Updating Pixelgrade LT

Keeping your theme up to date matters for compatibility with the latest WordPress release, for security, and for access to new features and bug fixes. This article walks through where the update notifications appear, how to check which version you have, where to read the changelog, and how to resolve the common issues that can block an update.

Your Pixelgrade LT site is built on the Anima block theme, and updates are surfaced by the Pixelgrade Assistant plugin. Everything below works the same way on any Pixelgrade LT site.

Where you'll see that an update is available

There are three places where WordPress will tell you that a new theme version is available:

1. From your WordPress Dashboard → Updates, update any outdated themes from the list shown there.
2. In Appearance → Themes, a New version available badge appears over any outdated theme. Click the message and then Update now.
3. In Appearance → Pixelgrade Design (the Pixelgrade hub in your dashboard), a banner reading New Theme Update is Available! appears whenever one of our themes has an update waiting. Use Update now there, or View changelog to see what's changing first.

Checking your current theme version

You can see the exact version of the theme installed on your site in two places:

1. Go to Appearance → Themes, click the active theme card, and the version number appears under the theme name.
2. Go to Appearance → Pixelgrade Design and open the Home tab — the active theme's version is shown on the theme card there.

Reading the changelog

Every Pixelgrade theme has a public changelog with the full history of released versions, including compatibility notes and bug fixes. You can open it from the View changelog link in the update banner, or from your theme's product page. Checking the changelog before updating is a good habit if you want to know exactly what's changing.

Enabling theme updates

If your theme is not connecting to the update system, you will typically see one of these messages:

• An error occurred while updating [theme name]: Update package not available — shown in Dashboard → Updates.
• Automatic update is unavailable for this theme — shown next to the Update now button in Appearance → Themes.

Both messages usually mean your site isn't yet connected to your Pixelgrade account. To connect it:

1. Make sure the Pixelgrade Assistant plugin is installed and active. If you don't see it in Plugins → Installed Plugins, install it from the notification that appears after theme installation, or from Appearance → Pixelgrade Design, which will prompt you to add the recommended plugins.
2. Go to Appearance → Pixelgrade Design → Account and click Connect account.
3. Log in with the pixelgrade.com account you used to buy the theme. If you purchased via ThemeForest, use the Continue with Envato button and your Envato credentials.
4. Once the connection completes, your site is linked to your account and ready to receive updates.

If updates still don't appear after connecting

If your account connection succeeded but updates still don't show up, a fresh re-sync usually resolves it:

1. In Appearance → Pixelgrade Design → Account, click the Disconnect account link in the Account details section.

1. Open your pixelgrade.com account (the My Account page) and confirm you're logged in. If you purchased from Envato or Creative Market, use the dedicated login button for that source.
2. While you're there, click Recheck Licenses on your account page so they re-sync.
3. Back on your site, return to Appearance → Pixelgrade Design → Account and click Connect account again.
4. Follow the on-screen steps to complete the re-sync.

Licensing and renewals are handled through Pixelgrade Plus — its features live in the Pixelgrade Plus section of the Account tab (the Account tab shows a small PLUS badge once Pixelgrade Plus is installed), together with your pixelgrade.com account.

Installing the theme manually

You can always install or update the theme by uploading the zip file yourself. The steps depend on where you purchased the theme.

If you purchased from ThemeForest:

1. Open your ThemeForest account and go to the Downloads page.
2. Download the theme and select the Installable WordPress file only option.
3. In your site dashboard, go to Appearance → Themes → Add New and click Upload Theme.
4. Select the zip file you downloaded and click Replace current with uploaded.

If you purchased directly from Pixelgrade:

1. Go to your pixelgrade.com account and download the theme.
2. In your site dashboard, go to Appearance → Themes → Add New and click Upload Theme.
3. Select the zip file you downloaded and click Replace current with uploaded.

Backing up before an update

The theme updater does not create its own backup. Before any update, we recommend making a full backup of your website. If anything goes wrong — rarely, but it can happen — you can quickly restore the working version from your backup.

Your design choices are kept during an update

Your styling lives separately from the theme files, so it survives an update untouched. On the Anima block theme, those choices are stored by the Site Editor and Style Manager:

• Colors, fonts, and spacing are set in Style Manager, opened from the Site Editor (Appearance → Editor → Styles, or the Open Style Manager action in the hub). These are saved with your site, not the theme files, so they carry over.
• Custom CSS you've added in the Site Editor (Styles → Additional CSS) is also kept through updates.

Using a child theme for file-level changes

Any edits you make directly to the theme's own files will be overwritten when the theme updates. If you want to change or extend the theme code, do it through a child theme so your changes live outside the main theme folder and stay intact through every update.

Renaming the theme or folder

Renaming the theme or its folder has different consequences, and it's best to leave both untouched so the updater keeps working.

• Theme name changed: when the theme updates, the name reverts to the original.
• Theme folder renamed: the updater can no longer track your theme, and you'll stop receiving update notifications.