If you have created your own site in WordPress now you will certainly want to install a template. It is not only aesthetically beautiful but also functional to the type of website you want to create.

The choice of themes is very wide and ranges from free to Premium, which can be purchased at various marketplaces. In this super detailed article I will specifically explain “How to download and install a purchased theme on ThemeForest?”

Best way to download and install a purchased theme on ThemeForest?

So let’s move on to the practical part immediately and see together all the steps you need to follow.

How to download a purchased theme on ThemeForest?

First, go to your WordPress admin panel and select “Appearance> Themes” from the left column.
From here you can see the themes that are present by default when you went to install the WordPress platform for the first time within your domain.

Now you certainly want to replace one of these with the theme you bought on ThemeForest right? First, then let’s see how to download the theme.

Ok, first go to the ThemeForest.net site and log in with your account credentials. Once connected, select “Downloads” from the drop-down menu at the top right. Here you will find all the themes and/or plugins you have purchased for your website.

At this point, go to the theme you would like to install and move the mouse to “Download”.
Here, from the drop-down menu, click on the item “Installable WordPress file only” and save the .zip file on the desktop.

From the same menu then click on “License certificate & purchase code (text)” to download the license of the theme you have purchased.

Save this file to your desktop as well.
Now that you’ve downloaded these two files, I’ll show you how to install the theme on your website.

How to install the purchased theme on ThemeForest?

Well, now go to the desktop and double-click with the mouse on the previously downloaded compressed folder that contains the theme of your choice.

First Steps

Inside you will find a folder with the name of the theme (in my case “Appal – Creative Multi-purpose WordPress Theme”) and by opening it you will find all the files you need to make the graphic theme work.

By purchasing a theme from ThemeForest.net or from other marketplaces it can sometimes happen that in the compressed folder you can find, in addition to the theme itself, also other files such as the documentation relating to the theme or the child theme (the one that imports all the functions and features of a theme and that allows you to make changes to your template without touching the original theme).

In any case, inside the compressed folder, you will have to go and look for the .zip file that has the name of the theme you purchased. Once found, drag it with the mouse to the desktop.

Second Steps

Go to your WordPress administration panel, always select “Appearance> Themes” from the left column and click on “Add new theme “ at the top.

In the screen that appears, click on the item “Upload theme” and then on the button in the center “Choose file” .
Now from the window that opens, select the .zip file with the name of the theme you purchased (the one you just saved on your desktop) and then click on the item “Install now”.

You should now see a message saying the theme has loaded successfully.
If not and you get an error, it’s probably because you uploaded the incorrect theme file.

I, therefore, recommend that you be careful to upload the .zip file with the name of the theme as it is, just like I just showed you.

Ok, now let’s see how you can activate the theme we just installed on your website.

How to activate the theme on WordPress?

At this point, click on the “Activate” item from the same screen as before, in order to activate the theme on your site.
To see if the activation was successful, just click on your administration panel on the top left item “Winning WP” and from the drop-down menu select “Visit the site”.

You should now see that your site’s homepage has changed graphics based on the theme you purchased.
To be sure of the activation you can also do a further check from your administration panel by clicking on “Appearance> Themes”.

Here you can see from the list of installed themes that the active one is the one you have chosen.

Since you have installed a professional theme, I recommend that you go and see the settings of the graphic theme. Because you should activate the license of the theme you have purchased as this will allow you to update the theme directly from WordPress.

How to activate ThemeForest theme license

Also from the WordPress administration panel, click on the name of the theme you have chosen in the left column (mine is obviously Appal) and select “Registration” from the drop-down menu.

The page presented to you will be different depending on the theme you are using, but in any case, the activation procedure is very similar for all templates.

Now go to your desktop and open the license file you downloaded earlier.
Once opened inside you will find the item “Item Purchase Code” and under it is a code that you will have to copy and paste inside the box located on the license activation page. Then click on “Enter”.

The registration should now be successful. But if an error message has been generated it is because, starting from 2021, when purchasing a Premium theme on ThemeForest. You are required to generate a special token for activating the theme.

I’ll explain immediately what to do in this case.

From the “Instructions For Generating A Token” list, which you can find under the error message, click on the “Generate A Personal Token” link.

On the page that appears you simply have to write a name for the token on the box. (I wrote “Appal WordPress Theme”). Leave the ticks in the boxes as they are and only add the check in the last item relating to the acceptance of the Terms and Conditions.

At this point click on “Create Token”.

Now you just need to copy the token you have generated and paste it on the appropriate box in your administration panel, clicking as always on “Enter”.

Your Premium theme will then be registered correctly.

Conclusion

Well, as you could see the procedure “How to download and install a purchased theme on ThemeForest?”

I remind you that activating the theme on your website is important because then you can install future updates of the theme directly from your WordPress admin panel.

If the article was useful to you or you need clarification, do not hesitate to write me a comment in the form below. I will be happy to answer you!