How To Add Dummy Content To WordPress Theme For Testing?
December 2nd, 2016 | by Ravi Chahar || 8 Comments |
Nowadays, people are into web development and WordPress themes are the main focus of many developers. Have you tried to develop any theme for your blog?
If you’re a WordPress theme developer then you would need to test your theme. But do you know how to add dummy content to WordPress theme?
Whether you add the content manually or use the default WordPress theme testing file. It includes all the basic things which are required in a WordPress theme.
Use The XML File To Add Dummy Content To WordPress.
WordPress developers have created a special file which can help you test your theme with the default content.
Though there are many developers who like to add the content manually. But if you want WordPress to take care of everything then use the default XML file.
There are a few steps to take.
Step 1:- Download the file from here. Whether you copy and paste the content in a Notepad file and save it as .xml or you save the page directly.
Step 2:- Login to your local host where you have installed WordPress. Go to Tools>>Import.
Step 3:- You will see many options. Click on “WordPress” and a new plugin would appear to you. Just install “WP Importer” and activate it.
Step 4:- After that, you will get an option to upload the XML file you have downloaded. Choose the file from your local storage and upload it.
Step 5:- You will see many options to assign the content to any specific user. Suppose if you have many users then select the user with which you’re testing your theme.
Step 6:- Don’t forget to check the box shown at the bottom. Click on the “submit” button and you will see many pages and posts in your WordPress area.
You have successfully added the default dummy content.
But if you’re afraid of using this process then you can use some dummy content generators which will help you to generate some paragraphs.
The best thing is to write a few paragraphs your own.
I mean why would you be so lazy? Just write a few lines and use it for every page and post.
Which Method Is Better For You?
Would you choose the manual method or the method provided by WordPress developers?
You can add dummy content to WordPress theme using any method. But to test your theme according to the basic WordPress criteria, it should support all the basic features included in the XML file.
From post formats, link, gallery, widgets to the navigation menu, pagination. But from my point of view, just develop the theme according to your requirements.
Hello Ravi,
Nice post you’ve written on how to easily add dummy contents to our newly-made blogs to help us develop the theme of the blog.
I have never used a dummy content before, i have only used a local machine when testing or editing my themes.
Nice tutorial though, it will be helpful to many for this i am sure. Have a good weekend start ?
Hey Babanature,
It’s the matter of choice. Whether you use the default XML file or you can generate the dummy content manually.
Just add some posts and pages which would let you test the WordPress theme.
Thanks for stopping by.
~Ravi
I’m not a developer (I’m not techie) but I did figure out how to get some html code for my widgets!
What I did was create a page that I will never publish, and add images and text and links to it, then save it as a draft.
I then switched to the text editor and copied the code I needed, then pasted it into my widgets.
Cool, huh? ?
Hey Lorraine,
I was just like you in my starting days. These type of technical things seem hard but originally very easy.
You would love to start coding.
Just try it.
~Ravi
Hi Ravi, first time here at your blog.
You doing a great work here.
Dummy content is really helpful to test your website you just to present it.
Thanks for this amazing guide about it.
Hey Naman,
It’s good to know that you found the content worth reading.
Thanks for stopping by.
~Ravi
Hey Ravi,
From my opinion view a WordPress theme is nothing without content. Dummy content sounds to be quick fix to this problem, the dummy content can make our website look just like the theme demo and we fell in love with, in just seconds. It allows us to use a top-to-bottom approach, ensuring us to utilize all of our theme’s features and functionality. Eventually, thanks again for sharing your informative thought with us.
With best wishes,
Amar kumar
Hi Amar,
The dummy content is used to test the theme. It lets you know about the working of the theme properly. You can use the content when you try to sell your theme.
The dummy content can be used at different places.
Thanks for stopping by.
Enjoy your day.
~Ravi