Ingredients

1 – Computer with access to the Internet

1 – A WordPress blog hosted on a web server (example uses Bluehost and has “Simple Script” installation script) with FTP access

1 – The archive of the WordPress theme you want to test

1 – Theme Test Drive WordPress plugin – the plugin installation instructions are available on this site

Directions

1. These directions will assume you have a working WordPress installation on a server with FTP access. In order to test a new theme you will need to upload it (using FTP) to your wp-content/themes directory
2. Login to your WordPress dashboard
3. DO NOT activate the theme – instead go to the Appearance tab (Design tab if you are using WP 2.6 or earlier) and click Theme Test Drive
4. Note that Theme Test Drive has a theme uploader built in. Under the Usage area, select the theme you want to test from the drop-down menu
5. Click the Enable Theme Drive button. When the message appears that your theme has been enabled, you may view it by visiting the site. If you want other non-admin users to see the site, have them add ?theme=xxx (where xxx is the name of the theme – it’s case sensitive) to the end of your website URL. They can test out any theme as long as they know the name of the theme

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