview shows your actual content with the new theme

Theme preview page features:

Back link:
- All themes link at the top returns you to browse page

Preview iframe:
- Shows your wedding website with this theme applied
- Uses your actual content and photos
- Lets you see exactly how it will look

Device toggles:
- Phone icon: Preview on mobile
- Laptop icon: Preview on desktop
- Click to switch between device views

Action buttons:
- Select this theme: Apply this theme to your site
- View demo: See a demo version in a new tab

Testing before applying

Use the preview to check:

  1. How your photos look with this theme
  2. If the layout works with your content
  3. How readable your text is
  4. Mobile vs desktop appearance
  5. Overall vibe and style

Preview as many themes as you want before selecting one!

Viewing the demo

Each theme has a demo you can view:

  1. On the preview page, click View demo
  2. Opens in a new browser tab
  3. Shows the theme with sample content
  4. Helps you understand the theme's features

Demo vs preview:
- Demo: Sample content, shows theme capabilities
- Preview: Your actual content, shows how it'll really look

Use both to make the best decision!

Comparing themes

To compare multiple themes:

  1. Open each theme preview in a new tab (right-click → open in new tab)
  2. Switch between tabs to compare
  3. Check both mobile and desktop views
  4. Notice differences in layouts and styling

Pick the one that best matches your wedding style!

Theme details to notice

When browsing and previewing, look at:

Layout:
- Where your names appear
- Header style and size
- Navigation menu placement
- Section spacing and arrangement

Typography:
- Default font choices
- Heading styles
- Text readability

Decorative elements:
- Background textures
- Borders and dividers
- Icons and accents
- Overall aesthetic

Color scheme:
- Default color palette
- Text and background contrast
- Accent color usage

You can customize all of these after applying the theme!

Current theme indicator

Your active theme is clearly marked with a Current theme badge in the browse view.

This makes it easy to:
- Remember which theme you're currently using
- Compare your current theme to others
- Return to your current theme if you're just browsing

Themes and customization

Important: Themes provide the base design, but you can customize:

  • Colors (text, accent, background)
  • Fonts (all text types)
  • Header images and backgrounds
  • Content and sections
  • Menu structure
  • Privacy settings

Your customizations stay when you switch themes, though they might look different with different theme layouts!

Mobile preview

Always preview themes on mobile:

  1. Click the phone icon in the preview
  2. See how the theme adapts to small screens
  3. Check readability and navigation
  4. Verify your photos look good

Most wedding guests view on mobile, so this is super important!

Finding the right theme

Consider your wedding style:

  • Modern/minimal: Clean lines, simple layouts, lots of white space
  • Romantic: Soft fonts, decorative elements, elegant styling
  • Classic: Traditional layouts, serif fonts, balanced design
  • Rustic: Textured backgrounds, casual fonts, warm feeling
  • Bold: Strong colors, large typography, dramatic layouts

Pick a theme that matches your overall wedding vibe!

Theme collections

Each collection has multiple themes with variations:

  • Similar design language
  • Different color defaults
  • Slight layout differences
  • Same overall style family

If you like one theme in a collection, check out the others in that collection too!

Changing themes later

You can switch themes anytime:

  1. Return to the theme browser
  2. Preview new themes
  3. Select a different one

Your content stays the same, just the design changes!

Note: Custom CSS might not work perfectly with new themes and may need adjustment.

After selecting

Once you click Select this theme, you'll return to your website view with the new theme applied!

You can then:
- Customize colors and fonts
- Adjust your content
- Upload theme-specific images
- Fine-tune the design

Edit current theme shortcut

From the theme browse page, there's an Edit current theme button that takes you directly to theme customization settings without changing themes.

Use this when you want to adjust your current theme's colors or fonts!

Themes vs templates

Important note: WedSites uses Themes (not Templates).

If you see any references to "templates" in older documentation, those have been replaced by Themes!

After the wedding

You can switch to a simpler theme after your wedding for archiving purposes, or keep your wedding theme as a beautiful memory!

Browsing and previewing themes helps you find the perfect design for your wedding website, and you can change it anytime if your style evolves!