Hey Tamsin,
Thank you for reaching out and sharing the details about janemoss.com. I completely understand your concern, and it’s wise to be cautious. We need to approach this methodically to avoid losing the look and feel of your site.
The critical point here is that your X theme is on a very old version (2.5.1). A significant architectural change happened between version 3 and version 4 of the X theme where the old “X – Shortcodes” plugin was replaced by the new “Cornerstone” builder. This is exactly why removing the old plugin causes your styling to disappear—the theme is still looking for the shortcodes to build your pages.
Because the gap between your current version and the latest is so large, a direct update is very likely to break your site. We need to perform a stepped or “staged” update.
Here is the safest step-by-step plan to get your site updated without losing your header and footer.
Step-by-Step Plan for a Safe Update
Phase 1: Preparation (The Most Important Step)
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Create a Full Backup: Before we do anything else, you must have a complete backup of both your website’s files and its database. Your hosting provider can often do this, or you can use a plugin like UpdraftPlus.
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Set Up a Staging Site: This is not optional for a project like this. A staging site is an exact, private copy of your live site where we can test updates without affecting janemoss.com. Most good hosting providers offer a one-click staging feature. If yours doesn’t, we can set one up.
Phase 2: The Update Process (On the Staging Site)
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Update WordPress: Ensure the staging site is already running the latest WordPress version (which you’ve already done on the live site, which is great).
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A direct jump is too risky; we need to update the theme in steps.
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Step-by-Step Theme Update:
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On the staging site, first manually install X Theme version. I would recommend that you deactivate the X theme first.
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After the update is successful, check the front end to see if it looks correct.
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Next, you’ll need to deactivate and delete the “X – Shortcodes” plugin.
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Now, update the theme to X Theme version. At this point, you’ll need to install and activate its new companion builder plugin: Cornerstone. You should see a prompt in the WordPress admin to install it.
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Finally, update the X theme to the latest version and ensure the Cornerstone plugin is also up to date.
Phase 3: Testing and Going Live
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Thoroughly Test the Staging Site: Once the update is complete, carefully review every page of the site. Pay special attention to the header and footer. If you notice any missing styling or errors, this is the safe place to fix them.
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Check the Child Theme: Since you’re using a child theme, its custom code might also need to be updated to be compatible with the latest theme version. Themeco has an updated child theme format for newer versions of X that you should refer to. If the site breaks when you switch to the child theme, we’ll need to debug the custom code in that child theme first.
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Apply to Live Site: Once everything is perfect on the staging site, you can confidently apply the same steps to your live janemoss.com site.
This process is the standard, recommended way to handle major updates for the X theme and will prevent you from losing your header, footer, or other styling while fixing the critical errors you’re experiencing.