I've read the tut you provided above about child themes, but correct me if I'm wrong, it still seems as though I will be doing a heck of a lot of work when updating/upgrading my current version of ClassiPress. I'm customizing the stylesheet, and some other features via the core files; such as 'Featured Listings' to something else, adding additional options to profile pages, changes in how the navigation works, etc. Even if I create a child theme, I will still have to take notes on all my modifications, and go back to each file (and sometimes the source file is moved or renamed!) and search for the place where I need to re-update my customizations.
This seems like a lot of work, considering you seem to be giving out updates every few months. The website I am developing with this theme is planning to be very big. I'm honestly worried that with each update comes hours of work on the back end before launching the update.
What can I do to prevent hours of work? I also purchased the $69 theme so I can learn the theme before purchasing the $199 version. And that scares me too! Going from a limited version to the ultimate version, will my modifications be wiped clean after I upgrade? Should I not do ANY modifications until I get the ultimate theme?
I love and appreciate the work put into this theme, I just didn't expect updates to disregard all my work. Any thoughts?
Thanks in advance.
