How to install WordPress themes without FTP
One of the best parts of running a WordPress website is the ability to quickly and easily change the layout, the look and feel of everything in just a few seconds by swapping themes. There are thousands and thousands of themes out there and new ones are created every day. The question is, how do you install WordPress themes?
Three ways to install a WordPress theme
There are actually three ways to install WordPress themes and we are going to go over the two most common ones. The first is to install a free theme from the WordPress free theme directory, the second is to upload a theme from your desktop using the built-in WordPress uploader, and the third and more complicated one is to upload a theme from your desktop using a plugin program. File Transfer Protocol.
Free theme directory method
Within your WordPress dashboard, navigate to Appearance, then Themes, and then click the tab at the top of the page titled Install Themes. By using the search function, using the Feature Filter, or clicking “Featured”, “Newest” or “Recently Updated”, you will search the Free Themes Directory on the WordPress website. This is the only really safe place to find free themes. Once you find the theme you want, click “Install” and then “Install Now”. At this point, you can also choose to activate your new theme so it’s live on the internet for all to see.
WordPress zip file upload method
There will be times when you buy a Premium theme or find a free theme outside of the WordPress website (which can be very risky). In this case, you will usually download the theme to your computer as a ZIP file. A ZIP file is a type of file that basically allows you to compress a large file, or many files, into a smaller, more manageable file. If you get the ZIP file of your theme from a good place, you can probably upload/install it with one click.
To upload a zipped theme from your desktop to your WordPress website, visit your site’s dashboard, click Appearance in the left sidebar, then Themes in the menu. Once on the theme page, click on the Install Themes tab at the top. Once on the Install Themes page, click Upload near the top of the page. You will be presented with a “Choose a File” button that will allow you to navigate to the zip file on your computer. Choose the file and click Install Now. Once it’s complete, you can activate it and use it right away.
If it doesn’t work, for whatever reason, you probably have a bad file or a malformed zip file. In this case, you may need to use a File Transfer Protocol (FTP) program to transfer the files.
Put off
Installing WordPress themes is quite simple and quick to do. Go ahead and experiment with different styles and designs. Be very careful about free themes you find outside of the WordPress website!