There’s a big learning curve when you DIY your first WordPress website. Hosting, themes, plugins and that’s before you’ve even thought about your website design. With so many different resources out there it’s hard to see the wood for the trees. In this article I’m going to show you how to install a WordPress theme on your website in just 3 easy steps.
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What exactly is a WordPress theme and how does it work?
A WordPress theme is a set of files that you install on your website that control, to some extent, how your website looks and which features it has. You can’t have a WordPress website without installing a theme.
When you install a theme you’ll be able to choose colours and fonts. Most themes will come with the option to choose Google Fonts, but if you have a font that you’ve paid for, you’ll likely have to add that manually – but that’s a topic for another day.
Not all themes are the same
Not every theme is the same but there will be separate files that define the theme header layout, how the footer is laid out, how big your featured images should be and more.
Different themes will have options for different features like portfolios or shops. If you’re building an e-commerce site you should be looking for a theme that gives you a lot of control over how your products appear.
Overriding theme layouts
I want to quickly mention that it is possible to override the layout of a theme with a page builder plugin, such as Elementor. This website is built using the OceanWP theme but I’ve used the Elementor Header & Footer builder plugin to design my header and footer layouts from scratch. I also use Elementor to design my pages too.
Free themes vs paid for themes
Whether or not you choose a free theme or a paid for theme depends on how you want your website to look.
Generally speaking, paid for themes give you more flexibility and options in how you want your website to look and feel out of the box. But that’s not to say you can’t personalise a free theme to get it how you want it, like I mentioned earlier, this site is build using OceanWP which is a free theme. I just choose to customise it with different plugins.
How to choose a WordPress theme
Features
Look for a theme with the features you need. Do you need a portfolio, a shop, online course area? Even if the answer is maybe, consider getting a theme with that feature. You don’t HAVE to use that feature if you change your mind later on. Not using a feature is easier than having to switch your theme specifically for a feature later on.
That’s not to say that you’re tied to a theme forever, or that you shouldn’t switch themes down the line if it’s just not doing it for you anymore.
Responsive
These days websites have to look and work right across different devices. It’s no longer a ‘nice to have’ for a website to be usable on a mobile. Any theme you choose must be responsive.
I would have a look at the demo site on any device you can get your hands on. Desktop computer, laptop, tablets and phones so you can get a good idea of how it looks on them all.
Support
Paid for themes tend to come with better support than free themes. Usually when you buy a theme you get access to the theme’s support team for a certain period of time after you buy it, often around 12 months. So if you’d like some peace of mind that you can get some help with your theme after you install it, then a paid for theme could be the way to go.
If you decide to go with a free theme, I would recommend that you choose a popular one such as Astra, OceanWP or Divi. Choosing a popular theme means that there should be a lot of help on the web for you to turn to if you have a problem. The companies who develop these themes are also very well established and less likely to disappear 6 months after you install the theme.
Where to find WordPress themes?
A quick Google search for ‘WordPress themes’ will show you that you can get them pretty much anywhere. If you’re looking for a free theme I would recommend you look through the WordPress themes directory.
You can filter on different theme features, layouts and type (blog, e-commerce, portfolio etc.) as well as having a look at which themes are most popular.
How to get to the WordPress themes directory
- Hover over Appearance
- Click the Themes option
- Click the Add New button
You’ll then be able to browse and search through the theme directory.
Where to find premium WordPress themes
There are loads of places to find premium themes. I’ve listed some of the more popular places below, but it is by no means exhaustive.
Google is your friend here. Personally, I would Google ‘WordPress theme <<feature you want here>>’, example ‘WordPress theme portfolio’ and see what you find.
How to install a wordpress theme
There are two ways to install a wordpress theme. You can either search for a theme on the themes screen or download a theme from elsewhere and upload it to your blog.
Search through WP dashboard
In the steps below I’m going to walk you through how to install the Ocean WP theme from the WordPress directory. This is how you would install any theme from the WordPress directory. Some may have additional steps to follow once you’ve activated the theme. In those instances, just follow the instructions.
1. Log into your WordPress dashboard.
2. Hover over the Appearance option and click on Themes
3. On the Themes screen click on the Add New button
4. Type “oceanwp” in the search box.
5. Click on Install in the Ocean WP search result.
6. Click on Activate within the Ocean WP search result.
Do you know whether or not you should create a child theme? Check out this post to find out more.
Zip file download
This is normally how you’d install a paid for theme, but you can install any theme that you have the zip file for in this way.
Download the zip file containing your theme. Depending on where you bought your theme you might need to go to a website to download it or you may have been sent it attached to an email.
1. Log into your WordPress dashboard
2. Hover over Appearance in the main menu and click on Themes
3. Click on the Add New button on the Themes screen.
4. Click on the Upload Theme button on the Add Themes screen.
5. Click on the Choose File button.
Then choose the zip file you received or downloaded when you bought your theme.
6. Click on the Install Now Button. For anyone using the screen reader the button may be called ‘install-theme-submit’
7. Click on the Activate link once the theme has been installed successfully.
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How to install a WordPress theme on your website – summary
- A WordPress theme is a set of files that determines the look and layout of your website. Every WordPress website has one.
- Not all themes are the same. Some have options for different features such as portfolios and e-commerce shops.
- You can get free themes or paid themes. Paid themes tend to offer a period of support from the developers after they’ve been bought
- When choosing a theme think about the features you need, whether the theme is responsive and how much support there is either on the web or from the theme’s developers, to help you.
- You can install themes either directly from the WordPress directory or you can download a zip file from your chosen theme provider and add it manually.
Check out these awesome related posts:
WordPress themes for business – your complete guide
Everything you need to know about using a WordPress Child Theme
5 awesome reasons to choose WordPress for a business website
I’m totally with you. I don’t think I could go back to a free theme now