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When uploading a WordPress Theme via your WordPress Dashboard, it should let you immediately activate it once it’s installed. However, you may encounter a Missing Theme error. This means the Theme can’t be installed. As a result, you won’t be able to activate it. Here are 2 ways to resolve it:
This article assumes that you are logged in to WordPress and gives two ways to resolve a “Missing Theme Error”.
Table of Contents
Fix A WordPress Missing Theme Error
The Package Could not be Installed
This error occurs when you attempt to upload a custom Theme to your WordPress site via the Dashboard, but the installation fails because it’s missing the style.css stylesheet. You might see the message: “The package could not be installed. The theme is missing the style.css stylesheet.”
To resolve this:
1. Compress all the downloaded Theme files into a single zip file.
2. Navigate to your WordPress Dashboard, scroll to “Appearance”, click “Themes”.
3. Then “Add New”, then “Add New”
4. Select the zip file you created.
The WordPress Theme Is Missing the style.css Stylesheet:
The style.css file in the WordPress Theme is essential for your website’s layout and appearance. WordPress will not install the theme if the style.css stylesheet is missing, corrupt, or in the wrong location. Here is how you can solve this issue:
Missing from Folder:
If you’ve downloaded a Theme, unzip the zip folder and check if the style.css file is missing.
Incorrect Location:
The Theme file may not be in the correct directory, especially if downloaded from an online marketplace alongside other documents like licenses. Ensure the style.css file is in the theme’s root directory.
Plugins:
Occasionally, the file you want to use may be a plugin, not a Theme. This confusion often happens with add-ons for Themes, like the Astra Pro plugin for the Astra Theme. On your Dashboard, disable all your plugins. If your Theme displays properly, enable the plugins one at a time and check your website after you enable each one. As soon as your Theme disappears, you can remove the incompatible plugin.
Compatibility:
You might have uploaded a WordPress Theme file not intended for WordPress website use, or you can only run on an older/newer software version. Check that the Theme you are trying to install is compatible with the WordPress version you are running.
This can usually be found in the theme’s documentation under compatibility information. If the theme is incompatible, you may have to find a similar one that suits your website’s design.
On your Dashboard, change your Theme to one of the standard ones, like Twenty Twenty-One. If your website displays, then there is a problem with the theme you were using.
Coding and Customization:
If you have customized your theme, this may be causing the error. In this case, undo the changes and try a different approach or double-check your coding.
Note: Sometimes a missing theme leads to a White Screen Error. This is when you see a blank screen when you visit your website.
Additional Information:
Using the WordPress Staging Area
A WordPress staging area is an exact copy of your live site. The difference is that it is not available online. It’s a testing environment where you can change and edit themes, update your plugins, and test functionality before publishing, all without affecting your main website.
Setting up a WordPress staging area can save you time and the hassle of troubleshooting potential issues with your theme before they happen on your original site.
Login to Hosted.com Account
1. Go to the Hosted.com Login website page.
2. Enter your Email and Password and click the “Sign In” button.
Access WordPress via Your Hosted.com Account
3. You will see the Hosted.com Dashboard, displaying the Manage Account menu on the left and your Account Information, Account Overview on the right and Open Support Tickets below.
4. Click the “Manage Service” dropdown and select your hosting package – our example uses the WordPress Hosting plan. The hosting window will open and you will see Product Information and Quick Manage on the right.
5. Click on the WordPress icon under the Quick Manage section.
Access WordPress via cPanel
3. You will see the Hosted.com Dashboard, displaying the Manage Account menu on the left and your Account Information, Account Overview and Open Support Tickets on the right.
4. Click on “Manage Services” to view the sub-dropdown menu and select the hosting package for the domain you want to work with – in our example we are using WordPress Hosting.
5. Click the “Manage” button to the right of the domain name you want to access.
6. The display will now show Product Information, Quick Manage, Resource Usage and Site Statistics for that domain name.
7. Under “Product Information”, scroll down to “Control Panel”, which will display cPanel to the right, and click on the “Login” button.
8. The cPanel Dashboard will now be displayed.
9. Scroll down until you get to “Popular Applications”, click on the WordPress icon.
10. The WordPress Dashboard will now be displayed.
Access WordPress via cPanel Online
1. Visit your cPanel URL, either supplied to you through your web host or attained through other sign-up methods.
2. Enter your Username
3. Then enter your Password and click “Log in”.
4. Scroll down until you get to “Popular Applications”, click on the WordPress icon.
