WordPress Tutorial: Theme Update

WordPress Theme Update Tutorial shows various ways of Updating WordPress Themes. The users may find this WordPress Tutorial helpful for them.

We believe that You already have a WordPress Site where you want to Update ( not Upgrade from Free to Premium/Extended ) Your Existing Free/Premium WordPress Theme for better security, newly added features, enhancing performance etc. You can learn more on Understanding Domain, Hosting, Server, WordPress, Theme, Plugin, Website from This Link. WordPress releases many Updates each year including 02 Major Versions. We also update our Themes regularly. It is very important to update your WordPress and Theme for better security, enhanced performance, new features, latest technologies etc.

  • You already have the Free Version and/or Extended (Premium) Version Installed in your Site. Now, you want to Update the Theme to the Latest Version ( Example: You have Innovation Lite/Extend 1.5 and you want to Install Innovation Lite/Extend 1.7 ) : This Tutorial is for You
  • You have the Free Version Installed in your Site and want to install the Extended Version ( Example: You have Innovation Lite Installed and you want to install the Innovation Extend ): This Tutorial is not for You. Please find This Tutorial

How Shall I Download Extend Version Themes/ Updated Themes from D5 Creation?

Only the ONE THEME, DEVELOPER and DEVELOPER PLUS Member can download and use Extend Version Themes from D5 Creation. Please follow these to download Extended Version Themes

  • Log in to D5 Creation Site using your Username and Password
  • Go to the Specific Theme Page
  • Scroll down to the Bottom
  • You will find the Download Buttons for the Extended Versions there
  • Click on the Download Extend Version and Save the ZIP File to your Computer
 

How Shall I Update a WordPress Theme?

If the Theme that you are installing provides instructions, be sure to read through and follow those instructions for the successful installation of the Theme. It is recommended that Theme developers provide installation instructions for their own Themes, because Themes can provide special optional functionality that may require more steps than the basic installation steps covered here. If your Theme does not work after following any provided instructions, please contact the Theme author for help. Make sure you have a copy of your old theme on your computer in case something goes wrong with the new theme. All the processes described below will overwrite your existing Theme Files but keep the posts, pages, contents, settings etc. as it was.

Shall I Lose Everything ? Do I need to do from the Scratch ?

NO, You will not lose anything if you don't make any changes to the Theme Files. All of your Contents, Posts, Pages, Menus, WidGets, Settings will remain as it is after installing/updating to Extended Versions

IMPORTANT !!! Please Clear the Cache after Theme Update

After Updating Themes, you may find some Style Issues of your Site. Sometimes, some users contact us telling 'messed up' their sites. But, Please remember, that is not related to Theme Updates. We release the Updated Version after checking with different browsers many times. When we find everything all right and we become fully satisfy we release the Update. Most of the Cases the Messed Up Site is Related to the Cache. Some Sites may have Caching Plugin Installed. Some have Caching Services like CloudFlare. Some Hosting Providers have Aggressive Caching System to reduce the Server Load where users have very few control. So, After Theme Update, You will have to Clear/Purge/Flash the Cache. Then you will check your site with a Hard Refresh of your browser pressing Ctrl+F5. You can read This Article for details. You should also Contact with your Hosting Company for clearing any Caches from their Server. We have such Experiences with GoDaddy, BlueHost, HostMonster etc. users.

 

 

Updating an Existing Theme using the Administration Panel

Follow the Second Option of the Video, but before uploading the Theme activate another Theme present in the list, then Delete the Theme You want to Update.

  • Log in to the WordPress Administration Panel
  • Select the Appearance panel, then Themes
  • [You can skip this point for WordPress Version 5.5 or later ] Activate another Theme present in the list, then Delete the Theme You want to Update, IMPORTANT! ( Example: You have Innovation Extend 1.5 and there is a new version Innovation Extend 1.7. You need to Activate another Theme like: Twenty Seventeen and Delete the Innovation Extend )
  • Click Add New from the Top
  • Use the Upload link in the top sub-menu to upload a zipped copy of a Theme that you have previously downloaded to your machine
  • Click Choose File to locate a Theme you would like to use
  • Click Install Now
  • Activate Theme
  • ALWAYS, Clear the Site Cache from Caching Plugin and Hosting Panel if any Caching System Present in your site. IMPORTANT!

This process is like installing New Themes. This will keep your posts, pages, contents, menus, settings as it was.

The uploaded file exceeds the upload_max_filesize directive in php.ini Problem ?

This is not a Theme Issue. This is because your host/server has set a maximum file upload size for PHP which is lower than the Theme ZIP size. A Standard WordPress Host should have more than 20MB Size but many hosts have lesser than 2MB. So, if you face this problem, please contact your host/webmaster to increase the Maximum File Upload Size in PHP.ini or follow the Adding New Themes Manually (FTP) Method

 

Adding New Themes by using cPanel

If your host offers the cPanel control panel, and the Theme files are in a .zip or .gz archive follow these instructions. Note: This assumes the Theme you download is a compressed (zip) file and the files in the zip file are in their 'named' folder.

  • Download the Theme zip file to your local machine.
  • In cPanel File Manager, navigate to your Themes folder. If you have WordPress installed in it's own folder called wordpress, you would navigate to "public_html/wordpress/wp-content/themes" and if WordPress is installed in your web-root folder you would navigate to "public_html/wp-content/themes".
  • Once you've navigated to the Themes folder in cPanel File Manager, click on Upload file(s) and upload that zip file you already saved.
  • Once the zip file is uploaded, click on the zip file name in cPanel, then in the panel to the right, click on Extract File Contents, and that zip file will be uncompressed. Overwrite the previous Theme with the new one.
  • Follow the instructions below for "Selecting the Active Theme"
 

Adding New Themes Manually (FTP). The Most Active Way That You Should Use

To add a new Theme to your WordPress installation, follow these basic steps:

  • Download the Theme archive and extract the files it contains. You may need to preserve the directory structure in the archive when extracting these files. Follow the guidelines provided by your Theme author.
  • Using an FTP client like FileZilla to access your host web server, create a directory to save your Theme in the wp-content/themes directory provided by WordPress. For example, a Theme named "d5-corporate" should be in "wp-content/themes/d5-corporate". Your Theme may provide this directory as part of the archive.
  • Upload the Theme files to the new directory on your host server. Overwrite the previous Theme with the new one.
  • Follow the instructions below for "Selecting the Active Theme"
 

Selecting the Active Theme

To select a Theme for your site:

  • Log in to the WordPress Administration Panel.
  • Select the Appearance panel, then Themes.
  • From the Available Themes section, click on the Theme title (or Theme screenshot) for the Theme you wish to activate.
  • A preview of the Theme will be shown.
  • To activate the Theme click the Activate "Theme Name" link in the top right.
 

 

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Configuring Theme Options

Our Themes are distributed with the Simplest Theme Options which have Powerful Features. It is as Easy as You think for using. You will find the Theme Options by:

  • Log in to the WordPress Administration Panel.
  • Select the Appearance panel, then Theme Options (Like D5 CORPORATE Options).