Managing WordPress themes

A WordPress theme controls the look and presentation of the material on your website. View the following WordPress article for further information on installing and managing themes:

• Using Themes

First, use an online tool to analyze your website. You'll receive a breakdown of what may be causing your site to load slower than expected and it will give you insights to troubleshoot further.

• Website loading tools

You should do some research before choosing your theme. Check several reviews of the theme to get a better idea of how other users rate it. The following site is also a good starting point for locating highly rated themes:

• Where to download the best free WordPress themes

In addition to choosing a good theme, there are also several ways to optimize your site. View the following links for further information:

• WordPress optimization articles
• Managing themes and plugins

It’s very important to always keep your themes up to date, as it limits the possibility of getting hacked.

Updating a theme in the WordPress dashboard

In the left-hand column click Appearance. A list of all your currently installed themes will show in the main window. Any themes with updates available will show ‘Update Available’ at the top of their box.

• Click the Update now link to get the most recent version.

Deleting a theme in the WordPress dashboard

It is best to always remove themes you are not using. You should only keep the theme you actively use since you can always reinstall removed themes at any time. By removing themes, you keep their files from being used as attack entry points.

1. In the left-hand column click Appearance.

   A list of themes display:

2. Click the theme you wish to remove.
3. On the bottom right, click the Delete link to remove the theme.

Deleting a theme via FTP

If you cannot access the dashboard, you can still delete the theme via FTP:

1. Use the steps described in the FTP article to log into your server.
2. Navigate to the /example.com/wp-content/themes directory.
3. Delete any theme folder you wish to remove.

It's best to leave WordPress's current default theme as well as your active working theme in place, just to be certain that you have a good fallback theme if needed.

Managing a theme via SSH

You can use the WP CLI interface to manage themes via SSH. View the following page for further details and examples:

• WordPress wp-cli