Want to change the look of your WordPress website? Installing and activating a new theme in WordPress is straightforward and only takes a few minutes. In this guide, we'll walk you through the process step by step – covering both free themes from the WordPress theme directory and premium or custom themes.
Step 1 – Log in to your WordPress admin panel
Start by logging in to your WordPress website. Open your browser and go to your domain followed by /wp-admin (for example yourdomain.com/wp-admin). Enter your username and password to access the admin panel.
Step 2 – Navigate to theme management
Once logged in, click on Appearance in the left-hand menu, then click Themes. Here you'll see an overview of all installed themes and which theme is currently active on your website.
💡 The active theme is clearly marked with the label "Active" and appears at the top of the list.
Step 3 – Install a free theme
Click the Add new button at the top of the page. This takes you to the official WordPress theme directory, where you can browse thousands of free themes. Use the tabs to filter by:
- Featured – hand-picked themes by the WordPress team
- Popular – the most downloaded themes
- Latest – recently added themes
- Favourites – themes you've marked as favourites on WordPress.org
You can also use the search field to find themes by keyword, feature, or style.
Step 4 – Preview and activate the theme
When you find a theme that looks interesting, hover over it and click Preview to see how it looks with your existing content. If you're happy with the theme, click Install and wait for the installation to complete. Then click Activate to start using the new theme on your website.
💡 Always use the preview before activating a new theme. This lets you see how your content will look without affecting your visitors.
Step 5 – Upload a premium or custom theme
Have you purchased a premium theme or created your own? You can upload it manually. Here's how:
- Go to Appearance → Themes → Add new
- Click the Upload theme button at the top of the page
- Click Choose file and select the theme's .zip file from your computer
- Click Install now and wait for the upload to complete
- Click Activate to set the theme as active
💡 Make sure the theme file is in .zip format. Do not unzip the file before uploading – WordPress handles the extraction automatically.
Step 6 – Customise your new theme
Once the theme is activated, you can tailor it to your preferences. Go to Appearance → Customise to open the WordPress customiser. Here you can change colours, fonts, the header, footer, menus, and much more – depending on the options your theme offers.
Tips
- Always back up your website before switching themes, in case anything doesn't work as expected.
- Check compatibility – make sure the theme is up to date and compatible with your version of WordPress.
- Choose responsive themes that work well on mobile, tablet, and desktop – this matters both for user experience and your search engine rankings.
- Remove unused themes – for security reasons, you should delete themes you're no longer using. Always keep a default theme (e.g. Twenty Twenty-Five) as a fallback.
- Read more about theme management in the official documentation at developer.wordpress.org.
Still having trouble?
If you're having difficulty installing or activating a theme in WordPress, or need help customising your website, don't hesitate to get in touch – we're happy to help!
- Email: support@admax.se
- Phone: 010-641 29 00