In my last article on WordPress setup, I explained How To Host Your Own Blog Or Website With WordPress on your own server. In this article, I’ll show you something which is very important in order to successfully run your blog and attract more visitors. I’ll show you how to select themes for your specific needs and how to install a WordPress theme.
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WordPress Themes
Before creating your own blog with WordPress, I’m sure you would have seen hundreds of WordPress blogs or websites running beautiful and eye-catching themes. This could even be one of the reasons that you chose WordPress to create an attractive blog or website.
But, did you really get that attractive blog look? No, you would not until you install a new & charming theme. So how to install a WordPress theme? That’s what I’ll be showing you in this article and also help you to choose the theme for your particular site.
Also, Read –
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How To Install WordPress Theme?
First of all, I’ll tell you how to install a WordPress theme, then below you can read how you can select a more accurate theme for your blog. But first, let’s see how to install a WordPress theme.
There are three easy ways to install themes to your WordPress blog or website. The first is from logging into the WP dashboard.
Login to WP and go to Appearance >> Themes
- Click ‘Add New Theme‘
Now you can browse different themes and use filters to find your desired theme.
Upload your own theme
If you have purchased a theme from third-party developers then you have two ways to upload and install it.
Note: Don’t upload the zip or compressed file. Extract the theme first from the zip file.
You can upload and install your theme by clicking the ‘Upload Theme’ button on the top of the new theme window. This option will let you upload and install your own premium themes. If you purchase themes then you get tons of features and support. So this option is very useful to know.
Use the FTP client to upload your own theme
Another way to upload and install your own theme is by using an FTP client and connecting to the database and uploading your theme right into your WordPress theme folder.
Install FileZilla or any other FTP client. FileZilla is free and simple to use. You can read more about FileZilla in our post FileZilla A Free FTP Client To Upload Files To Server Database.
Use your FTP account to connect to the database and browse into your WordPress >> wp-content >> themes. Paste the extracted theme inside the theme folder and you’re done. Now open your WP dashboard and go to Appearance >> Theme. Here you’ll see the newly installed theme listed.
How To Select a WordPress Theme?
Selecting WordPress may be a time-consuming task if you don’t think it properly. Because there are tons of WordPress free & premium themes available that you can’t decide which to install. If you keep installing and removing themes then when you will create content for your site?
Here you can use the following method to select your theme quickly.
- What are you going to create?
- What is your site category?
- What is your site’s primary color?
What are you going to create? BLOG or WEBSITE?
It’s important to decide what you’re going to create. If you want to create a blog then you should be looking for blog themes, not website themes or magazine themes. Just think if Twitter was a Magazine style. Weird! Isn’t it? So instead of randomly installing themes, just deep down into the themes and select themes designed especially for blogging purposes.
In the same way, if you want to create a website then search for website themes, not blog themes.
What is your site category?
You can also dig the blog/website categories and find more designs such as single column, double column, fixed layout or you want a column on the left or right and many more. The more you dig, the more satisfying theme you get for your blog or website.
WordPress has a large number of themes under Appearance >> Themes. It lets you filter themes in colors, layouts, features, and subjects.
WordPress gets you themes that are free and trials. If you install a trial theme then you’ll have important features missing, such as the sidebar, slideshow, and footer customizations, etc.
Although WordPress has a large number of themes and filtering options still you may not decide what themes are right for you. Because when you install a theme then you know that it’s a trial and you’ve to uninstall it or pay to use the full version of the theme.
What is your site’s primary color?
The primary color for your site is also an important point. You can use your primary color first in the site logo and then in different parts of your site such as headings, links, image borders, sidebar elements, etc. Choosing primary color builds a brand and your customers or visitors are more likely to share your site with their friends.
All of these three points will help you decide a better theme for your site. As I mentioned above you can also purchase premium themes which have more features and developers provide better support after you pay. If you don’t want to mess up with HTML & CSS yourself for customizing themes then premium themes are best to go with. Here are some premium themes and developers that are popular for their work in the industry.
ElegantThemes
ElegantTheme has wide categories for such as, Blogs, Apps, Businesses, eCommerce, Magazines, Multimedia, and many more. When you purchase themes from Elegant then I get a percentage of the sale. But you will like the theme and they also provide good support.
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