Title: Troubleshooting method question
Last modified: August 22, 2016

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# Troubleshooting method question

 *  [dasadler](https://wordpress.org/support/users/dasadler/)
 * (@dasadler)
 * [11 years, 7 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/troubleshooting-method-question/)
 * I have a commercial theme and I am having some issues and need to find the root
   problem since I have some plugins. If I switch to a different theme… 2014, for
   example, do all my active plugins continue to be active in the new theme or must
   I install/activate them again?
 * I so new I don’t fully understand the relationship between plugins, WP, or widgets.
   Not sure which does what to whom… LOL.
 * I am thinking that switching to a native WP theme will, at least, tell me if 
   my commercial theme is causing the problem I have.

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

 *  Thread Starter [dasadler](https://wordpress.org/support/users/dasadler/)
 * (@dasadler)
 * [11 years, 7 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/troubleshooting-method-question/#post-5324804)
 * I didn’t realize I could edit what I just posted and was going to enter a correction
   here. Now I have to put something here because I don’t know how to delete this
   post.
 *  [psheld](https://wordpress.org/support/users/psheld/)
 * (@psheld)
 * [11 years, 7 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/troubleshooting-method-question/#post-5324809)
 * Plugins and themes are quite separate. Of course, a theme may or may not loop
   in a plugin. A simple example could be a plugin that facilitates a certain type
   of widget, but if your theme doesn’t have the facility to show widgets, then 
   the plugin won’t have any visible effect.
 * So, in other words, no need to deactivate or uninstall plugins when switching
   between themes.
 * Saying that, always have a backup – I use the UpdraftPlus plugin for backing 
   up.
 *  Thread Starter [dasadler](https://wordpress.org/support/users/dasadler/)
 * (@dasadler)
 * [11 years, 7 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/troubleshooting-method-question/#post-5324815)
 * Sorry , your response is appreciated but I am not sure I understand what you 
   mean. Quite simply, if I change the theme, then all the plugins I had will automatically
   be applied to the new theme… correct?
 * Also, regarding UpdraftPlus plugin… would that work to back up to a hard drive
   instead of the cloud? I have no cloud storage.
 *  [psheld](https://wordpress.org/support/users/psheld/)
 * (@psheld)
 * [11 years, 7 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/troubleshooting-method-question/#post-5324855)
 * Your first para here isn’t quite right because plugins don’t just help create
   new ways to present things. For example, that backup plugin I referred to has
   no visible impact at all on the way the website works.
 * Now say another plugin enables widgets to display your Twitter timeline, and 
   the current theme is so-called widget-enabled and there they are, your recent
   tweets for the world to see.
 * Now you change to a theme that doesn’t show widgets. The Twitter widget plugin
   still ‘works’, it’s still activated, but the theme as it stands can’t allow it
   to do its thing, so to speak, because it includes no option to show it to visitors.
 * Re. your question about UpdraftPlus, the short answer is no, to my knowledge.
   But why risk backing up to a single drive at home, that may frazzle at any moment,
   when a Google Drive or Dropbox account are free? There is an option to send backups
   files to an email account if that works for you.

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

The topic ‘Troubleshooting method question’ is closed to new replies.

 * In: [Fixing WordPress](https://wordpress.org/support/forum/how-to-and-troubleshooting/)
 * 4 replies
 * 2 participants
 * Last reply from: [psheld](https://wordpress.org/support/users/psheld/)
 * Last activity: [11 years, 7 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/troubleshooting-method-question/#post-5324855)
 * Status: not resolved

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