How to install a new WordPress theme
By Dann Berg
Published or Updated on
This post originally appeared on Novice No Longer.
Can’t upload the new Wordpress theme you just downloaded or purchased? You may be running the wrong type of WordPress. In this post, I’ll explain the different ways to run a WordPress blog and then show you exactly how to upload a custom WordPress theme.
Three flavors of WordPress
There are three different flavors of WordPress: WordPress**.com**, WordPress.com Premium, and WordPress**.org**. Here are the differences that are relevant to us:
| Wordpress.com | Wordpress.com Premium | Wordpress.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3rd Party Themes | x | ||
| Free | x | x* | |
| Hosted | x | x | |
| Custom Domain | x | x |
* requires a self-hosting plan, more on that later
Note that neither WordPress.com nor WordPress.com Premium allow users to upload their own themes. If you’re in your blog’s Dashboard and don’t see an upload link under Appearance, then you’re probably using WordPress.com’s free or Premium hosted option. You’re going to need to host the blog yourself if you want to use a custom theme.
Still kinda lost? Let’s break it down even further.
The (free) WordPress application
WordPress is an application, just like Microsoft Word, or Google Chrome, or my own app Workburst. Better yet, WordPress is a free application. The biggest difference between WordPress and these other applications is that WordPress runs on the web, while these other applications run on an operating system such as OS X, Windows, or Linux.
If you want to run Google Chrome, you’ll need a computer. If you want your own WordPress blog, you’ll need a web server.
But most people just want a blog and don’t want to worry about figuring out what a “web server” is or how to get one (even though it’s incredibly easy and can be done in less than six minutes). This is where WordPress**.com** comes into play.
WordPress.com
WordPress knows that most people just want a blog, and don’t care what happens behind the scenes with hosting. That’s why they created WordPress.com, a free, hosted option — meaning they run your WordPress application on their web server for you.
WordPress.com is free for you, the user, but you’re only getting an abridged version of the web application. There are lots of features that are unavailable, such as third-party themes and custom domain names (the URL for free WordPress.com blogs are [your-username].wordpress.com rather than [your-domain].com).
Why is the application limited like this? Because they want you to upgrade to a Premium plan!
It’s the same monetization model as freemium and free-to-play mobile applications. There’s no cost to download and use the app, but you’ll soon discover a number of limitations. Maybe you have to wait until tomorrow for new lives to re-generate, or you find that building the desperately-needed Health Center takes six hours. Or, in the case of something like the podcast player Overcast, paying $4.99 unlocks great features such as Smart Speed and downloading over cellular.
Many people don’t really care about those limitations, so a free WordPress.com blog is all they’ll ever need. But if you want to use a customized theme, or your own domain name, you’ll need to pay some money. That brings us to WordPress.com Premium.
WordPress.com Premium
As you may have guessed, WordPress.com Premium is the “unlocked” version of WordPress.com (but still isn’t the full WordPress application). Just like WordPress.com, the WordPress.com Premium plan is completely hosted by WordPress. You’ll never need to worry about web servers, self-hosting plans, or where your domain name is pointing. You just pay WordPress.com $99 per year, and they’ll let you use a more feature-filled version of the WordPress application, run on their web server.
While this still doesn’t allow for third-party themes, premium accounts do get something called the Custom Design feature, which lets you edit fonts, change styles, and edit your site’s CSS. WordPress.com says that they don’t allow third-party themes because they want to “keep things simple,” but another unspoken reason is security. There are tons of “free” WordPress themes out there that contain exploits or unsafe code.
But while WordPress.com Premium still doesn’t support third-party themes, you’ll now be able to use your own domain name (~$10 per year if you purchase separately, or free with a WordPress.com Premium account). You’ll instantly look more professional.
But we still have one more option to cover, and that’s my favorite: WordPress.org.
WordPress.org/Self-hosting the WordPress application
I mentioned earlier that WordPress is free, but it hasn’t really felt actually free yet. The free WordPress.com blog is extremely limited, and you need to pay for WordPress.com Premium if you want to unlock more features. And still no third-party themes. That’s not exactly free.
Well, technically, WordPress is still free. It’s the hosting that you’re really paying for. Remember how I said both WordPress.com and WordPress.com Premium were hosted options? Well, you have to pay for that hosting somehow. As I mentioned, WordPress.com uses a freemium model in order to make that money.
But if you have your own hosting, then you can install and run the completely free, self-hosted version of the WordPress application, which is available at WordPress**.org**. You’ll get all the features.
To run this free version of WordPress, you’ll need a web server. You can get access to your very own web server by purchasing a web hosting plan and then installing the WordPress application. It sounds more complicated than it is — I created a video that shows you how to buy a domain, hosting, and install WordPress in less than six minutes.
Here are some perks to self-hosting your blog:
- Bluehost’s Shared Plus hosting is $83.40/year (less than WordPress.com Premium)
- Includes a free domain name (just like WordPress.com Premium)
- Ability to use third-party themes
- Unlimited email addresses
- Unlimited domains
It’s the last point that really does it for me. Not only is self hosting your blog cheaper than WordPress.com Premium, you can also have an unlimited number of websites without purchasing more hosting.
Let’s say you launch your WordPress blog, and everything is great. But you suddenly come up with a new idea for a website. With a self-hosting plan, it’s easy. Just buy the new domain name (~$10), point it at your current hosting plan, and voila! You can then install the free version of WordPress on the new domain and run it completely independently, and you only paid for the domain.
I have a single hosting plan, which is currently hosting sixteen different websites, including:
It also allows me to throw up a quick landing page, on a custom domain, if I ever want to test out a startup or app idea. I can just purchase a domain and theme from Themeforest, then be up and running in minutes.
If you do decide that you want to go the self-hosting route, I’ve got a full free course showing you exactly how to do it. All I ask is that you use my affiliate link if you decide to use Bluehost. It helps me continue to create free content such as this post and that course!
Installing a WordPress Theme
And finally, here’s how to install a purchased WordPress theme. It’s video seven from my free course. Check out the other videos to learn all about WordPress.
Correction: In the original version of this article, I stated that WordPress.com Premium account allowed for the uploading of third-party themes. This is not true, and the article no longer contains this incorrect information.