So, you’ve properly installed WordPress on your hosting or local server; now it’s time to install the theme. Carefully read the order of the premium theme installation and the description of each step before proceeding.

The proper installation of a premium WordPress theme consists of the following steps in order:

1. Checking server configuration and settings
2. Checking WordPress settings
3. Unpacking the archive with the theme materials
4. Reading the documentation from the theme developers
5. Installing and activating the theme
6. Installing and activating a child theme (optional)
7. Installation and activation of necessary plugins, demo data

Before you start installing the premium theme, make sure that your web server meets the following recommended requirements:

• The PHP version installed on the server is 7.2 or higher (other versions may not be compatible)!
• MySQL database server version 5.7 or MariaDB 10.1 (or higher)

Please note that most premium themes are incompatible with PHP 7.1, 7.3, 7.4, and 8.0, so we recommend using PHP 7.2 on your server for maximum compatibility.

To avoid errors during the installation of the theme, make sure that you are using the correct PHP settings on your server (you can check the PHP settings using your hosting control panel, for example):

The maximum script execution time, in seconds, should be large, so that the scripts are not interrupted by timeouts max_execution_time = 600; #Maximum number of input variables in one request. Must be large in order for data in POST requests to be processed completely. It’s necessary for correct saving settings, importing demo data, etc. max_input_vars = 5000; #The maximum amount of memory a PHP script is allowed to use. A minimum of 512M is recommended to avoid memory errors. memory_limit = 512M; #Maximum allowed size of data sent by POST method. Must be 128M or larger for data in POST requests to be processed completely. post_max_size = 128M; #The maximum size of an uploaded file. Must be 256M or larger for you to be able to upload large files through WordPress. upload_max_filesize = 256M;

PHP settings can be set by writing them in the .user.ini file in the root directory of the site, in the .htaccess file (if you use Apache), directly in the php.ini file (if you have access to the server) or simply by contacting your hosting provider with a request to change the settings.

Writing a memory_limit value in the PHP settings is not enough. Your WordPress won’t be able to use enough RAM to run unless you add the following code to your wp-config.php file

define(‘WP_MEMORY_LIMIT’, ‘512M’); define(‘WP_MAX_MEMORY_LIMIT’, ‘512M’);

Unpack the archive with the premium theme using the .zip archiver. Usually, the theme developers put the following materials inside the theme archive:

• theme_name.zip – theme installation file
• theme_name-child.zip – child theme installation file
• licensing (license) – license description files (GNU GPL)
• documentation – documentation that comes with the theme
• demo data (dummy data) – theme demo data
• PSD – theme design in Photoshop format

The content of materials that you can find inside the archive with the theme can vary greatly from developer to developer. Many developers do not provide design files in PSD format, some put inside the archive only the installation theme file and documentation, etc. The name of files and folders inside the archive may also differ. The most important thing for you is to find the theme’s installation .zip file to upload to WordPress. The main sign of a theme installation file is the presence of a style.css file inside the archive.

Be sure to read the developers’ documentation that comes with the theme, especially the installation and activation section. Sometimes the developers provide a list of incompatible plugins that must be disabled before using the theme, special installation procedures for the theme, or special requirements for your web server, such as a minimum version of PHP or MySQL database server.

Let’s look at the two main ways to install the theme: via the WordPress admin panel and via FTP or your hosting service’s file manager. Note: when using either method, you must use the theme’s .zip installation file from the full archive.

Go to your WordPress admin panel, open the Appearance section, then go to the Themes subsection; on the right, you will see a section with three themes already installed by default: Twenty Fifteen, Twenty Seventeen, and Twenty Sixteen. At the very top, there is a button to add a new one. Then click Upload theme and choose the theme’s .zip file from the full archive. After choosing to install and clicking the button, a template is downloaded from the server. Wait until the template is loaded (the theme’s files from the archive are loaded on the web server in the wp-content/themes/folder). After loading the theme, click on the Activate button. The installation and activation phase is complete.

You can also install the template via FTP or a hosting file manager. To do this, download and extract the theme installation file to the public_html/wp-content/themes folder on the web server. For example, for the Avada theme, the theme files should be located in the folder public_html/wp-content/themes/avada (sometimes users create an additional folder when unpacking, such as public_html/wp-content/themes/avada/avada, which is an error).

After uploading and unpacking the theme on the web server, go to the WordPress admin panel and, under Appearance > Themes, activate the uploaded theme. The installation and activation phase of the theme is complete.

If you want to make changes to the theme’s PHP code, you need to install a child theme so that you don’t lose them the next time you update the theme. If you do not intend to make changes to the PHP code, a child theme does not need to be installed.

A child theme is often included in the same archive as the main theme and is sometimes called child-theme.zip or a similar name that includes the word child.

Installing a child theme is no different from installing a parent theme. The sequence of steps will be the same (method #1 or method #2 in the installation and activation of the theme). After you activate a child theme, the main theme becomes inactive. The installation and activation of the child theme are now complete.

As a rule, after installing and activating the theme, it prompts the user to install the necessary and recommended plugins that come with the theme or are available from the free WordPress repository. Sometimes the necessary plugins need to be installed manually by searching for them in the theme’s archive (plugins > add new). In any case, we recommend that you read the developer documentation that comes with the premium theme.

Installation of demo data, just like plugins, can take place in automatic (one-click installation, if supported by the theme) or manual mode. In manual mode, you usually need to import XML files through menu tools > import, separately import widgets (.wie files), sliders (Revolution Slider, LayerSlider), and theme settings.

The order of demo data installation varies across themes (different developers). This means that to properly install the demo data, you need to carefully read the developer documentation that comes with the theme.

Let’s look at common mistakes when installing a WordPress theme and ways to solve them.

A typical error occurs when a user tries to download the full theme archive (with documentation, plugins, demo data, etc.) into WordPress rather than the theme installation file.

To avoid this error, you should unpack the premium theme archive, locate the theme installation file inside it, and use it to install the theme in WordPress.

This is a typical error that occurs if the PHP settings on the server are wrong (see checking the server configuration and settings).

These errors often occur when your server does not meet the recommended requirements for the PHP version installed on it (see checking the server configuration and settings). We recommend using PHP version 7.2.

If you selected the correct version of PHP but the error still occurs, there may be incompatibilities with the currently installed plugins or with the theme and the installed version of WordPress.

Another reason errors might occur on the server is that the permissions on WordPress files and folders are not set correctly. Go into your hosting control panel and check the permissions for folders and files. Files should have a 644 permission and folders 755.

In any case, to find and understand the cause of errors on the server, first, check the error log. In the error log, you will find the specific PHP error message causing the problem. You can contact our support team, and we will help you understand why this error occurs and how to fix it.

The easiest and most correct way to update a theme is to unpack the new version of the theme into the wp-content/themes folder, replacing the existing files.

The second way is to activate another theme, then delete the theme you want to update, and reinstall it.

There is usually no need to worry about data security, as all theme settings are stored in the site database, unless you have manually changed the PHP files. In this case, we recommend using a child theme to avoid losing changes during updates.

Here we should note an important nuance – sometimes theme developers release a radically new update with changes to the file structure, the storage of settings in the database, etc. In this case, the developer’s instructions for upgrading to the new version are attached to the theme; read them to properly update your theme to the current version.

In this article, we have tried to identify the main points of installing premium WordPress themes and the ways we know of to solve problems during installation.

Hopefully, after reading this article, you’ve learned how to install themes correctly and how to solve any problems that arise during installation. However, if you are unable to install a premium theme and encounter a problem not described in this article, you can raise a support ticket with our support team, and we will be sure to help you.