In addition to our collection of themes, you can upload third-party themes to your WordPress.com site, including themes from WordPress.org, popular marketplaces like Themeforest, and even themes you have custom-made for your website.
This guide will show you how to upload any theme to your WordPress.com site.
This feature is available on sites with the WordPress.com Business and Commerce plans, and the legacy Pro plan. If you have a Business plan, make sure to activate it. For sites on the Free, Personal, and Premium plans, upgrade your plan to access this feature.
In this guide
To install a theme from WordPress.org, follow these steps:
- Visit your site’s dashboard.
- Navigate to Appearance → Themes.
- Click the “Install new theme” button in the top right corner to view WordPress.org themes.
- Locate your chosen theme in the list or use the search function to find themes by name.
- Hover your mouse over your chosen theme and click the “Install” button.
- Click “Activate” to apply the theme to your live site.
- Set up your theme as discussed in this section.
If you’ve purchased or downloaded a theme from a different WordPress Theme Provider, or if you have a custom-built theme that you want to upload to your WordPress.com site, follow these steps:
- Download the theme’s .zip file from where you purchased the theme. Do not unzip the file.
- For themes from WordPress.org, clicking “Download” on any theme will save the .zip file to your computer.
- If you (or a developer you hired) created your own custom theme, save it as a .zip file.
- For themes purchased through Themeforest/ Envato, you must choose the “Installable WordPress file only” option when downloading the theme:
- Go to Appearance → Themes in your site’s dashboard.
- Click on the “Install new theme” button, or the “Add new theme” button if using the Classic interface.
- Click the “Upload theme” button, then click the “Choose File” button to select the file from your computer:
- Click the “Install Now” button.
- Once the theme is installed, click “Activate” to apply it to your site.
- If you’re not ready to activate the theme on your site, you can activate it later through Appearance → Themes.
After activating a theme on your site, you’ll want to set it up to look exactly how you want. Every theme is different, but these general tips will help you get started:
- Refer to your theme’s setup instructions. Any good theme will include guides or documentation that show you how to use it.
- Sometimes, a theme requires some plugins to be used with it. Go to Plugins → Installed Plugins and look for a notice at the top to install the theme’s recommended plugins, if any.
- Check for demo content you can add to your theme.
Your third-party theme may include a method to import or install demo content. The most common methods to make your site look like the theme’s example or preview include:
- Import an XML file of demo content that came with your theme files. You can upload this to your site by going to Tools → Import and choosing the WordPress import option.
- Use a demo content importer plugin. Please consult your theme’s support guide/documentation or contact your theme’s support for help with this.
From time to time, you may run into an error when trying to upload a theme. Below are some common errors and how to resolve them:
The theme does not have a style.css fileTo resolve this error, check what files you have from the download:
- Verify that the .zip file you are uploading does not contain any other files (like documentation, for example). Check for a .zip that just contains the theme itself.
- Make sure that you have downloaded the “Installable WordPress file only” when given the option.
- Ensure the file has not been unzipped/extracted automatically by your computer.
Zip file is too large. Please upload a file under 50 MB.Most theme files will be zipped and under 50 MB. A theme does not need to be greater than 50MB, so if you receive the error that the file is too large, take the following steps
- Check the downloaded files to verify that you are only uploading the theme .zip file without additional files (like documentation, for example). Look for a .zip file that just contains the theme itself.
- Visit WP-Admin by adding
/wp-admin/theme-install.phpto the end of your site’s address. Here, click the “Upload theme” button at the top of the screen. This will accept the theme as long as it is a valid file.
If you are running into any other issues uploading your theme, reach out to your theme’s support for assistance.
If you are using a theme that WordPress.com did not create, we are limited in how we can help you with it. We recommend that you contact your theme’s support service directly. They will be the most familiar with the theme and can offer expert support.
If you’re unsure how to contact your theme’s support, check out our helpful resource.
If you’ve already looked through the WordPress.com theme showcase but haven’t yet found the perfect design for your site, there’s no need to worry – there are thousands of themes out there for every type of website imaginable.
First, read our advice on choosing the perfect theme.
Here is a list of popular places for third-party themes:
