Installing third-party themes

In most cases, beginner level Magento users will explore the many available Magento themes created by third-party designers. While there are many free themes available, most are sold by dedicated designers.

Tip

Shopping for themes

One of the great good/bad aspects of Magento is third-party themes. The architecture of the Magento theme model gives knowledgeable theme designers tremendous abilities to construct themes that are virtually upgrade proof, while possessing powerful enhancements. Unfortunately, not all designers have either upgraded older themes properly or create new themes fully honoring the new 2.0 fallback model. If the older fallback model is still used for current Magento versions, upgrades to the base package could adversely affect your theme.

Therefore, as you review third-party themes, take time to investigate how the designer constructs their themes. Most provide some type of site demo. As you learn more about using themes, you'll find it easier...