How To Zip WordPress Theme

by

If you’re a WordPress theme developer or simply someone who’s customizing a theme for personal use, you might want to zip and share your theme with others. In this blog post, we will guide you through the process of creating a zip file for your WordPress theme, which will make it easy for you to upload and install that theme on multiple WordPress websites.

Why ZIP a WordPress Theme?

Zipping your WordPress theme offers several benefits, such as:

  • Easy distribution: A zipped theme can be easily shared and uploaded to a WordPress website.
  • File compression: Zipping a theme compresses its size, which can make it faster to upload and download.
  • Organization: A zipped theme keeps all its files and folders organized, making it easier to manage.

How to ZIP a WordPress Theme

To create a zip file for your WordPress theme, follow these steps:

1. Locate Your Theme’s Directory

Your theme’s files must be located within the wp-content/themes folder of your WordPress installation. This folder should contain a subfolder for each installed theme, including the one you want to zip. The subfolder will have the same name as the theme.

2. Select Your Theme Folder

Select the entire folder of the theme you want to zip. Make sure you select the correct folder, as zipping the wrong folder can lead to installation issues and errors.

3. Create a Zip File

Now, let’s create a zip file of your theme. The process varies depending on your operating system:

On Windows:

  1. Right-click the selected folder and choose Send to > Compressed (zipped) folder.
  2. Windows will create a zip file with the same name as the folder in the same location.

On macOS:

  1. Right-click (or Ctrl-click) the selected folder and choose Compress “folder-name”.
  2. Mac will create a zip file with the same name as the folder in the same location.

On Linux:

Open a terminal in the folder where your theme is located and run the following command (replace “theme-name” with the actual name of the theme folder): 

    zip -r theme-name.zip theme-name/

This will create a zip file with the same name as the folder in the same location.

4. Rename the Zip File (Optional)

If you want, you can rename the zip file to something more descriptive, such as including the theme’s version number. However, make sure you keep the .zip extension.

Conclusion

Congratulations! You’ve successfully zipped your WordPress theme. You can now easily share, upload, and install your theme on multiple WordPress websites.