Themes

A theme controls how your site looks — colours, fonts, layout, where things sit on the page. Changing one doesn't touch your writing, so you can try several and settle on whichever you prefer.

Installing from the marketplace

In the admin, go to Appearance → Marketplace to browse the themes available. You can search, filter by category or tag, and sort. Themes already on your site are marked, and the active one is shown as such.

Press Install and the theme is downloaded and added to your site — but not switched on. You activate it separately, once you've had a look.

Every download is checksum-verified. Basehim checks the file it received against the checksum the marketplace published. If they disagree, nothing is installed. That matters more for themes than people expect: a half-downloaded theme is exactly the sort of thing that renders a broken-looking site rather than failing outright.

The marketplace needs your site connected first. If you see a message about not being connected, open Updates in the admin and connect — it's the same link that delivers core updates.

Installing from a file

Themes also arrive as plain zip files. In Appearance, choose Upload theme, pick the zip, and it installs itself. It won't activate until you tell it to, so you can look before committing.

Changing your theme

1. Sign in and go to Appearance.
2. You'll see the themes already installed, with the active one marked.
3. Press Activate on any other one to switch.

The change is instant and it's safe. Your pages, posts and images are stored separately from the theme, so switching back leaves everything exactly as it was.

Making a theme your own

Most themes let you adjust things without editing any files:

• Your logo — upload it once and the theme places it correctly.
• Menus — decide which pages appear in the navigation, and in what order.
• Widgets — small blocks for sidebars and footers, like recent posts or contact details.

What's adjustable varies by theme. If an option isn't there, the theme's author chose not to expose it.

Choosing one

Two things matter more than looks:

• Does it suit your content? A theme built for photography will feel wrong for a text-heavy site, however attractive it is.
• Does it work on a phone? Most of your visitors will be on one. Check the preview at a narrow window width before committing.

Keeping themes up to date

Themes installed from the marketplace update the same way they were installed — the files are replaced in place and your content is untouched. If you've edited the theme's files directly, though, see the warning below.

A word of caution about editing files

You can edit a theme's files directly, but changes are overwritten when the theme updates — including by a marketplace update. If you want lasting changes, the safer route is a child theme, or asking whoever built the theme to expose the option properly.

Next

See Apps to add features rather than change appearance.