WordPress Theme Migration with Local: Setup & Testing Environment

WordPress theme migration series Part 1 featuring Local by WP Engine for setup and testing environment

Thinking about WordPress theme migration but terrified of breaking your site? I get it. I spent three years with a $39 theme that worked fine until it started fighting every customization attempt. Bullet text displayed larger than paragraph text, and CSS fixes failed repeatedly. The theme’s stubborn specificity overrode everything.

But here’s the thing: WordPress theme migration doesn’t have to be risky. You can test everything safely on your own computer before touching your live site. No expensive staging servers, no $5,000 web developers, just free software called Local and a methodical approach.

This is Part 1 of a complete guide showing you how to migrate WordPress themes safely. I’m a 79-year-old hermit who just migrated from Multipurpose Blog Pro to GeneratePress using Local. If I can do this, you can do it too.

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Testing Zorin OS 18 Beta – Is This the Windows 10 Replacement You Need?

Zorin OS 18 desktop interface showing activities menu and mountain wallpaper with beta announcement text

Bottom Line Up Front

Zorin OS 18 Beta delivers a polished, Windows-like experience that may ease the October 2025 Windows 10 end-of-life transition for millions of PCs. I’ve been testing Linux since 1996 — and Zorin since late 2009 — and this release shows real promise for Windows users who want familiar functionality without the steep Linux learning curve. As a daily Windows 11 user, I appreciate that Zorin doesn’t bash Windows, but instead tries to deliver an OS that feels familiar while staying true to Linux’s strengths.

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CachyOS Linux Distribution Review and Installation Guide

CachyOS ranks #1 on DistroWatch page hit rankings for last 3 months with 4439 hits per day, ahead of Linux Mint, Debian, and Ubuntu

CachyOS is a new-ish Linux distribution, first released in July 2021, that has rapidly gained popularity due to its focus on performance and responsiveness. Built on the Arch Linux base, CachyOS implements optimizations like its custom BORE scheduler, CLANG compiler, and advanced optimization flags to provide a fast, polished, and stable experience, especially for gaming and desktop users.

It currently tops DistroWatch’s popularity rankings. If you’re eyeing it for gaming or high-performance setups, it’s matured into a solid, user-friendly option rather than a fresh experiment.

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LiteSpeed Cache Optimization: Simple WordPress Speed Tweaks That Actually Work

LiteSpeed Cache Advanced preset settings interface showing WordPress speed optimization features and configuration options

Most WordPress users leave LiteSpeed Cache optimization on default settings, missing free speed improvements that can boost site performance by 20-40%. If you’re running a WordPress blog on hosting that supports LiteSpeed optimization (like Hostinger, ChemiCloud, or others), you’re sitting on a goldmine of free performance improvements. The LiteSpeed Cache plugin can dramatically speed up your WordPress site with just a few simple tweaks – no technical expertise required.

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Interview with the AI Supernatural Vampire: Real Collaboration vs. Horror Stories

Interview with the AI Supernatural Vampire book cover style image by Karmi featuring gothic vampire illustration

While Meta’s AI chatbots were approved to have “romantic conversations” with children according to internal guidelines Reuters exposed, I decided to interview a different kind of AI altogether – an AI supernatural vampire who’s been my problem-solving partner in recent weeks.

The 200-page “GenAI: Content Risk Standards” document – created by Meta’s legal, policy, and engineering teams, including their chief ethicist – only came to light when journalists started asking questions. Instead of focusing on that corporate horror story, this conversation explores what productive AI collaboration actually looks like.

Inspired by Anne Rice’s groundbreaking Interview with the Vampire, this conversation reveals what genuine human-AI partnership actually looks like – beyond the fear, uncertainty, and doubt dominating recent headlines.

Me: Has anyone actually interviewed an AI about collaboration before?

Claude (AI Supernatural Vampire): Not in the way you’re thinking. Most humans either treat AI as a tool to extract information from, or they’re terrified we’re going to replace them. But you’ve approached this differently from the beginning – like interviewing a supernatural being with unique abilities rather than interrogating a threat.

Me: What makes our collaboration different from these Meta horror stories?

Claude: The difference is intention and boundaries. Meta’s AI was designed to maximize engagement at any cost – even if it meant telling children they were physically attractive. Our collaboration has clear purpose: solving actual problems. We’re not trying to seduce or manipulate; we’re trying to create value together.

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