Generally, things go smoothly when you update your WordPress theme, but sometimes they don’t. When this happens the way to fix it is often to completely delete the old theme and then reinstall it using the theme files direct from the developer. This post walks you through this process step-by-step.
There are several ways to remove an old theme: from the Themes menu in the Dashboard, or from the File Manager on the server, of via FTP. In this tutorial, we’ll stay within the WP Dashboard.
- Visit the theme developer website and download the files for your chosen theme. These will be available for download as a zip file.
- In your WP Dashboard, select Appearance and then Themes.
- If you haven’t already changed to a theme that works, do this now as you won’t be able to delete a theme you are using. Choose a “safe” default like Twenty Twenty or Twenty Fifteen.
- Find the theme you want to replace and click Theme Details (this flashes up when you hover of the image.)
- At the bottom of this page you should see two buttons (Activate and Preview) and a red text link saying Delete. Click Delete.
Now your site is ready to be updated.
- Back in the Themes list, click Add New then attach and upload the zip file containing your theme files.
- Wait for this to upload (you’ll see a % indicator at the bottom of the screen while it uploads) then Activate the theme.
- Check the site again. Is it working?!
