# Try it on. Then make it live.

> Try any of the 9 themes on your own site, fill in its settings and make it live. Do it in Settings › Design or ask your agent.

Every PixelGlass site comes with 9 themes, from a newsroom to a portfolio. **Pick one and your own site shows in it, page by page**, before a single reader sees the change.

## By hand, in the admin

1. Open **Settings › Design**. Your site shows in a frame beside the sidebar.
2. Under **Theme**, pick a theme. The frame shows your own posts in it.
3. Move between the kinds of page with the tabs above the frame. Turn on **Sample posts** to see the theme with fifty posts.
4. Open **Theme settings** to fill in the theme's own options, then press **Save**.
5. Press **Make live** under the theme. Readers see it at once.

The Design screen is for the owner and admins.

## With your agent

> Which themes can my site wear, and which one is live?

> Make Dispatch my site's theme and turn on numbered issues.

> Set Press's lead story to the newest post and show reading times.

The tools it calls: `list_themes`, `activate_theme`, `get_theme_settings`, `set_theme_settings`.

## Examples

- **A surf club becomes a newsroom.** A club's site grows from a noticeboard into daily swell reports. The editor tries Press in the frame, sets its sections to the club's tags and **makes it live in one press**.
- **A coach finds a better fit.** A running coach starts on Pixel, then picks Coach for its Start here path and testimonial slots, and fills them in under Theme settings.
- **A bakery keeps it quiet.** A bakery's newsletter moves to Words for its single column, and the owner checks a post and the home page in the frame before the switch.

## Questions

### How do I change my theme on PixelGlass?

Open Settings › Design, pick a theme under Theme and look at it in the frame. Then press Make live under it. Readers see the new theme at once.

### Which themes come with PixelGlass?

PixelGlass has 9 themes: Pixel, Words, Dispatch, Press, Atlas, Figure, Practice, Coach, and Folio. They are made for newsletters, magazines, single columns, paid newsletters, newsrooms, data stories, consultants, coaches and portfolios.

### Can I see a theme on my site before I switch?

Yes. When you pick a theme in Settings › Design, the frame shows your own site in it, page by page. Nothing changes for readers until you press Make live.

### Do I lose a theme's settings when I switch away?

No. Each PixelGlass theme keeps its own settings, so a theme you switch back to has them as you left them.

### Can my agent change the theme for me?

Yes, when the person who connected it is the owner or an admin. The agent lists the themes with list_themes and switches with activate_theme, only when you say so.

## See also

- [Preview a theme before it goes live](https://pixelglass.co/guides/preview-a-theme-before-it-goes-live): See your own site in another theme, page by page, before readers do. Use the Design frame by hand, or a private preview link from your agent.
- [Design a theme with your agent](https://pixelglass.co/guides/design-a-theme-with-your-agent): Describe the look you want. Your agent edits the theme's templates and styles, checks each page and sends you the link. Every step can be undone.
- [Edit your menus](https://pixelglass.co/guides/edit-your-menus): Change the links in your site's masthead and footer menus. Add, reorder and remove them in Settings › Design, or ask your agent.
- [Themes](https://pixelglass.co/features/themes): Start from 9 themes made for magazines, newsletters, coaches and portfolios. Change the look in Settings, or ask your agent to redesign it.
- [Every guide](https://pixelglass.co/guides)
- [Pricing](https://pixelglass.co/pricing): every feature on every plan, 14 days free
- [Create your site](https://pixelglass.co/signup)