Adding WordPress Themes and Plugins with SiteGround Central
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Themes and plugins are one the major parts of a WordPress website. They are responsible for the look and feel of the website and the functionalities that the website presents to its visitors. In order to improve the process of picking the best themes and plugins for your website we have replaced the default WordPress pages for installing these items with our own custom ones. The new pages provide the website administrator with a better and easier way of finding and installing the best items on their website.
The Add Themes page
The Appearance -> Themes -> Add New section in the wp-admin panel of your WordPress has been replaced by a custom page developed by SiteGround. The page now includes three separate tabs where you can easily find a new theme for your website.
The See Recommended tab
The first tab is the See Recommended and it shows a list of curated themes carefully picked by us.
You can click on the themes to preview how they will look on your website and easily install the desired theme by clicking the Install button under each theme entry. Doing that will show a prompt asking you if you want to also include the sample data in the theme installation. Clicking Yes will confirm the installation of the sample data and will delete the existing content on your website and make the website identical to the theme preview.
The installation of the theme will take a moment and a message confirming the successful installation will appear.
The Browse WordPress Directory tab
Here you can find all the themes from the official WordPress themes directory, sorted by the most recently added items.
You can search for a particular theme or just pick one of the themes listed on the page. When you find a theme of your liking, click Install and in a few seconds the theme will be installed on your WordPress website. The Install button will change to Activate, which when clicked will make this theme the one that your website currently works with.
The Upload Theme tab
If you have downloaded a theme in a .zip format from a third party, you can upload it here to install it on your WordPress website. Make sure to use archives only from trusted sources to prevent opening any security backdoors or vulnerabilities on your website.
Click the Choose File button and navigate to the location of the .zip archive of the theme on your computer. Once you have selected the .zip archive, the Install Now button will turn active and you can press it to initiate the theme installation.
Once the theme is installed you can either preview how it will look on your website with the Live Preview button, Activate it or Go to the Themes page to see a list of all currently installed themes.
The Add Plugins page
The section at Plugins -> Add New has also been replaced by a custom page. The new page now includes similar tabs as with the themes, that allow easy access to certain must-have plugins as well as the official WordPress plugins repository.
The Must Have Plugins tab
The first tab is the Must Have Plugins and it shows a list of selected plugins carefully picked by us for being the best in the functionalities they provide.
If you already have one or more of the recommended plugins installed they will show up here again. If there are currently inactive recommended plugins you will be able to activate them.
You can also use the Install button to install any of the recommended plugins. To activate them, once the installation is completed press the Activate button.
The Browse WordPress Directory tab
Here you can find all of the plugins in the official WordPress plugins directory, sorted by most popular.
By using the Install button you can easily add the desired plugin to your WordPress website. Once a plugin is installed the button will change to Activate, which will enable the plugin.
The Upload Plugin tab
If you have a plugin in a .zip format you can use this section to upload and add it to your website. As with the themes, it is recommended to only upload archives from known sources to prevent opening security holes in your website.
Click the Choose File button and navigate to the location of the .zip archive of the plugin on your computer. Once you have selected the .zip archive, the Install Now button will turn active and you can press it to initiate the installation.
Once the plugin is installed you can use the Activate Plugin to enable it or click the Go to Plugin Installer to return to the recommended plugins tab.
