Changing design – exporting design (only) from mock site to real site

[Tribulatio]

While I don't have a lot of experience with WP, I have been publishing a small blog (a dozen of articles per year) since 2010. I have been using a non-Genesis theme without any customization.

I have recently bought a Genesis theme in order to modernize the site. In order to test the new theme, I have created a mock site on which I have exported the content of my real site and tested the move from the old theme to the new one (Daily Dish Pro), and subsequently customized it step by step in order to fit my site and match some features from the previous design. I have now reached the end of that process and, probably within a week, I will change the theme on my real site to the Genesis one.

Thus it is not a matter of moving the entire site (the content of the mock site is partly different from the content of the real site), but just moving the new design. Since I have never done that, I want to make sure that I do it properly, without the need to have my site in maintenance mode for more than a few minutes.

Step by step, this is what I intend to do, and I just want to know if this is correct, or if I am missing something crucial:

1) Install Genesis framework on the real site;

2) Install the various Genesis plugins that I will need on the real site (but not yet activate them);

3) Export the content of the Daily Dish Pro folder (with subfolders) from the mock site and import it to the real site;

4) Change the current theme of the real site from the current one to Daily Dish Pro on the new site;

5) Activate the various plugins associated with my new design.

I assume this is all that needs to be done? Or did I miss anything?

Regarding the export of the Daily Dish Pro folder currently on the mock site, is it possible merely to export it via FTP from the mock site to my computer, and then export it via FTP again to the location on the real site? Or is there any risk that files might be corrupted (or permissions changed) in the process? Ideally, I assume that I should export and import the theme as a ZIP file: I don't know how to create a ZIP file from my online WP admin, but I have just discovered a plugin named 'Export Plugins and Templates', that should do the job: did anybody test it and does it work well, or do you advise another way for doing it?

I am probably not the only novice user interested to know how such a process works, but I have not found a simple explanation on the forum regarding that.

[Tribulatio]

P.S.: for exporting a theme, I see that there exists also another plugin:
https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-clone-template/

[Tribulatio]

I will probably apply the new design to my website next week, and I would really appreciate to know if my way of doing it as I have planned it above is correct? Just in order to avoid making some major mistake without being aware of it.

Thank you!

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