How to Install WordPress Themes

A theme is the graphic design for your website.  There are thousands of themes that have been created which can be used with your website.

We have created a directory of the best themes we can find right on our website, Build My Site for Free.

If you click here you can choose from lots of free and premium WordPress Themes.

A really great advantage of WordPress is that your content (ie: articles, pictures and links)  is stored in a database.  What this means is that you do not need to re-input any content when you change themes.  The system will automatically display the your content according to the design of the new theme.

Feel free to change your themes and look of your site as often as you like!

Step 1: Sign in to your website

Go to http://www.thedomainnameyouchose.com/wp-admin and sign in with your user name and password.

Once signed in you will see your Dashboard.  On the left side of the dashboard is a tool bar which controls all the functions of your WordPress website.

Look down the toolbar until you see “Appearance” and click on that link.

Step 2: Manage Themes

You will now see all the themes you have installed in your website.

Now click on “Install Themes”

Step 3: Choose a Theme

Leave the “Install Themes” page open and open a new window in your Internet browser and go to the Themes directory on Build My Site for Free by clicking on this link.

Scroll down the page and choose either a Premium or Free theme.

Once you choose the theme click on its title or picture and a new window will open where you will see a download link.  Download the zip file to your desktop.  DO NOT open the zip file. You will install the zip file just as it is.

Now go back to the WordPress admin “Install Themes” page and click on the “upload” link as noted in the image below.  Next click on browse and find the zip file on your desktop that you just downloaded.

Now click “Install Now” and in a few minutes it will be all done.

Now click on the Return to Themes page and you will see your theme on the page.

You can choose to activate the theme or just preview it.  It’s very easy to activate and deactivate themes. You can do it as often as you like until you find the theme you like the best.

NOTE: All your content (ie: articles, pictures and links) is stored in a database and you do not need to re-input any content when you change themes.  The system will automatically display the your content according to the design of the new theme.

We clicked on preview to see what our site would look like with the new theme.

If you click on the “preview” button you can see how your website will look if you choose to use the new theme.

Now you are ready to find the theme you like the best and install it.

So good luck and have fun!