Once you’ve successfully installed your Magento 2 store, it’s common to try out new Themes. In this new version of Magento we have 3 different ways to install a new theme.

In part 1 of this tutorial we will see the step-by-step installation of the package – I believe to be the most common – where you download a zipped package with all the files of the theme.

Step 1 – Preparation

Once you install your system version, your deploy is set to: default

Ideally, while you are developing and building your store, you set up your deploy for: developer

This will make a lot of difference in your debugging, troubleshooting, cache management, etc. This is not a required step, especially if you are still in default mode.

Soon a post showing how to change your deploy

Step 2 – Copying the Files

Once you’ve purchased/downloaded your Theme, it’s time to unzip the file and move to the Magento directory.

Tip: On ThemeForest you’ll find incredible Themes!

When unpacking the file, you must have a folder with the name of the Company/Vendor, inside it, a folder with the name of the Theme, and within the theme, the files that compose it.

//files...

Copy the Company/Vendor folder into your Magento 2 installation in the directory:

/app/design/frontend/...here...

It is also worth noting that some themes have their own modules, which need to be installed in order for the theme to work properly. In this case, you need to find (by unpacking) a directory similar to the name of the Company/Vendor, and inside the modules.

The process will be similar to the previous one, moving the directory with the name of the Company/Vendor (containing the modules) to:

/app/code/...here...

Step 3 – Registering the Theme

Whenever you access your Admin (or refresh the page), the system queries the base to identify in the session which modules and settings should be loaded. This includes Themes.

So if your Theme is not appearing as an option on the backend, please do a logout/login again, or try refreshing the page.

Step 4 – Accessing the new Theme

On your system administration screen, navigate to the menu:

Content > Design > Themes

If the new theme appears as a configuration option, the installation is complete.

Success!