Installing the free edition from the WordPress.org directory

Installation 4 min read

The free edition of a jkdevstudio theme is distributed through the WordPress.org theme directory and nowhere else. There is no purchase, no key and no account. Not every product has a free edition, so check the product page first.

"Free download" mirrors and collection sites are not our product.

They are not supported, the files in 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 AppearanceThemesAdd New.

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, then activate

Click Install, wait for it to finish, then click Activate. Installing and activating are two separate steps, and the theme does nothing on your site until the second one.

#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 download it.

Upload it

Go to AppearanceThemesAdd New, click Upload Theme, choose the zip and install it.

Activate

Click Activate once the upload finishes.

#What this copy actually is

The theme in the WordPress.org directory is the same code as the theme in a paid package. It is not a cut down demo version, and switching to a paid package later does not give you different theme files.

One thing differs: where updates come from.

Free edition Theme from a paid package
Update source WordPress.org the jkdevstudio update server
How updates appear on your WordPress Updates screen in the theme's Version Control screen
Timing roughly a day behind a release as soon as the release is out

The delay exists because every update to a directory theme passes a review before it is published. That is the directory doing its job, not a hold up on our side.

#Using it with Pro

The directory copy fully supports the Pro plugin. If you buy Pro later, you do not reinstall anything: keep the theme you already have and add the Pro plugin on top, whether you bought it from us or on Envato.

One consequence to expect: the theme then updates from WordPress.org while the Pro plugin updates from our server. Two components with two update sources is the normal arrangement here, not a misconfiguration.

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#What a directory listing guarantees

Worth knowing when you judge any free WordPress theme, not only this one.

It was reviewed by people

Every theme passed a manual review against the WordPress theme requirements before appearing, and every update passes the same review.

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. Nothing to configure, no key involved.

#Common questions

Is the free edition a trial that expires?

No, it is a real theme with a smaller feature set and it keeps working indefinitely, with no date attached to it anywhere.

Why can I not find the theme in the search?

Either the product has no free edition, or your site cannot reach wordpress.org, and the way to tell them apart is whether other themes appear in the same search, because an empty result for everything is a server firewall rather than anything about this theme.

Do I get support for the free edition?

Through the theme's support forum on wordpress.org, since direct support is part of what a licence pays for.

The install fails while downloading

That is almost always the server rather than the theme: either it cannot reach wordpress.org, or the themes folder is not writable, and both are visible in ToolsSite Health. If neither is the cause, download the zip by hand and upload it instead.

#Still stuck

Open a support ticket with the theme name and what the admin says when the install stops.

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