A good look an uploading and managing WordPress MU themes, taken from The WordPress MU Manual.

Your WordPress MU comes with three default themes installed.

To extend available themes you’ll need to install extra themes on your site.

Not all themes that work on WordPress work well with WPMU. When choosing a good WPMU theme would want to look for features such as:

• No code edits
• Customizability
• Simplicity of use

All themes downloadable from Premium themes have been completely tested and customized to work with WPMU. This means you’re not going to have to upload a single file, edit a single line of html, php or CSS or concern yourself with bugs or issues; they’re ready to use as is!

WPMU-Dixi, WPMU-nelo and WPMU-triden are the most customizable of these themes:

1. WPMU-Dixi includes optional RSS feed for up to 4 feeds on the front page.
2. WPMU-nelo – see this theme in use on Sample Academic blog
3. WPMU-triden includes the option of a custom image gallery – see this theme in use on Sample Student portfolio

Any themes downloaded from sites other than Premium themes should be thoroughly tested by uploading each theme to your WPMU site, and enabling it just for a test account. Activate the theme on the test blog taking notes of any errors which occur. Only enable the theme site-wide once you have fixed them all issues with the theme.

Installing new themes

You install new themes as follows:

1. Download the theme or theme pack
2. Unzip the file to extract all files into a folder on your hard drive
3. Launch FileZilla
4. Enter your domain name, your username and password. NOTE: the same username and password that you use to log into your cPanel.
5. Click Quickconnect

6. Locate and open up the folder on your computer that contains the new theme(s).

7. Open up your theme folder for your site (located within wp-content folder of your public_html folder)

8. Select all the new theme folders in the folder on your computer and drag it into your theme folder on your site

TIP: Check names of folders on your computer and those in the theme folder on your site – don’t select any folders that have the same name as those on your site unless you are happy to overwrite them

9. Dragging the theme folders from your computer into theme folder of your site uploads these new themes to your WPMU site however they aren’t enabled.

10. As Site Admin you have the choice to enable:
a) All themes site wide so that all users can choose from the entire selection of themes
b) Limited number of themes site wide and enable specific themes on a blog by blog basis only

To change what themes are available site wide:

1. Click on Site Admin > Themes
2. Select the themes you want to make available to all your blog users by selecting Yes
3. Then click Update Themes

Changing themes on a per blog basis

Any theme that has not been activated for the entire site can be activated on a blog as follows:

1. Locate the blog you want to enable specific themes on by either:

a) Searching for the specific blog by clicking on Admin

b) Clicking on Blogs

2. Once you have located the blog click on Edit (hovering your mouse over the domain name brings up the action menu)

3. Select the themes you want to enable and then click Update Options.

WARNING: Never edit any information in the left hand column in the Edit Blog area!