--- title: "How to Install a WordPress Theme" description: "There are thousands of free and commercial themes available to customize the look of your WordPress site. In this tutorial, we will show you how to find and install a WordPress Theme from within the..." url: https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/edu/wordpress/themes/how-to-install-a-wordpress-theme/ date: 2021-03-22 modified: 2024-08-07 author: "InMotion Hosting Contributor" categories: ["Themes"] type: post lang: en --- # How to Install a WordPress Theme ![Learn how to install a WordPress Theme](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/How-to-Install-a-WordPress-Theme-1024x538.jpg) There are thousands of free and commercial themes available to customize the look of your WordPress site. In this tutorial, we will show you how to find and install a WordPress Theme from within the Admin Dashboard and also how to manually install a Theme you have downloaded. - [Install a WordPress Theme With the Built-in Search](#search) - [Install a WordPress Theme You Downloaded](#downloaded) Say goodbye to slow loading times and hello to high-performance websites with our [WordPress VPS Hosting](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/vps-hosting/wordpress?mktgp=t&irgwc=1&affiliates=5001860&utm_campaign=Jumbotron&utm_source=supportcenter&utm_medium=cta&utm_term=wp-cta2) plans. Experience 40x faster WordPress page load speeds on purpose-built servers that guarantee 99.99% uptime. ![check mark](https://design.inmotionhosting.com/assets/icons/standard/check-blue.svg)High-Performance VPS ![check mark](https://design.inmotionhosting.com/assets/icons/standard/check-blue.svg)Premier Care ![check mark](https://design.inmotionhosting.com/assets/icons/standard/check-blue.svg)Free SSL & Dedicated IP ![check mark](https://design.inmotionhosting.com/assets/icons/standard/check-blue.svg)Advanced Server Caching [Managed WordPress VPS](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/vps-hosting/wordpress?mktgp=t&irgwc=1&affiliates=5001860&utm_campaign=Jumbotron&utm_source=supportcenter&utm_medium=cta&utm_term=wp-cta2) ## Install a WordPress Theme With the Built-in Search There are many approved [WordPress themes](https://wordpress.org/themes/) available directly in the Dashboard. You can find them using the built-in search tool, then easily install them. In this section, we’ll show you how. 1. [Login to your WordPress Dashboard](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/edu/wordpress/logging-into-wordpress-dashboard/). 2. Click **Appearance**, then click **Themes**.[![Changing Theme in WordPress](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/wordpress_install-theme_wordpress-dashboard-appearance-themes.png)](/support/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/wordpress_install-theme_wordpress-dashboard-appearance-themes.png)   3. Click the **Add New Theme** button.[![Clicking the Add New Theme button](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/wordpress_install-theme_wordpress-add-new-theme.png)](/support/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/wordpress_install-theme_wordpress-add-new-theme.png)   4. You will then see the “*Featured*” Themes displayed. Roll your mouse over the Theme and click **Preview** to test it out:[![Testing a new Theme](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/wordpress_install-theme_wordpress-theme-preview.png)](/support/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/wordpress_install-theme_wordpress-theme-preview.png) You can search for additional Themes in the available box: [![](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/search-wp-themes_search-WP-Themes-1024x353.png)](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/search-wp-themes_search-WP-Themes.png) Click the links on top to view “*Popular*,” “*Latest*,” or “*Favorite*” Themes: [![How to View Popular WordPress Themes](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/adding-WP-themes-1024x243.png)](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/adding-WP-themes.png) Also, clicking the **Feature Filter** allows you to view Themes by *Colors*, *Layout*, *Features*, or *Subject*:[![Searching for WordPress Themes with Filters](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/WordPress-Theme-Filters-1024x509.png)](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/WordPress-Theme-Filters.png) 5. When you find the Theme you want to use; roll your mouse over it, and click the **Install** button.[![Installing a Theme from the WordPress Dashboard](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/wordpress_install-theme_install-wordpress-theme-e1723065137268.png)](/support/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/wordpress_install-theme_install-wordpress-theme.png)   6. Once you see the “*Successfully installed*” message, click the **Activate** button to use the Theme.[![Activating a WordPress Theme](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Activate-WordPress-Theme.png)](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Activate-WordPress-Theme.png)   ## Install a WordPress Theme You Downloaded When you purchase a theme, it is often provided to you as a downloaded .zip (compressed) file. In this case, you will have to upload the theme before it can be installed. Here are the steps to manually install a WordPress theme. 1. [Login to your WordPress Dashboard](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/edu/wordpress/logging-into-wordpress-dashboard/). 2. Click **Appearance** then **Themes** in the navigation menu. 3. Click the **Add New** button. 4. Click the **Upload** Theme button.![Upload and Install a WordPress Theme](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/upload-theme.png) 5. Click the **Choose File** button, then select and open your downloaded theme file. It should be in a “.zip” format. 6. Click the **Install Now** button.![Upload and Install a WordPress Theme](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/upload-and-install-a-wordpress-theme.png) 7. The theme will then be installed. Click the **Activate** button to enable this theme. You can also check out our full guide on [How to Change a WordPress Theme](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/edu/wordpress/themes/how-to-change-a-wordpress-theme/).![Activate and Install a WordPress Theme](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/install-a-wordpress-theme-activate.png) Congratulations, now you know how to **install a [WordPress Theme](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/edu/wordpress/themes/how-to-select-a-theme-in-wordpress/)** using search, or using a downloaded file! Check out our [WordPress Education Channel](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/edu/wordpress/) for many more helpful guides. Learn more about the power of [WordPress Themes](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/edu/wordpress/themes/) and how they can simplify your website building and maintenance.