How to Change the Default Theme in Moodle

A Moodle administrator can change the site’s default theme without replacing course content. Make the change on a staging copy first, especially if the current theme supplies custom navigation, login pages, or course layouts.

Change the theme in Moodle 5.1

1. Sign in as a site administrator and open Site administration > Appearance > Themes.
2. Locate an installed theme that supports your Moodle version and choose Select theme.
3. Visit the home page and a course to confirm the new appearance. If old styling remains, use Clear theme caches on the Themes page.

The available themes depend on the Moodle release and plugins installed on your site. Older Moodle releases use different labels, including Theme selector and Use theme. Follow the documentation for your installed version rather than expecting an older screenshot to match.

If you need to install a theme first

Check its supported Moodle and PHP versions, license, update history, and maintenance requirements before installation. Keep a recoverable backup of the database, application files, and data directory. Do not overwrite a bundled theme to apply custom styling; that makes upgrades and rollback harder.

Check more than the home page

• Test a student’s course navigation, assignment submission, and quiz pages.
• Test login, password reset, and error messages without an administrator session.
• Check a narrow phone screen, keyboard navigation, readable text, and visible focus indicators.
• Confirm custom logos, menus, and embedded media still load.

If only some courses or users show the new theme, check whether course, category, or user theme overrides are enabled. If a third-party theme breaks a critical workflow, return to the previously working theme while you investigate on staging.

Reference: Moodle 5.1 themes and theme selection. This procedure was checked against the documentation; it is not a claim that every third-party theme has been tested.