/ Plugin Category

/ Site Administration & Utilities

/ Site Migration & Cloning

/ Catch Themes Demo Import

Catch Themes Demo Import

By Catch Plugins

Site Administration & Utilities / Site Migration & Cloning

Reviewed by Omar Dabbas

Trusted WordPress expert with 20+ years of experience evaluating plugins for the WP ecosystem.

Catch Themes Demo Import Review - In-Depth Analysis

Catch Themes Demo Import is a user-friendly demo importer plugin for WordPress. It allows easy import of theme demo data with just one click. Whether your theme has predefined files or not, importing demos is hassle-free.

Performance Overview

WPS Score

6.8/10

User Rating

1/5 (based on 1+ reviews)

Active Installations

5,000+

Update Frequency

Average It is calculated using the weighted average of same category plugins.

Security Score

6.2 / 10 (Medium Risk) It is calculated using the weighted average of all versions.

What It Does

Catch Themes Demo Import is a free demo importer WordPress plugin that lets you import the demo you desire in just a single click. The plugin works out of the box; all you have to do is install and activate the plugin and all the demos available on your currently used theme will be on your fingertips.

If the theme doesn’t have any predefined import files, you’ll have to upload three files – a demo content XML file for content import, a WIE/JSON file for widget import, and a DAT file for customizer import. With the plugin activated, whether you have predefined demo files available or not, you’ll be able to import demos on your website without any hesitancy.

This plugin will create a submenu page under Appearance with the title Import demo data. If the theme you are using does not have any predefined import files, then you will be presented with three file upload inputs. First one is required and you will have to upload a demo content XML file, for the actual demo import. The second one is optional and will ask you for a WIE or JSON file for widgets import. The third one is also optional and will import the customizer settings.

Comparing to Alternatives

Catch Themes Demo Import has several direct alternatives that offer similar demo import functionality for WordPress themes. Users looking for more reliable or secure options might consider these alternatives.

Top alternatives

Strengths

Integrates well with Catch Themes products
Simple demo import process
Free to use without upsells
Supports multiple demo content imports
Lightweight plugin footprint

Weaknesses

Multiple known security vulnerabilities historically
No recent updates addressing security issues
Limited features compared to some alternatives
No pro version or premium support options

User Sentiment Analysis

With only one rating at 1 star, user sentiment is overwhelmingly negative, primarily due to security concerns.

Positive highlights

Common complaints

Plugin has multiple unresolved security vulnerabilities
Developers have not fixed critical issues for years
Plugin can lead to site hacks and compromises

Weaknesses

Security vulnerabilities pose significant risk
Lack of timely updates and fixes
Poor user trust due to security history

Who Should Use This?

Best for

Users who specifically require demo import functionality for Catch Themes products and are willing to accept security risks or have technical means to mitigate them.

Not ideal for

Anyone concerned about website security or looking for a reliable, actively maintained demo import plugin should avoid this plugin due to its history of critical vulnerabilities and lack of fixes.

Pricing & Value

Free version includes

The free version offers basic demo import functionality tailored for Catch Themes without any premium features.

Final Verdict

Catch Themes Demo Import offers basic demo import features but is overshadowed by its poor security track record and lack of maintenance. Users should be cautious given the critical vulnerabilities that have remained unaddressed for years.

Considering the availability of several alternative demo import plugins with better reputations and active support, this plugin is not recommended for users prioritizing security and reliability. Exploring other options is advised.

Other Notable Features

Here are a few other notable features of this free Catch Themes Demo Import plugin.

demo import

theme demo data

WordPress demo importer

Screenshots

FAQ

You will find the import page in wp-admin -> Appearance -> Catch Themes Demo Import.

This question is for theme authors. To predefine demo imports, you just have to add the following code structure, with your own values to your theme (using the cp-ctdi/import_files filter):

function ctdi_import_files() {     return array(         array(             'import_file_name'           => 'Demo Import 1',             'categories'                 => array( 'Category 1', 'Category 2' ),             'import_file_url'            => 'http://www.your_domain.com/ctdi/demo-content.xml',             'import_widget_file_url'     => 'http://www.your_domain.com/ctdi/widgets.json',             'import_customizer_file_url' => 'http://www.your_domain.com/ctdi/customizer.dat',             'import_preview_image_url'   => 'http://www.your_domain.com/ctdi/preview_import_image1.jpg',             'import_notice'              => __( 'After you import this demo, you will have to setup the slider separately.', 'your-textdomain' ),             'preview_url'                => 'http://www.your_domain.com/my-demo-1',         ),         array(             'import_file_name'           => 'Demo Import 2',             'categories'                 => array( 'New category', 'Old category' ),             'import_file_url'            => 'http://www.your_domain.com/ctdi/demo-content2.xml',             'import_widget_file_url'     => 'http://www.your_domain.com/ctdi/widgets2.json',             'import_customizer_file_url' => 'http://www.your_domain.com/ctdi/customizer2.dat',             'import_preview_image_url'   => 'http://www.your_domain.com/ctdi/preview_import_image2.jpg',             'import_notice'              => __( 'A special note for this import.', 'your-textdomain' ),             'preview_url'                => 'http://www.your_domain.com/my-demo-2',         ),     ); } add_filter( 'cp-ctdi/import_files', 'ctdi_import_files' );

You can set content import, widgets, customizer and Redux framework import files. You can also define a preview image, which will be used only when multiple demo imports are defined, so that the user will see the difference between imports. Categories can be assigned to each demo import, so that they can be filtered easily. The preview URL will display the “Preview” button in the predefined demo item, which will open this URL in a new tab and user can view how the demo site looks like.

You can do that, with the cp-ctdi/after_import action hook. The code would look something like this:

function ctdi_after_import_setup() {     // Assign menus to their locations.     $main_menu = get_term_by( 'name', 'Main Menu', 'nav_menu' );      set_theme_mod( 'nav_menu_locations', array(             'main-menu' => $main_menu->term_id,         )     );      // Assign front page and posts page (blog page).     $front_page_id = get_page_by_title( 'Home' );     $blog_page_id  = get_page_by_title( 'Blog' );      update_option( 'show_on_front', 'page' );     update_option( 'page_on_front', $front_page_id->ID );     update_option( 'page_for_posts', $blog_page_id->ID );  } add_action( 'cp-ctdi/after_import', 'ctdi_after_import_setup' );

You have to use the same filter as in above example, but with a slightly different array keys: local_*. The values have to be absolute paths (not URLs) to your import files. To use local import files, that reside in your theme folder, please use the below code. Note: make sure your import files are readable!

function ctdi_import_files() {     return array(         array(             'import_file_name'             => 'Demo Import 1',             'categories'                   => array( 'Category 1', 'Category 2' ),             'local_import_file'            => trailingslashit( get_template_directory() ) . 'ctdi/demo-content.xml',             'local_import_widget_file'     => trailingslashit( get_template_directory() ) . 'ctdi/widgets.json',             'local_import_customizer_file' => trailingslashit( get_template_directory() ) . 'ctdi/customizer.dat',             'import_preview_image_url'     => 'http://www.your_domain.com/ctdi/preview_import_image1.jpg',             'import_notice'                => __( 'After you import this demo, you will have to setup the slider separately.', 'your-textdomain' ),             'preview_url'                  => 'http://www.your_domain.com/my-demo-1',         ),         array(             'import_file_name'             => 'Demo Import 2',             'categories'                   => array( 'New category', 'Old category' ),             'local_import_file'            => trailingslashit( get_template_directory() ) . 'ctdi/demo-content2.xml',             'local_import_widget_file'     => trailingslashit( get_template_directory() ) . 'ctdi/widgets2.json',             'local_import_customizer_file' => trailingslashit( get_template_directory() ) . 'ctdi/customizer2.dat',             'import_preview_image_url'     => 'http://www.your_domain.com/ctdi/preview_import_image2.jpg',             'import_notice'                => __( 'A special note for this import.', 'your-textdomain' ),             'preview_url'                  => 'http://www.your_domain.com/my-demo-2',         ),     ); } add_filter( 'cp-ctdi/import_files', 'ctdi_import_files' );

This question might be asked by a theme author wanting to implement different after import setups for multiple predefined demo imports. Lets say we have predefined two demo imports with the following names: ‘Demo Import 1’ and ‘Demo Import 2’, the code for after import setup would be (using the cp-ctdi/after_import filter):

function ctdi_after_import( $selected_import ) {     echo "This will be displayed on all after imports!";      if ( 'Demo Import 1' === $selected_import['import_file_name'] ) {         echo "This will be displayed only on after import if user selects Demo Import 1";          // Set logo in customizer         set_theme_mod( 'logo_img', get_template_directory_uri() . '/assets/images/logo1.png' );     }     elseif ( 'Demo Import 2' === $selected_import['import_file_name'] ) {         echo "This will be displayed only on after import if user selects Demo Import 2";          // Set logo in customizer         set_theme_mod( 'logo_img', get_template_directory_uri() . '/assets/images/logo2.png' );     } } add_action( 'cp-ctdi/after_import', 'ctdi_after_import' );

Of course you can, use the cp-ctdi/before_widgets_import action. You can also target different predefined demo imports like in the example above. Here is a simple example code of the cp-ctdi/before_widgets_import action:

function ctdi_before_widgets_import( $selected_import ) {     echo "Add your code here that will be executed before the widgets get imported!"; } add_action( 'cp-ctdi/before_widgets_import', 'ctdi_before_widgets_import' );

You can change the plugin intro text by using the cp-ctdi/plugin_intro_text filter:

function ctdi_plugin_intro_text( $default_text ) {     $default_text .= '<div class="ctdi__intro-text">This is a custom text added to this plugin intro text.</div>';      return $default_text; } add_filter( 'cp-ctdi/plugin_intro_text', 'ctdi_plugin_intro_text' );

To add some text in a separate “box”, you should wrap your text in a div with a class of ‘ctdi__intro-text’, like in the code example above.

This will greatly improve the time needed to import the content (images), but only the original sized images will be imported. You can disable it with a filter, so just add this code to your theme function.php file:

add_filter( 'cp-ctdi/regenerate_thumbnails_in_content_import', '__return_false' );

As a theme author you do not like the location of the “Import Demo Data” plugin page in Appearance -> Import Demo Data? You can change that with the filter below. Apart from the location, you can also change the title or the page/menu and some other parameters as well.

function ctdi_plugin_page_setup( $default_settings ) {     $default_settings['parent_slug'] = 'themes.php';     $default_settings['page_title']  = esc_html__( 'Catch Themes Demo Import' , 'catch-themes-demo-import' );     $default_settings['menu_title']  = esc_html__( 'Catch Themes Demo Import' , 'catch-themes-demo-import' );     $default_settings['capability']  = 'import';     $default_settings['menu_slug']   = 'catch-themes-demo-import';      return $default_settings; } add_filter( 'cp-ctdi/plugin_page_setup', 'ctdi_plugin_page_setup' );

In version 2.0.0 there is a new action hook: cp-ctdi/before_content_import, which will let you hook before the content import starts. An example of the code would look like this:

function ctdi_before_content_import( $selected_import ) {     if ( 'Demo Import 1' === $selected_import['import_file_name'] ) {         // Here you can do stuff for the "Demo Import 1" before the content import starts.         echo "before import 1";     }     else {         // Here you can do stuff for all other imports before the content import starts.         echo "before import 2";     } } add_action( 'cp-ctdi/before_content_import', 'ctdi_before_content_import' );

It’s easy, just add this to your theme:

add_action( 'cp-ctdi/enable_wp_customize_save_hooks', '__return_true' );

This will enable the following WP hooks when importing the customizer data: customize_save, customize_save_*, customize_save_after.

If you want to disable the popup confirmation modal window, use this filter:

add_filter( 'cp-ctdi/enable_grid_layout_import_popup_confirmation', '__return_false' );

If you want to just change some options for the jQuery modal window we use for the popup confirmation, then use this filter:

function my_theme_ctdi_confirmation_dialog_options ( $options ) {     return array_merge( $options, array(         'width'       => 300,         'dialogClass' => 'wp-dialog',         'resizable'   => false,         'height'      => 'auto',         'modal'       => true,     ) ); } add_filter( 'cp-ctdi/confirmation_dialog_options', 'my_theme_ctdi_confirmation_dialog_options', 10, 1 );

You can do that, with the cp-ctdi/after_import action hook. The code would look something like this:

function ctdi_after_import_setup() {     // Assign menus to their locations.     $main_menu = get_term_by( 'name', 'Main Menu', 'nav_menu' );      set_theme_mod( 'nav_menu_locations', array(             'main-menu' => $main_menu->term_id,         )     );      // Assign front page and posts page (blog page).     $front_page_id = get_page_by_title( 'Home' );     $blog_page_id  = get_page_by_title( 'Blog' );      update_option( 'show_on_front', 'page' );     update_option( 'page_on_front', $front_page_id->ID );     update_option( 'page_for_posts', $blog_page_id->ID );  } add_action( 'cp-ctdi/after_import', 'ctdi_after_import_setup' );

function ctdi_after_import( $selected_import ) {     echo "This will be displayed on all after imports!";      if ( 'Demo Import 1' === $selected_import['import_file_name'] ) {         echo "This will be displayed only on after import if user selects Demo Import 1";          // Set logo in customizer         set_theme_mod( 'logo_img', get_template_directory_uri() . '/assets/images/logo1.png' );     }     elseif ( 'Demo Import 2' === $selected_import['import_file_name'] ) {         echo "This will be displayed only on after import if user selects Demo Import 2";          // Set logo in customizer         set_theme_mod( 'logo_img', get_template_directory_uri() . '/assets/images/logo2.png' );     } } add_action( 'cp-ctdi/after_import', 'ctdi_after_import' );

You can change the plugin intro text by using the cp-ctdi/plugin_intro_text filter:

function ctdi_plugin_intro_text( $default_text ) {     $default_text .= '<div class="ctdi__intro-text">This is a custom text added to this plugin intro text.</div>';      return $default_text; } add_filter( 'cp-ctdi/plugin_intro_text', 'ctdi_plugin_intro_text' );

To add some text in a separate “box”, you should wrap your text in a div with a class of ‘ctdi__intro-text’, like in the code example above.