Divi is one of the most popular paid WordPress themes. The main feature offered by Divi is a visual page builder which allows you to create pages that aesthetically great. Unlike other themes that also come with a built-in page builder like Avada and Newspaper, you don’t need to install a plugin to use the built-in page builder of Divi — which is called Divi Builder. It is available as an integral part of the Divi theme. It is probably the reason why Divi has a larger file size than other themes.
The file size of Divi is about 14 MB. Thus, you can’t install Divi via WordPress dashboard if your hosting provider doesn’t allow you to upload a file larger than 14 MB. The solution to this problem, you can install Divi manually. This post will show you how to install Divi via the manual method.
Installing Divi Manually
Before getting started, make sure you have downloaded Divi first. You can download it from its official website, elegantthemes.com.
There are two ways to install Divi manually on your WordPress website. If the hosting provider you use has a file manager feature, you can use it to install Divi manually. Some examples of hosting providers that have a file manager feature are SiteGround and Rocket.net.
Alternatively, you can install Divi via FTP if your hosting provider offers no file manager. Some examples of hosting providers that offer no file manager are WP Engine, and other WP Engine alternatives like Kinsta, Pressable, and Nexcess.
— Installing Divi via File Manager
First, login to the website of your hosting provider. Select a website you want to install Divi to and go to the file manager. Navigate to wp-content/themes and upload the ZIP file of Divi here. Once uploaded, extract it.
Next, login to your WordPress dashboard and go to Appearance -> Themes. You should now see Divi on the installed themes list. Hover your cursor over Divi and click the Activate button to activate it.
— Installing Divi via FTP
Nearly all web hosting providers offer FTP feature, which you can use to access your WordPress files. You can also use it to install Divi manually. But first, you need to install an FTP client to be able to use FTP. Some free FTP clients you can use are:
- FileZilla. Available for macOS, Windows, and Linux
- Cyberduck. Available for macOS and Windows
- WinSCP. Windows only
Once you are ready, login to your hosting provider and select a website you want to install Divi to. On the control panel, find the FTP menu. If you use Kinsta, you can find it on the Info menu.
Next, open the FTP client you want to use. In this example, we use FileZilla. On FileZilla, you need to add a website first before you can connect to your server.
First, go to the File menu and select Site Manager. Click the New Site button on the appearing window.
Give your site a name on the left panel. On the right panel, enter the FTP credentials (username, host, and port) on the available field. On the Protocol option, set to SFTP. And on the Logon Type option, set to Ask for password. Click the Connect button to start the connection with the server.
When asked for the password, simply enter the password you get from Kinsta. Soon, you will see your remote files be displayed on the right panel of the FileZilla interface.
FileZilla — and most FTP client apps — has no built-in feature to unzip a ZIP file. So, you need unzip the ZIP file of Divi on your computer and then upload the folder from the extraction to your server. You can upload it to public/wp-content/themes.
Wait until the transferring process is done. Once done, login to your WordPress dashboard and go to Appearance -> Themes. You should see Divi on the installed themes list.
Summary
Divi is a WordPress theme that has a built-in page builder called Divi Builder. The page builder of Divi is available as an integral part instead of a required plugin like Avada and Newspaper. That’s why the file size of Divi theme is larger than the majority of WordPress themes out there.
While you can install and run Divi on any hosting service that supports WordPress, you can’t install it via the WordPress dashboard if your web hosting doesn’t allow to upload a file larger than 14 MB. In such a case, you can install Divi using the manual method, which we have just covered above. In Divi itself, you can start your website from premade layout packs or Divi child themes.
