Wondering how to fix WordPress: Class wp_theme not found? We can help you.

This is a WordPress error that often occurs while trying to upgrade WordPress manually. And this kind of WordPress error can cause the website to load with a blank page.

Here at Bobcares we often handle similar WordPress errors for our customers using websites with WordPress as a part of our Server Management Services.

Today let’s see how our Support Techs fix this issue for our customers.

What causes the ‘WordPress: Class wp_theme not found’ error

A typical error message looks like the one given below:

The main cause for this error is missing base files.

Steps to fix ‘WordPress: Class wp_theme not found’

Here we will see how to perform a manual WordPress upgrade so that this error does not pop up.

Following are the steps for doing this:

1.  First, we need to get the latest WordPress zip (or tar.gz) file.

2. Then unpack the zip file that we downloaded.

3. After that we have to deactivate plugins.

4. And delete the old wp-includes and wp-admin directories on our web host.

5. Now, using FTP or shell access, we will upload the new wp-includes and wp-admin directories to our web host. Thus overwriting the old files.

6. Next, we will upload the individual files from the new wp-content folder to the existing wp-content folder, overwriting existing files.

We should not delete the existing wp-content folder except for the one being overwritten by new files.

7.  Finally, we will upload all new loose files from the root directory of the new version to the existing WordPress root directory.

Skipping step 7 will lead to ‘WordPress: Class wp_theme not found’ error message

Therefore, to avoid this issue, or to fix this issue, we must ensure to upload all the files from the root directory of the new version to the existing WordPress root directory.

[Need help with the setup? We can help you]

Conclusion

In short, we saw how our Support Engineers fix ‘WordPress: Class wp_theme not found’ for our customers.