This guide explains what it means when a theme has been retired and what to do about it.
In this guide
If your theme has been retired, you will find this notice on the theme’s info page:
When a theme is retired, it no longer appears in the list of themes at Appearance → Themes. However, if the theme is already active on your site, you can continue to use the theme. The theme will usually remain available for the lifetime of your site or blog.
A retired theme will no longer receive updates with new features. While a retired theme should continue functioning on your site, we cannot guarantee it will always work well with ever-evolving WordPress software.
Web design is an area that is continually evolving, thanks to trends, tastes, and new technologies. Website owners tell us how important it is for their site to look fresh and modern, so we ensure that all WordPress.com themes reflect modern web design standards and practices.
Occasionally, we retire themes because updates to web technology make old themes outdated both visually and functionally. A theme may be retired if its design has become old-fashioned or if it uses certain features that are no longer supported.
When deciding to retire a theme, we do not do so lightly. We carefully consider every theme available on WordPress.com to ensure you have a high-quality selection to choose from.
When a theme is retired, it is not removed from your site. You may continue to use it as usual. However, you may consider switching to a new theme to ensure your site has a modern look and feel to its design.
You can use the search field in Appearance → Themes to find a replacement for your retired theme. Click on the filter options below the search bar or type directly into the search field to find a new theme similar to the retired theme.
If you switch to another theme, you will not be able to change back to a theme that has been retired. Retired themes cannot be activated again, even if you have used them before.
If you encounter an issue with a retired theme, you may contact support so our Happiness Engineers can take a look for you. Since the theme is retired, our support is limited, and we may recommend switching to a newer theme. In addition, we do not provide CSS support for retired themes.
