Acquiring a new premium WordPress theme is exciting, but the common error encountered during installation, “The package could not be installed. The theme is missing the style.css stylesheet,” can dampen the enthusiasm. This error does not stem from the theme itself; it is usually caused by attempting to upload the wrong ZIP file. Below, we explain step-by-step how to resolve this common issue and complete your theme installation smoothly.

Error Source: The main ZIP file you download includes documentation, license, and other folders besides the theme files. WordPress does not recognize this complex folder as a valid theme.

The Most Critical Step: Locating and Uploading the Correct ZIP Folder

The only way to permanently resolve the style.css error is to locate the single, installable theme ZIP file. Please follow these steps:

• Extract (Unzip) the Main ZIP file you downloaded into a folder on your computer.
• Go inside the extracted folder. Here, you will usually see a folder like “Theme”.
• Inside this folder, locate the actual installable ZIP file that bears only the theme’s name and contains the style.css file (e.g., themename.zip).
• From the WordPress Admin Panel > Appearance > Themes > Add New, upload only the theme’s ZIP file found inside.

When you apply this step correctly, the theme installation will start immediately, and you will not receive the error.

Mandatory Server Settings for Technical Performance

For our theme to work with high speed and stability, your hosting environment must meet the following requirements:

• Clean WordPress Installation: Do not use ready-made hosting installations. Install WordPress from scratch, using the original source.
• PHP Version: Your PHP version must be updated to a current and stable version like 8.0, 8.1, or 8.2.
• Required PHP Extensions: Ensure that the necessary extensions (plugins) such as xml, xmlwriter, xmlreader, and xls are enabled and active on your server.

Importing Demo Content and Completing the Installation

After the theme is uploaded, follow these steps for your website to achieve the demo appearance:

• Activate the Theme and Install the Necessary Plugins.
• Following the order specified in the theme package documentation, first import the demo XML file.
• After importing the demo, you must import the options.json file to ensure all settings and panel options are correctly transferred. This guarantees the completeness of your theme settings.

Post-Installation Customization Tips:

Your site is now live! Use the power of ACF (Advanced Custom Fields) to align it with your brand:

• Theme Settings: Access the “Theme Settings” area to upload your logo, configure your main color scheme, fonts, and corporate identity.
• Page Content Modification: The ACF tabs at the bottom of each page hold the demo content. You can easily organize the page structure by replacing the data here (texts, images, icons) with your own content.

By following these steps, your premium WordPress theme will not only be installed but will also begin operating with the highest speed and performance.