Skip to main content

Installing Salient

Salient installs like any WordPress theme, from a zip file uploaded on the Themes screen. Which zip you upload depends on where you bought the theme.

Get the theme zip​

Bought from ThemeNectar​

Download Salient from your ThemeNectar account. The download is the installable theme zip itself, so upload it as it is. Your license key is in the same account, and you enter it once the theme is active.

Bought on ThemeForest​

On your ThemeForest Downloads page, the Download menu next to Salient offers two versions of the theme. Installable WordPress file only is salient.zip on its own, ready to upload. All files & documentation is a package with several files inside, and that is the detail that trips people up. Unpack it and you find:

  • salient.zip The theme. This is the file to upload.
  • salient-child.zip The child theme, for template overrides and code of your own. See Child Theme.
  • salient-user-guide.pdf A one-page pointer to this documentation site.

Your purchase code is on the same Downloads page. Open Download next to Salient and choose License certificate & purchase code.

Install through the WordPress dashboard​

  • Step 1. Go to Appearance > Themes in your WordPress dashboard.
  • Step 2. Click Add New Theme, then Upload Theme.
  • Step 3. Choose the theme zip: the file from your ThemeNectar account, or the salient.zip from inside the ThemeForest package. Click Install Now, then Activate.
  • Step 4. Activating opens the Salient welcome screen shown below, which covers what changed in the version you installed. WordPress also shows a notice to install the plugins Salient bundles. Two are required, Salient WPBakery Page Builder and Salient Core. If another copy of WPBakery Page Builder is active, deactivate it first. The rest are optional and stay available at Appearance > Install Plugins; Installing Salient's Plugins covers each one.
  • Step 5. Register the theme, then start importing demos or configuring the theme options.

The Salient welcome screen for version 18.3.0, with a changelog link, a note for upgrading users and feature cards below

Upload through FTP​

Use this route when the dashboard upload fails on a server limit, or when you prefer working over SFTP.

  • Step 1. Unzip the theme zip on your computer. You get a folder named salient.
  • Step 2. Upload that folder to /wp-content/themes/ on your server.
  • Step 3. Go to Appearance > Themes, activate Salient, and continue from step 4 above.

Register the theme​

Open Salient in the WordPress admin sidebar. The Dashboard tab opens with the License card at the top. Pick Direct license or ThemeForest, paste your license key or purchase code, and click Activate. On a direct license this switches on one-click theme updates inside WordPress. ThemeForest purchases update through the Envato Market plugin or by re-uploading the zip, as described under Updating Salient. Registering Your License has the details, including moving a license between sites and what to do when activation fails.

Troubleshooting​

"Theme is missing the style.css stylesheet"​

WordPress received a zip without the theme folder at its top level. On a ThemeForest purchase this means the whole download package was uploaded. Unpack it and upload only the salient.zip inside. If you unzipped the theme yourself and zipped it again, the new archive may have gained an extra folder level, so upload the original download instead. Envato's help article covers the ThemeForest case in more detail.

PHP errors after installing​

Check that your server meets the requirements before installing. On a PHP version older than the supported range, Salient can fail with compatibility errors or a fatal error, so keep PHP on a currently maintained release.

Either message during the upload usually means the server's PHP limits are too low for a theme zip of about 35 MB. Ask your host to raise these values, or raise them yourself if you manage the server:

  • upload_max_filesize 36M or greater
  • post_max_size 36M or greater
  • max_execution_time 150 or greater
  • memory_limit 256M or greater

The FTP route above sidesteps the upload limit entirely.