Installing and Activating WordPress Themes
One of the coolest features of WordPress is the ability to dramatically change the design of your blog by simply activating a new theme.
The WordPress community has created hundreds (possibly thousands) of free, high-quality themes that you can use on your blog. This video will show you how to find, install, and activate themes.
You can download free themes from the WordPress Theme Viewer.
Version 2.5.x
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Version 2.3.x
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Comments
Hi Lowell,
Let’s try to troubleshoot this to see what went wrong.
1. Verify that your themes are in /wp-content/themes/. Your new theme(s) should be in their own folders directly under /themes/ folder. You should also see folders for the default themes there as well.
2. Check your file permissions to make sure that the themes are readable. How you do this depends on what FTP software you’re using. There’s some more information on setting file permissions here: http://codex.wordpress.org/Changing_File_Permissions
Your theme directory should have a permission of 755, and your files should be set to 644 (although you might need to try 755 if that doesn’t work).
After changing the permissions try logging into the Admin and check your presentation tab again.
I am also having trouble with my theme. I have (i think) successfully installed the Black Minimalism 10 theme into the /wp-content/themes/ folder. When I go to the live site, however, the theme does not appear as it should. Some of the design is missing. I have tried changing the file permissions, but everything seems to be set correctly. I cannot get the theme to appear correctly though. Can someone help?
Thanks!
Catie
Catie:
Just took a look at your site and I can see that you’re having a problem. Try the following:
- Double check the permissions on the sub-directories. Particularly the images subdirectory.
- Re-upload the images sub-directory, and make sure that your FTP program is set to binary. When I try to access one of the images from your theme I get an error that indicates the image file is damaged. See this URL:
http://templeofcommunity.com/hp_wordpress/wp-content/themes/black_minimalism/images/layout_middle.png
I have done everything you described, but my new themes do not show up when I click the Presentation tab on the WordPress Administration panel. All the new uploaded Themes are in the /wp-content/themes/ directory along with Default and Classic. However, I only see Default and Classic. The new Themes are not available. I seem to have missed an activation step somewhere.
Lowell Herr