# Look first. Readers see it later.

> 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.

On PixelGlass, a theme you are trying is never the site's until you say so. **The Design frame and the preview link show your real site in it**, and nobody else sees a thing.

## By hand, in the admin

1. Open **Settings › Design** and pick the theme under **Theme**. The frame shows your site in it.
2. Use the tabs above the frame to see each kind of page your site has: the home page, a post, a page, a tag, an author.
3. Turn on **Sample posts** to see the theme with fifty posts in place of your own.
4. Try an accent or the theme's settings. The frame shows them before you press **Save**.
5. When it looks right, press **Make live**.

## With your agent

> Make a copy of Words called notebook, set its links in forest green, and send me a preview link.

> Send me a preview of notebook with sample posts, landing on a post.

> Render notebook's tag page and tell me what looks broken.

The tools it calls: `create_theme`, `edit_theme_file`, `render_page`, `preview_theme`, `activate_theme`.

A change to the theme your site wears goes live as soon as the theme is whole. To look first, the agent works on a copy and makes it the site's theme with activate_theme when you say so.

## Examples

- **A redesign behind the curtain.** A newsroom's agent builds the autumn redesign on a copy of Press. The editors open **the preview link on their phones** for a week, and the site switches on Monday.
- **A fuller look at a new site.** A ceramics studio has three posts. Sample posts fills the frame with fifty, so the owner can judge the grid before she writes more.
- **Every page, not only the home page.** A podcast's producer checks a post, a tag and an author in the frame before the switch, and finds the author page wants a portrait.

## Questions

### How do I preview a theme on PixelGlass?

Open Settings › Design and pick the theme. The frame shows your own site in it, with a tab for each kind of page. Nothing changes for readers until you press Make live.

### Does a preview change my live site?

No. A PixelGlass preview is for the browser that opens it. It is not indexed, not cached and not counted as a visit.

### How long does a preview link work?

A preview link from preview_theme opens for a day. A bar at the foot of each page says it is a preview and has Exit preview.

### Can I preview a theme with more posts than I have?

Yes. Sample posts in Settings › Design, or sample: true on the agent's preview link, shows the theme with fifty sample posts. Nothing is saved.

### Why does my agent work on a copy of my theme?

On PixelGlass, a change to the site's own theme goes live as soon as the theme is whole. A copy made with create_theme stays off the site until activate_theme, so you look first.

## See also

- [Change your theme](https://pixelglass.co/guides/change-your-theme): 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.
- [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.
- [Undo a theme change](https://pixelglass.co/guides/undo-a-theme-change): Every change to a PixelGlass theme is kept. Look at any earlier version on your site, then restore it, in Settings › Design or with 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)