WordPress is the about widely-used Content Direction Organization in the world for building self-hosted websites. Chances are if y'all're not already, you've decided to use WordPress for your own website. But do you know how to install a WordPress theme?

Understanding how WordPress themes are added to your website is not complicated at all, no matter which method you choose to use — and in that location are a few! The great affair is, once your theme is installed, you lot're ready to starting time creating a standout website right abroad.

In today's post, nosotros'll dig deeper into how to install a WordPress theme. Specifically, we'll cover:

Let'south go started!

Prefer to spotter the video version?

Where to Find WordPress Themes (Both Free and Paid)

Learning how to install a WordPress theme on your website isn't hard to exercise. What is hard, though, is choosing the right theme for your needs. But before we expect at what you need to successfully accomplish that, let's take a quick look at where y'all can find WordPress themes.

Right at present, the WordPress Repository is one of the most common places to find reliable and costless plugins and themes to extend the pattern and functionality of your WordPress website. In fact, at that place are over 7,400 themes in the WordPress Repository alone.

Adding to that, at that place are also thousands of complimentary and premium themes available for WordPress users that tin be found in marketplaces such as MOJO Market, CSS Igniter, and StudioPress. That said, the most famous theme marketplace to date is Themeforest, which currently has over 46,000 WordPress themes to choose from.

How to Choose the Right WordPress Theme

So, how are y'all supposed to know which WordPress theme is right for yous?

Hither are some tips to help:

1. Determine Between a Complimentary or Premium WordPress Theme

The free vs paid WordPress theme debate has been effectually for a long time. This makes it tough to know whether you should relieve your money and go for a free theme or invest a minor amount of money for a premium one and reap the benefits. If you come across a WordPress site with a theme that you like, you can use our theme detector tool to observe out what theme it uses.

It really does come down to your budget, there are some things to consider before making a final pick:

Pros of Using a Free WordPress Theme

Using a free WordPress theme comes with plenty of advantages:

  • They're free to use, which means if y'all terminate upwards not liking it and want to change your WordPress theme, you've lost no money for giving it a try.
  • The complimentary themes in the WordPress Repository are officially canonical after going through a strict review procedure.
  • Free themes found at WordPress.org will be compatible with all the gratis plugins found in the aforementioned place.

That said, free themes do come up with some disadvantages as well.

For example, they typically have a limited feature set, are used by many people (making information technology difficult to create a unique website), and there's usually trivial to no prompt support if there are issues. Not to mention, free themes found outside the WordPress Repository may exist poorly coded, which opens your site up to vulnerabilities and attacks.

Pros of Using a Premium WordPress Theme

Just like using a free theme, premium themes come with their own set of benefits:

  • You get support for it to help yous with things like bugs, technical problems, and customization (suggested reading: How to Customize Your WordPress Theme).
  • Y'all'll receive frequent updates, which come with increased security and features.
  • The feature sets range from mild to wild, so y'all can design your site to look and practice whatever you desire.
  • If from a trusted theme marketplace, company, or developer, you'll know your premium theme is up-to-date with all the latest versions of WordPress, HTML, CSS, and PHP.

Premium themes do, however, cost money. Some paid themes crave a yearly payment, and others require a old payment. This ways if you buy one, and after decide to modify, you lot're out whatever money was spent.

2. Know Your Niche

WordPress caters to all kinds of websites, then y'all tin can await WordPress themes to do the same. Knowing your niche before you decide on a theme will assist you lot observe WordPress themes that will have the blueprint and functionality you demand.

For example, if you're starting a WordPress food blog, you'll desire to be on the lookout for a WordPress blogging theme that caters to food websites. Meliorate nevertheless, if you think yous might want to sell products and services to fellow foodies like yourself, you might want to check out some ecommerce themes that come up with the functionality to commencement both an online food concern and blog.

To make a good determination, retrieve about the type of content y'all want to publish, central features your theme will need, your target audience, and what industry you want to be in, so you can narrow your options and make deciding a little easier.

3. Use Credible Sources

Anyone that tin can develop a WordPress theme and brand a profit off it, will. But the thing is, but considering someone has created a WordPress theme doesn't hateful it's free from bad code, viruses, or fifty-fifty spam links.

If you've decided to use a gratuitous WordPress theme, the best identify to look is the WordPress Repository. If yous demand a premium theme or want to apply a free one from a third-party theme visitor, check for the post-obit:

  • Author reputation
  • Frequency of updates
  • Positive client reviews
  • Number of sales

In the terminate, it doesn't matter what type of WordPress theme you need. What really matters is that you avert using nulled WordPress themes, then you lot don't have problems in the future with site security, downtime, and lost site visitors.

4. Keep It Unproblematic

Information technology's easy to get caught up in the entreatment of popular multipurpose WordPress themes such as Avada or 10. And while these themes may take the features and design some people demand, the truth is, simple is often better.

This is particularly true for those just starting out. Sometimes multipurpose themes come with too many features, have a high learning curve, and touch your site'southward speed and performance.

Information technology's best to use a theme that has just what y'all need and zip more.

five. Await for Responsive Design

Not to exist confused with mobile-friendly design, responsive design is necessary for giving your mobile site visitors infrequent user experience.

Having a mobile-friendly WordPress theme means that no matter what device your site company accesses your website from, it volition appear the same. The site visitor will be able to run across all your site's content, navigate the site hands, and click the CTA buttons yous want them to. That said, none of the elements on your website volition change, no affair the device or screen size accessing your site.

To check for mobile-friendliness, use Google'southward Mobile-Friendly test.

Google mobile-friendly test
Google mobile-friendly test

On the other hand, having a WordPress theme with responsive design means that when your site visitors click on your website using a mobile device, your website will suit according to the screen size. Elements on your website volition change to render seamlessly for site visitors and then they can access your site content with ease.

To check for responsive design, utilize the free Responsive Checker tool:

Responsive Checker tool
Responsive Checker

The nifty affair about this online tool is that yous tin can evaluate your website using multiple device types, including laptops, tablets, and mobile phones. In addition, you can navigate the site equally if you were really accessing information technology using a mobile device to brand sure your site looks and functions the style you want it to for site visitors.

6. Evaluate the Theme Support

There may come up a fourth dimension when you demand support while using your WordPress theme. That's why being able to make it touch on with the theme developer or their support team is crucial.

Find out what kind of support is offered before deciding on a WordPress theme. And remember, most free WordPress themes come up with very petty support, if any at all.

vii. Consider the Features

Lastly, you should definitely consider the features your WordPress theme comes with. Here are some of the best things to expect for in any theme you cull, whether it's free or premium:

  • Social media sharing
  • Congenital-in SEO optimization
  • Cross-browser compatibility
  • Inclusive WordPress page builders for easier site creation
  • Popular WordPress plugin compatibility
  • Multilingual and translation prepare
  • Ecommerce back up

Of course, every person needs different things for their website. However, the in a higher place-mentioned considerations will help bespeak you in the right direction and help you brand a decision.

At present, permit'due south take a await at how to install a WordPress theme onto your website after you've chosen the perfect one.

How to Install a Free WordPress Theme

If you want to utilize a theme constitute in the WordPress Repository on your website, the easiest way to practice this is on the backend of your website.

Subscribe Now

To start, log into your WordPress website and go to Appearance > Themes in the WordPress dashboard and click Add New.

How to install a new WordPress theme
Adding a new WordPress theme

From there, you can filter the results based on:

  • Featured
  • Popular
  • Latest
  • Favorites
Filter theme results
Filter theme results

Or, you tin use the Feature Filter button to filter the theme results based on specific features.

Feature filter
Feature filter

Lastly, yous tin search for a specific WordPress theme if you know the proper noun of it by entering the theme'southward proper noun into the search bar:

Searching for a specific WordPress theme in WordPress

One time you discover a theme you might desire to employ, you lot can click Details and Preview to see more than information almost the theme, Preview to see a preview of the theme in action, or Install to install the theme onto your WordPress site:

Preview or install a WordPress theme
Preview or install a WordPress theme

When you decide you lot want to use a theme found in the WordPress Repository, click Install.

Then, click on Live Preview first to come across how your site will look using the theme. This makes information technology easier to make up one's mind if the theme you're interested in is the one for you or not. When y'all've made the decision, click Actuate to finish adding it to your website.

Your WordPress theme is now installed on your website and yous tin can offset publishing content right away.

How to Install a Premium WordPress Theme

If yous've purchased a premium WordPress theme, you'll demand to use the upload method from your WordPress dashboard to install your theme.

To commencement, download the theme you purchased from the theme marketplace or company you lot bought it from. Salvage the downloaded zip file to your reckoner.

Next, log into your WordPress website and go to Appearance > Themes in the WordPress dashboard and click Add New:

How to install a new WordPress theme
Calculation a new WordPress theme

Next, click Upload Theme to upload the zip file of your premium WordPress theme to your website from your estimator:

Upload theme feature in WordPress
Upload theme feature in WordPress

Click Browse to select the null file from your figurer.

Upload your zip file
Upload your aught file

And so, click Install Now to add the theme to your website.

Install a premium WordPress theme
Install a premium WordPress theme

WordPress will install your premium theme on your website. If y'all want to see how your website volition look using the uploaded theme, click Live Preview.

Lastly, click Actuate to brand the theme ready to go along your website.

The upload method will work for any premium WordPress theme yous take saved as a goose egg file. It will also piece of work when you demand to import a theme from ThemeForest. Just download the goose egg file that'south saved on your estimator and follow the same steps above.

How to Install a WordPress Theme Using FTP

The final method nosotros're going to evidence you is using FTP (file transfer protocol), which is the standard network protocol used for transferring computer files betwixt a client and server on a computer network. In other words, an FTP helps y'all upload files between y'all and your website's servers.

In that location are several FTP clients you tin use, simply nosotros're going to apply FileZilla, which is easily downloaded on your computer. It's free to employ and has a unproblematic interface. Keep in mind, however, this is an advanced manner of installing a WordPress theme on your website and is not recommended for beginners.

Step i: Secure FTP/SFTP Credentials

To become started, you lot'll need to get your FTP or SFTP credentials to enter into FileZilla so it can connect to your site's servers (larn the deviation between FTP and SFTP). This information is unremarkably plant in your spider web hosting account. If you have trouble finding information technology, reach out to your host and have them assistance you lot.

If y'all use Kinsta hosting, get-go log into your MyKinsta account and click on Sites in the dashboard and so on the Info to get the credentials needed:

When you practice this, you should see your credentials under SFTP/SSH. You'll demand your username, countersign, and port:

Step 2: Enter Credentials into FileZilla

Later you've found your FTP/SFTP credentials, open upwardly FileZilla.

Hither is the data you're going to need to enter:

  • Host: from your MyKinsta dashboard (or your site's IP address preceded by "sftp://" for other hosting providers)
  • Username: from your MyKinsta dashboard
  • Password: from your MyKinsta dashboard
  • Port: from your MyKinsta dashboard

This is what it will look like at the top of the FileZilla screen:

Using SFTP in FileZilla
Using SFTP in FileZilla

After you lot've entered your credentials, click Quickconnect. FileZilla volition then connect to your site'south servers.

Step three: Upload WordPress Theme Files

Later on y'all're connected to your FTP, it's time to install a WordPress theme on your website. Keep in mind that the left side of FileZilla is how you'll admission your computer files, and the correct side of FileZilla is how you'll admission your site'south files that are stored on your host's servers.

To open up up your site'southward files, click on the folders in the right-side panel until you find the one labeled Themes:

WordPress themes folder
WordPress themes binder

When you exercise, any WordPress themes already installed on your website will appear underneath the file folders.

Next, go to the left-side panel in FileZilla and search for the zip file of the WordPress theme you want to install. When you lot find it, right-click on it and select Upload:

Uploading WordPress theme via FTP
Uploading WordPress theme via FTP

When the files are done uploading to your site's servers (this may take a while depending on the size of the file), you'll see the files on the right-side panel in FileZilla.

files uploading to a site's servers in FileZilla

Lastly, log into your WordPress website and go to Appearance > Themes. You'll observe your newly uploaded theme is correct there, waiting for y'all to activate and utilize on your website.

Appearance, Themes in WordPress

Installing a new theme is ever a crucial moment! Learn iii different ways yous can use with this step-by-pace tutorial and become your site a new wait in minutes 👀🔜 Click to Tweet

Summary

If you're going to use WordPress every bit your Content Direction System, you're going to need to know how to install a WordPress theme. And chances are, y'all'll go through a few WordPress themes until yous find the one yous similar and has everything you need.

Luckily for you, there are not only several methods to choose from for installing WordPress themes, but all‌ ‌of‌ ‌them‌ ‌are too relatively like shooting fish in a barrel, even for novice website owners:

  1. You can install a theme through the Appearance>Themes > Add together New option directly from within WordPress.
  2. You tin install a theme past uploading it as a zip file via the Upload Theme feature.
  3. You can install a theme Using an FTP client.

So, perform a little enquiry and notice the perfect WordPress theme for your weblog, online business, or ecommerce store. Then, install it on your WordPress site so y'all can brainstorm edifice a unique website that represents your make.


Save time, costs and maximize site performance with:

  • Instant help from WordPress hosting experts, 24/7.
  • Cloudflare Enterprise integration.
  • Global audience reach with 29 data centers worldwide.
  • Optimization with our built-in Application Performance Monitoring.

All of that and much more, in one plan with no long-term contracts, assisted migrations, and a 30-day-money-back-guarantee. Bank check out our plans or talk to sales to detect the program that'south right for you.