WordPress Themes Guide
Install and customize WordPress themes to create a stunning website.
Table of Contents
What are WordPress Themes?
Themes control the visual appearance and layout of your WordPress site. They include templates, stylesheets, images, and sometimes custom functionality to change how your site looks without affecting content.
Installing Themes
Method 1: From WordPress Theme Directory
- Log in to WordPress admin
- Go to Appearance → Themes
- Click "Add New"
- Browse or search for theme
- Hover over theme and click "Install"
- Click "Activate" after installation
Method 2: Upload Theme ZIP
- Download theme ZIP file
- Appearance → Themes → Add New
- Click "Upload Theme"
- Choose ZIP file
- Click "Install Now"
- Activate after installation
Method 3: Via FTP (Manual)
- Download and extract theme ZIP
- Connect via FTP
- Upload folder to
wp-content/themes/ - Go to Appearance → Themes
- Find and activate theme
Choosing a Theme
What to Look For
- Purpose: Matches your site type (blog, business, portfolio)
- Responsive: Mobile-friendly design
- Loading Speed: Lightweight, fast loading
- Regular Updates: Recently maintained
- Good Ratings: 4+ stars, positive reviews
- Active Support: Developer responds to questions
Popular Free Themes
- Astra: Lightweight, flexible, fast
- GeneratePress: Minimal, performance-focused
- Kadence: Modern, feature-rich
- OceanWP: Multipurpose, many demos
- Neve: Fast, AMP-ready
- Blocksy: Block-based, customizable
Premium Theme Marketplaces
- ThemeForest: Largest marketplace
- Elegant Themes: Divi builder
- StudioPress: Genesis framework
- ThemeIsle: Quality themes
Theme Customization
Access Customizer
Go to Appearance → Customize
Use Left Panel
Browse customization options on the left panel.
Preview Changes
See live preview on the right side as you make changes.
Publish
Click "Publish" to save your changes.
Common Customizer Options
Site Identity: Logo, title, tagline, favicon
Colors: Primary, secondary, text colors
Typography: Font families and sizes
Header: Layout, navigation, sticky header
Footer: Copyright, widgets, social links
Homepage Settings: Static page or blog
Menus: Create and assign navigation menus
Additional CSS: Custom styling
Managing Themes
Switch Themes
- Go to Appearance → Themes
- Hover over new theme
- Click "Activate"
Note: Previous theme settings may be lost when switching themes.
Live Preview Before Activating
- Hover over theme
- Click "Live Preview"
- Test theme with your content
- Activate if satisfied
Delete Themes
- Cannot delete active theme
- Hover over inactive theme
- Click "Theme Details"
- Click "Delete" in bottom right
- Confirm deletion
Child Themes
A child theme inherits functionality and styling from a parent theme while allowing safe customization. Changes to child theme won't be lost when parent theme updates.
- Safe to update parent theme
- Preserve custom modifications
- Override parent theme files
- Best practice for customization
Creating a Child Theme
Create folder: wp-content/themes/parent-child/
Create style.css with header:
/*
Theme Name: Parent Child
Template: parent-theme
Version: 1.0
*/Create functions.php:
<?php
function child_enqueue_styles() {
wp_enqueue_style('parent-style', get_template_directory_uri() . '/style.css');
}
add_action('wp_enqueue_scripts', 'child_enqueue_styles');Theme Updates
- Backup site first!
- Go to Dashboard → Updates
- Select themes to update
- Click "Update Themes"
- Check site after update
Warning: Updates can break customizations. Always backup before updating, especially if you've modified theme files directly (use child themes instead!).
Page Builders
Many modern themes include or work with page builders:
Elementor
Most popular, drag-and-drop visual editor
Beaver Builder
Clean code, performance-focused
Divi Builder
Part of Elegant Themes package
Gutenberg
Built-in WordPress block editor
Theme Performance
Testing Theme Speed:
- • Use GTmetrix or Google PageSpeed Insights
- • Test with minimal plugins first
- • Check on mobile devices
Optimizing Performance:
- • Choose lightweight theme
- • Disable unused features
- • Optimize images
- • Use caching plugin
- • Remove demo content after import
Theme Security
Safe Sources
- WordPress.org: Free, vetted themes
- Developer Websites: Direct from theme author
- Reputable Marketplaces: ThemeForest, etc.
Avoid
- Nulled Themes: Pirated, often contain malware
- Unknown Sources: Untrusted websites
- Outdated Themes: Security vulnerabilities
Security Best Practices
- • Keep themes updated
- • Delete unused themes
- • Research before installing
- • Check reviews and ratings
- • Scan for malware periodically
- • Use security plugin
Responsive Design
Testing Responsiveness:
- • Use browser responsive mode (F12)
- • Test on actual mobile devices
- • Check tablets and different screen sizes
- • Test in landscape and portrait
Mobile Optimization:
- • Simplify navigation for mobile
- • Ensure touch-friendly buttons (44px+)
- • Optimize images for mobile
- • Fast loading on mobile networks
Common Theme Issues
White Screen After Activation
- • Theme incompatible with PHP version
- • Missing required plugins
- • Memory limit exceeded
- • Fix: Deactivate via FTP (rename theme folder)
Layout Broken
- • Clear cache (site and browser)
- • Check for plugin conflicts
- • Verify all required plugins installed
- • Check CSS not overriding theme styles
Theme Update Broke Site
- • Restore from backup
- • Check changelog for breaking changes
- • Contact theme support
- • Consider child theme for future
Best Practices
- • Use child themes for customizations
- • Keep themes updated
- • Delete unused themes
- • Backup before major changes
- • Test on staging when possible
- • Choose lightweight, well-coded themes
- • Read theme documentation
- • Check compatibility before updating WordPress