How to Install a Paid Child Theme
When I first started blogging I spent hours trying to build my website from scratch in WordPress.
And honestly? It was a bust. Sure, I learned a lot, but it slowed me down more than anything.
If you’re looking to launch your blog quickly, my advice is this: either start with a free Kadence starter template (we covered that in a previous post) or if you’re ready to invest a little, get a paid child theme.
You’ll have your blog looking exactly how you want it from day one.
You Don’t Have to Build From Scratch
You really have three options when it comes to setting up your blog design.
- Build from scratch … this is the harder way. You can do it, but if you’re just starting out it’s going to eat up a lot of time that could be spent actually blogging.
- Free Kadence starter templates … these are a great place to start. They’re free, they look good, and you can have something up quickly. We covered how to set these up in a previous post.
- Paid child themes … if you’re ready to invest a little and want your blog looking exactly how you want it from day one, this is the move.
What’s a Child Theme?
If you’ve never heard the term before, don’t let it intimidate you.
A child theme is basically a pre-designed template that sits on top of your Kadence parent theme.
Think of Kadence as the foundation of your house… and the child theme as all the interior design. The colors, the fonts, the layout, it all comes from the child theme.
The reason it’s called a “child” theme is because it inherits all the functionality from the parent theme (in this example the Kadence theme)… but keeps your design separate. That means when Kadence releases updates, your custom look stays exactly how you set it up.
For new bloggers, this is honestly the easiest way to get a professional-looking blog without hiring a designer or spending weeks tweaking things yourself.
Where to Find Kadence Child Themes
Heads up… some of the links below are affiliate links. That means if you purchase through my link, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only share partners I genuinely recommend.
I’ve personally used child themes from each of these partners… and I keep coming back to them for a reason. They have a wide selection of styles to choose from, they’re easy to work with, and the best part? You can style them to match your own brand. Same theme, totally different look.
Here are the ones I trust and recommend:
Take some time to browse before you decide. You’ll know the right one when you see it.
How to Install Your Kadence Child Theme
Once you’ve picked your theme, the install process is pretty straightforward. This should take you less than 10 minutes!
Note: These instructions are for a fresh WordPress install on a new website.
- Make sure you follow the steps above to install the Kadence WP parent them.
- Next, go back to Appearance > Themes
- Click on “Add New“
- Click on “Upload Theme” > Add File
- Select your .ZIP child theme
- Click “Activate“.
- Now you will need to import the demo content
- Go to Appearance > Starter Templates.
- In the top right hand corner select “Gutenberg” then select the child theme provider which will be Restored 316, HelloYou Designs, SheShoppes or 17th Avenue Designs.
- Click on the theme to start the import of the demo content.
- This can take from 5-10 minutes, wait for your pages to import.
- Start customizing your new theme!
What’s Next?
Now that your blog is looking good… it’s time to start setting it up for success.
Next up we’re covering how to set up your blog categories. It’s a quick one but it’s worth doing before you write your first post. Trust me on this one!
These child themes are easy to install and configure and give your blog a designer website look without the custom designer price tag.
