WordPress.com is the free blogging platform where you do not need to worry about the hosting and server maintenance, and it is free. But at the same time, you do not have permission to install plugins which is there in self hosted WordPress (read full comparison). But such little impositions can prove to have dire consequences on the prospects of one’s website. So, eventually it all comes down to you, the web developer, to find out if HostGator or Godaddy is the perfect web host for you. You can install free or premium themes on self hosted WordPress as well as WordPress.com, but what if you want a theme for your self hosted WordPress (downloaded from wordpress.org) which is available only on WordPress.com. Sometimes, WordPress.com team releases a free theme for .com users and may be some delay in releasing the same for .org users. For example, a theme named “Ideation and Intent” which is a photography theme with really good options and it is free to use on WordPress.com but the team has not released the same theme for .org users yet. Once downloaded, you can customize the theme as per your requirement and make any changes as per your design. Doing a disk cleanup is necessary to maintain the performance of your computer, visit this website to download the best disk cleanup tool.
Here is how you can download and install the same theme on your self hosted WordPress CMS.
- Install a SVN software on your computer. I am using ‘Tortoise SVN‘ in this example. You might need quite some space on your computer for it to run on ideal speed after installing this software. If you cannot free up adequate space, or ahve important softwares on your computer you do not want to delete, you could visit a computer repairs rocklea store and increase the hardware memory of the system.
- Create a new folder on local disk (on desktop or anywhere else) and name it as ‘ideation-and-intent’
- Right-Click on that folder and select ‘SVN Checkout’
- Enter the URL of repository as ‘https://wpcom-themes.svn.automattic.com/ideation-and-intent/’ and click on ‘OK’
Now the download process will initiate and the complete theme will get downloaded in next few minutes.
- Upload the folder ‘ideation-and-intent’ to wp-content/themes/ folder on hosting server
- Activate the theme from Appearance/Themes menu on Dashboard
This is how you can download and use any free theme available on WordPress.com but still not released on WordPress.org themes showcase repository.
I spend most of my time around WordPress and related plugins. It is almost impossible to resist myself from sharing good tips, tutorials and updates related to the platform. After all, I am a blogger by passion.
Hi,
Is it safe to do this? Have you experienced any compatibility issue when using the theme?
Yes, I downloaded one theme and installed the same on another self hosted WordPress. The only thing that you need to do is, remove the spaces from the theme folder name after downloading the same otherwise theme’s CSS and media files will not load. For example, if theme’s name is ‘Ideation and Intent’ then name that folder as ‘ideationandintent’. Otherwise there is no compatibility issue between themes from .com and .org of WordPress.