Wednesday, July 16, 2025

Upload files and add new files

WordPress themes are the backbone of any WordPress-powered website, and there are thousands of different WordPress themes available for download from a variety of sources. These include WordPress theme repositories, dedicated WordPress theme developers such as Elegant Themes, and third-party directories such as ThemeForest and Colorlib.

before you can take advantage of all The best WordPress themesHowever, you need to know how to upload a theme to your WordPress blog. When you search for this information online, two methods usually pop up:

  • By uploading files
  • By adding a topic

You can achieve the same success with both methods, but you should understand that they have different approaches.

How to upload a theme in WordPress by uploading the theme file

This is the preferred method when you purchase a premium theme or download a theme from the WordPress theme repository and upload it to your WordPress site. In this case, you cannot upload the theme without leaving the WordPress dashboard, as you may need to use the Zip archive after receiving the theme.

Thankfully, WordPress allows you to upload your theme from Archive Explorer using the following command Upload theme button.

step 1: Make sure you have the appropriate Zip archive for your theme. For example, you can choose to download the Bedrock theme, which is a web variation of the blocky Minecraft style commonly seen in games and other visual media.

WordPress theme zip file

Step 2: Log in to the WordPress dashboard using an administrator account. If you log in with a guest or contributor account, some WordPress features may be disabled and you will not be able to upload new themes.

WordPress login URL with red arrow pointing to wp-admin

Step 3: navigation appearanceThen theme On the left side of the WordPress dashboard.

WordPress theme dashboard

Step 4: Click Add topic button at the top of the page.

WordPress theme dashboard with red arrow pointing to

Step 5: Click Upload theme.

WordPress adds a new theme dashboard, the red arrow points to the uploaded theme

Step 6: Click Select a document button and select the theme’s Zip archive.

WordPress adds a new theme dashboard, the red arrow points to the selected file

Step 7: Explode that one Install now The button is on the right.

WordPress adds a new theme dashboard, the red arrow points to

Step 8: After receiving the confirmation “Theme Installed Successfully”, click enableyour theme is ready to use.

WordPress theme installation dashboard, red arrow pointing to the

How to upload a WordPress theme by adding a theme from the repository

This is the preferred method when you want to upload a theme taken directly from the WordPress theme repository. Instead of uploading a new theme from your local drive or cloud storage, this method pulls the theme from a dedicated WordPress dashboard.

step 1: Log in to the WordPress dashboard using an administrator account. You can do this by typing /wp-admin after the domain in your website URL, e.g. mysite.com/wp-adminFor example.

WordPress URL with red arrow pointing to wp-admin

Step 2: navigation appearanceThen theme. This is similar to the previous method.

WordPress theme dashboard

Step 3: Once the section loads, you will see your installed themes. Click Add topic Click at the top of the page to access the entire theme library.

WordPress theme dashboard with red arrow pointing to

Step 4: Choose your favorite theme. For example, Blogmate is a fun, colorful, and smooth theme with a modern aesthetic and extensive customization features.

Blog Partner Theme

Step 5: Preview the theme by hovering over the theme and/or clicking on the card to see a demo. When ready, click Install button to download your theme.

Blogmate theme with red arrow pointing to Install button

Step 6: Go back to your dashboard and go from appearance arrive themethen find your new theme and click enable. It won’t work until you do this.

Blogmate theme with red arrow pointing to Start button

A few things to consider before uploading a new WordPress theme

No matter how easy, fast and convenient it is to upload a new WordPress theme, it’s best to consider a few important factors before doing so.

The three most important questions to consider include:

  • What do you want to achieve with your new WordPress theme?
  • What design elements are you trying to change, update, or upgrade on your existing website?
  • What budget have you allocated for a new theme?

Once you can answer these primary questions with certainty, you can move on to consider some secondary questions.

For example, it’s important to look at the development cycle of a new WordPress theme, including whether the developer follows WordPress best practices and updates the theme regularly. If the theme works with the latest version of WordPress and has been updated within the past six months, this is a positive sign and it is likely to be compatible with your site.

To read complete information about any theme in the WordPress theme repository, visit https://wordpress.org/themes/, select your favorite theme and click More information.

WordPress theme with red arrow pointing to

The information will then appear on the right side of the new window.

WordPress twenty-two-three theme, the red arrow points to the theme message

Remember, user feedback is another key factor you should include in your research.

More specifically, user ratings and reviews are just as important as topic quality. In other words, if other WordPress users like the theme and are happy to give it a four or five-star rating, it may be less risky to try or buy it. The official WordPress theme repository allows users to rate each theme, so look for themes with mostly four- and five-star ratings.

WordPress theme with red arrow pointing to rating

Please note that the WordPress theme repository currently does not allow filtering themes by rating, so you will have to manually search for higher rated themes or use one of the existing tags, e.g. popular, commercialor block theme.

Finally, take a look at some of the reviews that only gave this topic one or two stars to see how valid these criticisms are. In many cases, a theme may be bombarded with low-rating reviews for reasons that have nothing or little to do with its quality, performance, and design. Read these reviews carefully to determine if there are real issues with the theme and if it has been criticized harshly for reasons beyond the developer’s control.

Additionally, if the developers address these comments quickly, take this as a good sign that they are actively working on the topic and want to resolve any issues as soon as they arise.

review

You can do this by uploading a Zip file or using Add topic Features in WordPress Dashboard. Both methods are reliable as long as you follow the steps correctly from start to finish.

Check out our other WordPress resources 13 Best WordPress Website Examples and How to delete a WordPress theme The easiest way.

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