Install and manage WordPress plugins and themes

Install, switch on, switch off and remove WordPress plugins and themes from cPanel's WordPress Management, or from Plugins and Appearance in the dashboard.

Install a plugin from cPanel

1. Log in to cPanel, click WordPress Management and open your site's card. Click the Plugins tab on the card.

2. The tab lists your plugins:

   1. Install opens the plugin directory.
   2. The Active switch turns a plugin on or off.
   3. The bin icon removes a plugin.
   

3. In Plugins and Themes:

   1. Type the plugin's name in the search box and press Enter.
   2. Click Install next to the right plugin. Check the author and the number of installs, so you pick the real one and not a look-alike.
   

4. The button changes to Installing and then Installed. The plugin is switched on right away. Close the dialog; it now appears in the list.

Bought a plugin as a .zip file? Click Upload Plugin in the same dialog and choose the file.

Switch a plugin off or remove it

• Switch off: click the plugin's Active switch. The plugin stays installed but stops running. This is the first thing to try when a plugin breaks your site (see Fix "There has been a critical error on this website").
• Remove: click the bin icon at the end of the row and confirm with Yes. This deletes the plugin's files. Some plugins leave their settings in the database.

Have several WordPress sites? The Plugins and Themes tabs at the top of WordPress Management list everything across all your sites, with buttons to install, activate, deactivate, update or uninstall in one go.

Install or change a theme

1. On your site's card, click the Themes tab.

   1. Click Install to search the theme directory, or upload a theme .zip file. It works like installing a plugin.
   2. The Active switch shows your current theme. Switch on another theme to use it instead; only one theme can be active.
   

A new theme changes how your whole site looks. Try it on a staging copy first (see Make a staging copy of your site (clone)). Keep one default WordPress theme installed as a fallback.

Install a plugin in the WordPress dashboard

1. Log in to WordPress (see Log in to your WordPress dashboard).

2. Go to Plugins > Add Plugin, type a name in Search Plugins, click Install Now and then Activate. For themes, go to Appearance > Themes > Add Theme.

   

To switch off or delete a plugin there, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins and use Deactivate and then Delete under its name.

Common problems

The site breaks right after you install or activate a plugin

Switch the plugin off with its Active switch in WordPress Management. That works even when the dashboard doesn't load.

"The uploaded file exceeds the upload_max_filesize directive"

The .zip file is bigger than PHP allows. Raise the limit (see Change PHP limits: upload size, memory and execution time), or install the plugin from the directory instead.

A plugin isn't shown in the search

Paid plugins aren't in the WordPress directory. Download the .zip from the seller and use Upload Plugin.

Related articles

• Update WordPress, plugins and themes
• Secure your WordPress site from cPanel
• Speed up WordPress: caching, images and PHP version

Still stuck? Open a support ticket and we'll help.