{"id":542,"date":"2025-12-26T08:19:26","date_gmt":"2025-12-26T07:19:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/?post_type=manual_kb&#038;p=542"},"modified":"2026-06-08T02:01:46","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T00:01:46","slug":"how-to-change-or-add-a-new-theme-on-a-wordpress-based-website","status":"publish","type":"manual_kb","link":"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/knowledgebase\/how-to-change-or-add-a-new-theme-on-a-wordpress-based-website\/","title":{"rendered":"How to change or add a new theme on a WordPress-based website"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"translation-block translation-block-merged\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WordPress themes control the appearance and layout of your website. If you want to refresh your site&#8217;s design, test a new layout, or install a premium theme, WordPress makes it easy to add and switch between themes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_86 ez-toc-wrap-left counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/knowledgebase\/how-to-change-or-add-a-new-theme-on-a-wordpress-based-website\/#How_to_add_a_new_theme\" >How to add a new theme<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/knowledgebase\/how-to-change-or-add-a-new-theme-on-a-wordpress-based-website\/#How_do_I_run_a_theme_that_is_already_installed\" >How do I run a theme that is already installed?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/knowledgebase\/how-to-change-or-add-a-new-theme-on-a-wordpress-based-website\/#Before_Changing_Themes\" >Before Changing Themes<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/knowledgebase\/how-to-change-or-add-a-new-theme-on-a-wordpress-based-website\/#Create_a_Backup\" >Create a Backup<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/knowledgebase\/how-to-change-or-add-a-new-theme-on-a-wordpress-based-website\/#Test_on_a_Staging_Environment\" >Test on a Staging Environment<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/knowledgebase\/how-to-change-or-add-a-new-theme-on-a-wordpress-based-website\/#Verify_Compatibility\" >Verify Compatibility<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/knowledgebase\/how-to-change-or-add-a-new-theme-on-a-wordpress-based-website\/#Review_Widgets_and_Menus\" >Review Widgets and Menus<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/knowledgebase\/how-to-change-or-add-a-new-theme-on-a-wordpress-based-website\/#Troubleshooting\" >Troubleshooting<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/knowledgebase\/how-to-change-or-add-a-new-theme-on-a-wordpress-based-website\/#Summary\" >Summary<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_to_add_a_new_theme\"><\/span>How to add a new theme<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Once you&#8217;ve logged in to the <em><strong>&#8220;WordPress&#8221;<\/strong><\/em> backend, go to <em><strong>&#8220;Appearance&#8221;<\/strong><\/em> and there <em><strong>&#8220;Themes&#8221;.<\/strong><\/em> At the top of the page, you will find the <em><strong>&#8220;Add&#8221;<\/strong><\/em> button.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"671\" height=\"332\" src=\"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image-367.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5439\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image-367.png 671w, https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image-367-300x148.png 300w, https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image-367-18x9.png 18w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 671px) 100vw, 671px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<div id=\"mybox-2074116095\" class=\"mybox-content mybox-entity-placement\"><div class=\"early-access-banner-inpost\">\r\n  <div class=\"banner-left-inpost\">\r\n    <div class=\"icon-box-inpost\">\r\n      <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/square-info-icon.svg\" alt=\"Info\">\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <div class=\"text-box-inpost\">\r\n      <span class=\"label-inpost\"><span class=\"translation-block translation-block-banner-text\">Early access<\/span><\/span>\r\n      <h4><span class=\"translation-block translation-block-banner-text\">Still need help?<\/span><\/h4>\r\n      <p><span class=\"translation-block translation-block-banner-text\">Contact our customer service team.<\/span><\/p>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n  <div class=\"banner-right-inpost\">\r\n    <a href=\"https:\/\/panel.mybox.com\/helpdesk2\/v\/list\/\" class=\"banner-button-inpost\"><span class=\"translation-block translation-block-banner-text\">Message us<\/span><\/a>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"translation-block translation-block-merged\"><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Once the page loads, <em><strong>&#8220;WordPress&#8221;<\/strong><\/em> will present you both the themes you have already installed, but also here you will find a catalog of thousands of free themes that you can install. To do this, you just have to click on the <em><strong>&#8220;Install&#8221;<\/strong><\/em> button that appears after hovering your mouse over the theme of your choice.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"669\" height=\"229\" src=\"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image-368.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5440\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image-368.png 669w, https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image-368-300x103.png 300w, https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image-368-18x6.png 18w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 669px) 100vw, 669px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"translation-block translation-block-merged\">\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Another method is to upload a theme. This is usually the case if you purchased the theme and the theme author provided you with an .zip file containing the theme files. Once on the page described above, click on the <em><strong>&#8220;Upload theme to server&#8221;<\/strong><\/em> button and in the field that appears, select the .zip file containing the template from your disk, then click <em><strong>&#8220;Install&#8221;.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"292\" src=\"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image-369-1024x292.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5442\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image-369-1024x292.png 1024w, https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image-369-300x85.png 300w, https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image-369-768x219.png 768w, https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image-369-18x5.png 18w, https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image-369.png 1078w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"translation-block translation-block-merged\">\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_do_I_run_a_theme_that_is_already_installed\"><\/span>How do I run a theme that is already installed?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To enable an already installed theme, after logging in to the <em><strong>&#8220;WordPress&#8221;<\/strong><\/em> backend, go to <em><strong>&#8220;Appearance&#8221;<\/strong><\/em> and there <em><strong>&#8220;Themes&#8221;.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then, after hovering your mouse cursor over the theme of your choice, click the<em><strong> &#8220;Activate&#8221;<\/strong><\/em> button.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"667\" height=\"336\" src=\"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image-370.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5445\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image-370.png 667w, https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image-370-300x151.png 300w, https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image-370-18x9.png 18w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 667px) 100vw, 667px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"translation-block translation-block-merged\">\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Before_Changing_Themes\"><\/span>Before Changing Themes<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Before activating a new theme, it is recommended to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Create_a_Backup\"><\/span>Create a Backup<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Always create a full backup of:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Website files<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Database<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Theme settings<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Test_on_a_Staging_Environment\"><\/span>Test on a Staging Environment<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If possible, test the theme on a staging website before deploying it to your live site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Verify_Compatibility\"><\/span>Verify Compatibility<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Check that the theme is compatible with:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Your WordPress version<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Installed plugins<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>WooCommerce (if applicable)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Review_Widgets_and_Menus\"><\/span>Review Widgets and Menus<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After activating a new theme, verify:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Navigation menus<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Widget areas<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Homepage settings<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Customizer options<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Different themes may use different layouts and widget locations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Troubleshooting\"><\/span>Troubleshooting<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If the website does not display correctly after changing themes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Clear your browser cache.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Clear any caching plugins.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Check for plugin conflicts.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Temporarily switch back to the previous theme to verify whether the issue is theme-related.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Summary\"><\/span>Summary<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To install a new WordPress theme:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"1\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Go to <strong>Appearance \u2192 Themes<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Click <strong>Add New Theme<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Install a theme from the WordPress directory.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Activate the theme.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Once activated, the new theme will control your website&#8217;s appearance and layout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","manualknowledgebasecat":[25,58],"manual_kb_tag":[422,2798,2800,2801,2802,2804,2948,2959,2960,2961],"class_list":["post-542","manual_kb","type-manual_kb","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","manualknowledgebasecat-hosting","manualknowledgebasecat-web-applications-cms","manual_kb_tag-upload-zip-file","manual_kb_tag-install-wordpress-theme","manual_kb_tag-theme-installation","manual_kb_tag-theme-activation","manual_kb_tag-activate-theme","manual_kb_tag-upload-theme","manual_kb_tag-change-theme","manual_kb_tag-wordpress-theme","manual_kb_tag-add-new-theme","manual_kb_tag-upload-theme-to-server"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/manual_kb\/542","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/manual_kb"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/manual_kb"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/manual_kb\/542\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4314,"href":"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/manual_kb\/542\/revisions\/4314"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=542"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"manualknowledgebasecat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/manualknowledgebasecat?post=542"},{"taxonomy":"manual_kb_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/manual_kb_tag?post=542"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}