Title: Take a theme apart
Last modified: August 21, 2016

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# Take a theme apart

 *  [jpdaboss718](https://wordpress.org/support/users/jpdaboss718/)
 * (@jpdaboss718)
 * [12 years, 3 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/take-a-theme-apart/)
 * I am building a website for my car sales business. I bought a car sales theme
   and I like their car management system and how easy it is to add cars to the 
   website it also has a vin decoder which enters all the information with me just
   tying in the vin number of any vehicle. The problem is that i don’t like how 
   the website looks I would like to take the theme apart and take that module out,
   so i can use it for another theme. I contacted the developers that sold me the
   theme and they said it can be done however they dont provide information on their
   site to do so. Can this be done?

Viewing 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)

 *  [catacaustic](https://wordpress.org/support/users/catacaustic/)
 * (@catacaustic)
 * [12 years, 3 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/take-a-theme-apart/#post-4759266)
 * Yes it can. But I’m thinking that you’re not that good with PHP coding yet? If
   you are, then it’s just a case of working your way through the functions and 
   files and finding out what does what. If you’re not to good with coding yet, 
   then this is where you need to start to learn. It’s a pretty big learning curve,
   but it can be rewarding.
 *  Moderator [bcworkz](https://wordpress.org/support/users/bcworkz/)
 * (@bcworkz)
 * [12 years, 3 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/take-a-theme-apart/#post-4759292)
 * Do not discount how much you can change how a site looks only by altering the
   CSS. All the [designs on this site](http://www.mezzoblue.com/zengarden/alldesigns/)
   dramatically change the look of the site even though the content and navigation
   is the same in all cases.
 * Unless you are quite good with PHP, changing the CSS of the theme is likely a
   more attainable goal than extracting the decoder module. For customizing an existing
   theme, you should create a [child theme](http://codex.wordpress.org/Child_Themes).
   A child theme fairly simple to do and well worth the effort.
 *  [Michael Smith](https://wordpress.org/support/users/msmith993/)
 * (@msmith993)
 * [12 years, 3 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/take-a-theme-apart/#post-4759365)
 * Changing the CSS is like adding a new coat of paint. Extracting the VIN module
   and installing it into a new site would be like taking the engine out of one 
   car and putting in another.
    Altering the CSS of the site is a much simpler concept,
   and will probably get you the effect you are looking for. Either approach will
   take some coding knowledge.
 *  Thread Starter [jpdaboss718](https://wordpress.org/support/users/jpdaboss718/)
 * (@jpdaboss718)
 * [12 years, 3 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/take-a-theme-apart/#post-4759477)
 * Thanks guys

Viewing 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)

The topic ‘Take a theme apart’ is closed to new replies.

 * 4 replies
 * 4 participants
 * Last reply from: [jpdaboss718](https://wordpress.org/support/users/jpdaboss718/)
 * Last activity: [12 years, 3 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/take-a-theme-apart/#post-4759477)
 * Status: not resolved

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