#Installing a theme from the WordPress.org directory
Any theme in the WordPress.org theme directory installs straight from your WordPress admin, with no purchase, no key and no account. That includes the free edition of a jkdevstudio theme, where one exists, so check the product page first.
"Free download" mirrors and collection sites are not our product.
They are not supported, the files on them are routinely modified, and what usually comes with them is covered in why nulled copies do not work.
#From your own admin
The shorter route, and the one to use unless you have a reason not to.
Open the theme browser
Go to AppearanceThemes and click Add Theme at the top of the screen.
Search for the theme by name
Type the theme name into the search box. Check the author line on the result before installing, because theme names in the directory are not unique.
Install
Click Install and wait. The button changes to Activate when the theme is on your site.
Activate
Click Activate. Installing and activating are two separate steps, and the theme does nothing on your site until the second one. On the Themes screen the live theme is the first card, labeled Active.
#From the WordPress.org site
Use this when your host blocks the admin theme browser, or when you are preparing a file for a site you cannot reach yet.
Download the zip
Open the theme's page on wordpress.org and click Download.
Upload it
Go to AppearanceThemes, click Add Theme, then Upload Theme. Choose the zip and click Install Now.
Activate
Click Activate once the upload finishes.
#Not every jkdevstudio theme has a free edition
We aim to publish a free edition of every theme, and some themes will still never get one. The directory's theme requirements keep functionality that belongs in plugins out of themes, so most directory themes are deliberately simple, and a theme built around complex layouts and features is hard to fit through that review.
A free edition is something we do voluntarily, where a theme can work within those rules. It is not a promise, and there is no date to wait for. There is no need to ask support when one will appear: when a theme has a free edition, its product page says so.
#After the theme is installed
A free edition runs on its own. For demo import and the setup screens, add the free companion plugin.
If you later buy the full version, you keep the theme you already have and add the Pro plugin to it. The theme then keeps updating from WordPress.org while the Pro plugin updates from our server, and that split is normal.
#What a directory listing guarantees
This applies to any free WordPress theme you are judging, not only ours.
- It was reviewed by people
Every theme passed a manual review against the WordPress theme requirements before appearing, and updates are checked before they are published.
- It is fully GPL
The theme and everything bundled with it can be used, modified and redistributed. No part of a directory theme is locked behind a payment.
- Updates arrive through WordPress itself
A new version shows up on your Updates screen the way a plugin update does. There is nothing to configure and no key involved.
#Common questions
Does a free edition stop working after a while?
No. It has no expiry date anywhere. It has a smaller feature set than the full version, and it keeps working for as long as you use it.
Why can I not find the theme in the search?
Either the theme has no free edition, or your site cannot reach wordpress.org. To tell them apart, search for any other theme: if nothing appears for anything, a server firewall is blocking the request.
When will a free edition of my theme be released?
There is no schedule. A free edition is published only where a theme fits the directory's rules, and the product page is where it will show up.
Do I get support for the free edition?
Through the theme's support forum on wordpress.org. Direct support is part of what a license pays for, as the Support Policy sets out.
The install fails while downloading
That is almost always the server. Either it cannot reach wordpress.org, or the themes folder is not writable, and both show up in ToolsSite Health.
If neither is the cause, download the zip by hand and upload it instead.
#Still stuck
Open a support ticket and say what you tried and where it stopped. Your product, your domain, a screenshot and the exact message you saw are usually enough to settle it in one reply.
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