If you purchased one of our themes through ThemeForest, you may run into a common issue that can occur with users new to installing WordPress themes, which is a “Broken theme and/or stylesheets missing” error message being displayed when trying to upload or activate the theme. This error message does not mean that the theme you have purchased is broken, it simply means it has been uploaded incorrectly. Luckily, there is a very easy fix.

Obtain the correct theme files

There are two ways to obtain the files of a theme you purchased in ThemeForest. Once you bought it, you need to locate the Download button that will appear inside your Downloads section.

To download your files, you need to click any of the first two options:

• All files & documentation
• Installable WordPress file only

All files & documentation

If you select the first option, you will get a zip file that doesn’t only contain the files of the theme, but also some other files with documentation and other information about your purchase. You’ll find the actual files of the theme inside alongside those ones, inside another zip file. You can upload that file to your WordPress installation through your WordPress Dashboard, or unzip its contents in your wp-content/themes folder.

Installable WordPress file only

The second option will give you a zip file that only contains the files of the theme. You can either upload the zip file directly through your WordPress Dashboard, or unzip its contents in your wp-content/themes folder.

Installing the theme

Once you have the files of your theme, either inside a zip file or a folder containing the files, you need to upload it to your WordPress installation. Check this article to know how to do it.