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If your checkout looks different from what you expected, or you want one checkout to look different from another, it helps to know where a checkout gets its theme. A checkout does not have a theme field in its own settings. Its appearance is worked out each time the page loads.

Which theme a checkout uses

WeGive picks the first of these that applies:
  1. A theme named in the link or embed code. If the link or embed code includes a theme, that theme is used.
  2. The theme assigned to a custom domain. If the checkout is shown on one of your custom domains and that domain has its own theme, that theme is used.
  3. Your Portal Default theme. This is the theme marked as the default for your donor portal.
  4. The built-in WeGive styling, if none of the above is set.
If a theme named in a link or assigned to a domain has since been deleted, WeGive skips it and moves to the next option rather than showing an error. New checkouts do not need a theme step. A new checkout uses your Portal Default automatically.

What changing a theme affects

  • Editing your default theme changes the look of your donor portal and of every checkout that uses the default. You cannot restyle one checkout through the default theme without affecting the others.
  • Editing a theme assigned to a custom domain changes the checkouts shown on that domain.
  • Choosing a different theme for one checkout is done through its link or embed code, described below. It applies only where that link or embed is used.

Set or change your Portal Default

  1. Go to Settings → Themes and open the theme you want.
  2. On the theme’s Details tab, turn on Portal Default.
You can also assign it from Portal Settings, on the Portal V2 tab, using the Portal Theme picker. The Portal V2 tab appears only if your organization has Portal V2 turned on.

Go back to the built-in styling

On the Portal V2 tab in Portal Settings, clear the Portal Theme picker. The page confirms that the portal returned to the built-in WeGive theme. Checkouts that do not name a theme and are not on a custom domain with its own theme will then use the built-in styling.
  1. Open the checkout and click Implement.
  2. In the Theme field, search for and choose the theme.
  3. Copy the link, embed code, or pop-up code.
The code you copy includes the theme you chose, so that link or embed shows the theme while others keep using your default. The Theme field appears only when your link will go to Portal V2. If you leave it empty, the checkout uses your custom domain’s theme or the Portal Default. The Implement as a test checkout option in the same window is separate. It creates a test link, and it does not change which theme is used.

Checking a theme before you publish it

WeGive does not offer a way to preview an unsaved theme on a real checkout. The theme editor shows a sample of your colors and styles inside the dashboard. To see a theme on a real checkout, save it first. You can then check it without changing your default by choosing it in the Theme field of the Implement window and opening that link. Make it your Portal Default only once you are happy with how it looks. Receipt and tax-document emails, and error pages, are not styled by your theme. See also Checkout Customization Limits for what a theme can and cannot change, and Embedding a Checkout on Your Website for the link, embed, and pop-up options.
Last modified on November 9, 2026