Installing a WordPress theme is usually quick and easy, but sometimes things don’t go as planned. Below are the most common issues people run into and how to solve them.
Missing style.css stylesheet Error
This happens when you upload the wrong ZIP file. Many themes come in a big folder that includes extra stuff like guides and demo content. If you upload that entire folder, WordPress won’t find the actual theme file.
How to fix it:
- First, unzip the file you downloaded.
- Inside, find the actual installable theme file (it usually has the theme name and version, like
mytheme-1.0.zip). - Upload only that file in your dashboard under Appearance > Themes > Add New.
White Screen (No Error, Just a Blank Page)
If you see a completely white screen after installing or activating a theme, it could be caused by:
- An outdated version of WordPress
- A plugin that’s clashing with the theme
How to fix it:
- Make sure your WordPress is up to date.
- Disable all your plugins, then try activating the theme again.
- If it works, turn the plugins back on one by one to see which one causes the issue.
500 Internal Server Error
This can be caused by several things, but the most common are:
- Low PHP memory limit on your server
- Uploading the full ZIP instead of just the theme file
- Server settings that block large uploads
Fix tips:
- Ask your hosting provider to increase the PHP memory limit.
- Make sure you’re uploading the correct theme ZIP file (see the first section above).
- If the file is too big to upload, ask your host to raise the upload_max_filesize limit to at least 20MB.
ERR_EMPTY_RESPONSE
This error usually means the server stopped responding during the upload, often because of a small upload limit.
Solution:
- Contact your hosting support and ask them to increase the upload limit to at least 20MB.
- Double-check that you’re uploading the correct theme file, not the full package.