What to do when Thesis (WP Theme) stops generating CSS

This has happened to us a few times, namely every time we migrate a site using Thesis.

The problem is that Thesis stores all its CSS (custom, skin, and editor CSS) in the database. It also stores the variables that drive that CSS in the DB. Something about how that data is transferred over when migrating between web hosting companies causes a glitch of sorts. The site loses all its formatting, but the CSS still *shows* as being there in the editor.

Weird, eh? Well, if you’ve done some digging you may have noticed that the CSS file being generated by Thesis is actually 0b in size. 0. Empty. That’s a problem.

As luck would have it, there’s a fix!

Go to Thesis -> Skin Editor -> Data Manager

Click Restore Defaults

Uncheck everything except for:

• CSS Variables
• Skin CSS
• Editor CSS

Click to confirm.

This regenerates those items from the default info stored in the Thesis skin files. Now, that said, the only one you *probably* need is the CSS Variables, but I have also seen the Skin or Editor CSS get messed up before – so you might as well do it all.

Now your site should be functioning properly again, and away you go!