Installation

How to upload, install, and activate the HiAnime WordPress theme

Updated February 22, 2026
OtakuThemes Team

Before You Begin

Make sure your server meets all system requirements before proceeding, in particular:

  • WordPress 6.7 or higher
  • PHP 8.1 – 8.3
  • Ioncube Loader, cURL, and fileinfo PHP extensions enabled

You should also have your HiAnime theme .zip file downloaded from the member area (under Licenses > Download).

Backup Your Site

If you're installing on an existing WordPress site, always create a complete backup before proceeding.

Step 1: Upload and Activate the Theme

Via WordPress Admin (Recommended)

  1. Log in to your WordPress admin panel
  2. Go to Appearance > Themes
  3. Click Add New, then click Upload Theme
  4. Choose the hianime.zip file downloaded from your member area
  5. Click Install Now
  6. Once the upload completes, click Activate

Via FTP

  1. Extract hianime.zip on your computer — you'll see a folder named hianime
  2. Connect to your server with an FTP client (FileZilla, Cyberduck, etc.)
  3. Navigate to /wp-content/themes/
  4. Upload the entire hianime folder
  5. In your WordPress admin, go to Appearance > Themes
  6. Find HiAnime and click Activate
Upload Size Limit

If you see an error about the file being too large, either use the FTP method above or ask your host to increase upload_max_filesize and post_max_size to at least 64MB.

Step 2: Install the Meta Box Plugin

After activating HiAnime, WordPress will display a notice asking you to install required plugins. Meta Box is required — the theme's custom fields (anime metadata, episodes, etc.) depend on it.

  1. Click the Begin installing plugins link in the admin notice, or go to Appearance > Install Plugins
  2. Select Meta Box from the list and click Install
  3. Once installed, click Activate
Meta Box

Use the Meta Box — install it from the WordPress plugin repository.

Step 3: Activate Your License

Your theme must be licensed to function correctly. There are two ways to activate your license:

Method 1: Activate via the Member Area (Recommended)

This method adds your domain to the license from the OtakuThemes website before activating in WordPress.

  1. Log in to the OtakuThemes Member Area
  2. Go to the Licenses tab
  3. Find your HiAnime license and click + Activate on new domain
  4. Enter your domain (e.g. yoursite.com) and click Activate
  5. Back in your WordPress admin, go to OtakuThemes > License
  6. The license should now show as Active
Clear Cache After Activation

If the license still shows as inactive after adding your domain, clear all caches (browser cache, WordPress cache, server cache) and refresh the page.

Method 2: Activate via the OtakuThemes Dashboard

You can also input your license key directly inside WordPress:

  1. In your WordPress admin, go to OtakuThemes > License
  2. Enter your license key (found in the member area under your license details)
  3. Click Activate

Step 4: Import Demo Content (Optional)

HiAnime includes a one-click demo importer in the OtakuThemes Dashboard. This will populate your site with sample anime, episodes, pages, and menus so you can see the theme in action.

  1. Go to OtakuThemes > Demo Import
  2. Click the Import button
Demo Import

The demo import will create sample content but will not overwrite your existing pages or settings. It's safe to run on a fresh WordPress installation.

Step 5: Configure Permalinks

After importing demo content, flush your permalink settings to ensure all URLs resolve correctly:

  1. Go to Settings > Permalinks
  2. Select Post name (or keep your current preferred structure)
  3. Click Save Changes (even if you don't change anything — this flushes the rewrite rules)

Verifying Your Installation

After completing all steps:

  1. Visit your site's homepage — it should display the HiAnime theme
  2. In your WordPress admin, confirm the Anime, News, and Comments menus are visible in the sidebar
  3. Go to OtakuThemes > License and confirm the status shows Active

Next Steps