The easiest way to do it is using cPanel control panel. If your host has this control panel it’s follow the instructions. If your host does not provide cPanel contact me and I’ll get you fixed up. As always, I’m At Your Servers at Gmail. 

Issues: Installing a new WordPress theme is a low impact process and at the most you may have a compatibility problem later if an update includes functions the custom theme does not support. In that very rare case you can revert back to the stock theme while you get a new custom one — or have it adapted for you.

Make sure you get your theme from a reputable site! There are many sites out there that do a shabby job of theme building and are only providing free themes so they can embed links in them to monetize your traffic — or worse. So use the WordPress theme directory or some other mainstream site to make sure it’s safe to download your dream theme.

Once you have acquired the zip file, upload it into your hosting storage area using the cPanel control panel. I recommend using the ‘File Manager’ feature of your control panel instead of an FTP client because the control panel application will unpack the zip file for you making theme installation virtually effortless.

Ready to rock? Let’s get started. Step by Step…

Open your cPanel and select the File Manager application icon.  This will pop a new window showing your site files. *** Navigation: Click on a folder or file’s icon to open it. Click on the name to perform operations on it. ***

1. Navigate to the proper directory (by clicking folder icons) into public_html, then wp-content, then themes.
2. Then use the ‘Upload File” link to upload your new theme ZIP file.
3. Once it is uploaded navigate “Up one level” and then get back into themes and you’ll see you zip file there. Click on the zip file and note that on the top right of your browser you’ll see some file manipulation options now become visible, e.g., ‘Show File’, Edit File, ‘Extract File’, etc.
4. With the zip file selected, click on the Extract File Contents link to unpack the file. This will pop a new window and unzip everything for you. It only takes a second and when it’s done you can close that new window.
5. Now if you go up a level and then back down you’ll see the new theme folder installed and ready to go. That is all you need to do in the file manager and you can get out of it.
6. Next, log into your Word Press as the admin. Go to the design section and you’ll see the new theme there. Click on the new theme to make it the site theme. Then view your site in a browser and the new theme is installed.

That was easy! Try this out and install your own custom WordPress theme. Having fun yet? Next time we can talk about customizing the theme. — Dwayne