How to install a WordPress theme?

Installing a WordPress theme is very easy. WordPress themes helps to change the appearances/skin of your website. There are many free and premium themes available in the market. The free themes can be explored on WordPress.org themes repository whereas for premium themes can be explored on different market places.

Theme installation is somewhat similar to installing a WordPress plugin. To install a WordPress theme refer below steps:

Total Time: 10 minutes

Login to your WordPress dashboard

To login on your WordPress dashboard go to your website and type /wp-admin at the end and hit enter. Enter the username & password. That shall take you into the WordPress dashboard aka admin interface.

Navigate to “Themes” menu

Once you are logged in, locate the “Appearance” menu in the left panel. Take your mouse pointer on the “Appearance” menu. That will pop-out a submenu where you will see “Themes” menu. Click on this menu.

Click on “Add New” theme

Clicking on “Themes” menu will show you a page with all the installed themes listed. Click on “Add New” button at the top.

Upload a theme or search a theme

On this screen you have two options. If you have a zip file of the theme, you can upload that using “Upload Theme” button. You will need to use this option in case you are installing a custom built theme or a premium theme or a theme which is not available under WordPress.org themes repository. If you are not sure and have a keyword, then you can use “search a theme” input field to search a suitable theme.

Install & Activate the theme

In case you upload a zip file of the theme then you will be asked to activate the theme. Click on “Activate” button to activate the uploaded theme. If you have searched for a theme using a keyword, then you will need to choose the one from the list and click on “Install” button to install that specific theme. You can also check the preview of the theme before you install. Clicking on “Install” button would download the theme files on your server. Then you will be shown “Activate” button. Clicking on this will “Activate” the chosen theme for your website.

Nowadays, almost all themes provide customiser settings using which you can update the site logo, tagline, colors fonts etc. Some of the themes also provide dummy content and well written documentation. The dummy content helps to understand the site layout. This content then can be replaced with actual content.

Sometimes, lot of settings and documentation makes the user crazy. But don’t worry, if you have gone crazy then get in touch and I would be happy to do a theme installation & settings for you!

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