Evento Plugin Setup Guide 2026: Install, Import and Optimize Envato Template Kits
The first time I imported an Envato template kit, I made every mistake worth making.
I skipped the PHP memory check. I hit import without installing the required plugins first. I imported the template content before importing the global styles. The result was a half-broken layout where some sections had the right design, some had placeholder text that did not match the demo, and the fonts were completely wrong because the global style import had been overridden by the content import.
It took three hours to figure out what went wrong. It would have taken twenty minutes if I had done things in the right order.
That experience is why this guide exists. The Evento plugin itself is excellent — it genuinely makes Envato template kit import fast and reliable. The problems most people encounter are not caused by the plugin. They are caused by skipping the preparation steps or importing in the wrong sequence.
Follow the steps in this guide in order, and the import will work the first time correctly.
What the Evento Plugin Actually Does
Envato Elements and ThemeForest sell premium WordPress template kits — complete design packages that include homepage layouts, inner page templates, global typography and color settings, and often pre-built Elementor sections for headers, footers, and common page components.
Without the Evento plugin, importing these kits requires manually uploading individual components and configuring settings across multiple screens. With the Evento plugin, the same process is handled through a single interface with guided steps.
The plugin connects your WordPress installation to your Envato Elements or ThemeForest account through an API token. Once authenticated, you can browse kits, select one, and import it with the correct sequence handled automatically.
What the Evento plugin installs:
- The kit’s required plugins (typically Elementor and the specific Elementor widgets the kit uses)
- Global style settings — the color palette and typography system the kit was designed around
- Page templates — homepage, about, services, contact, and other pages included in the kit
- Media files — demo images and icons referenced in the templates
Understanding what each of these does helps you understand why import sequence matters — and why errors at one step cause visible problems at later steps.
Before You Start — Four Checks That Prevent Most Import Failures
These four steps take five minutes. Skipping them causes the import failures most people encounter.
Check 1 — WordPress Version
Your WordPress core should be current. Envato template kits are tested against recent WordPress versions. Running an outdated version risks compatibility issues with the Elementor version the kit requires.
Go to Dashboard > Updates. If a WordPress core update is available, apply it before proceeding.
Check 2 — PHP Memory Limit
This is the most common cause of “Import Failed” and “JSON Error” messages. Importing a template kit is resource-intensive — the server is processing multiple files, making API calls to Envato’s servers, and writing a significant amount of data to your database simultaneously. Default PHP memory limits (128MB on many shared hosting plans) are not sufficient for this.
You need at least 256MB. 512MB is better.
How to check your current memory limit:
In WordPress Admin, go to Tools > Site Health > Info > Server. Find “PHP Memory Limit” in the list.
How to increase it:
In your hosting control panel (cPanel), find PHP Settings or PHP Configuration. Set memory_limit = 256M. On managed WordPress hosting, this is typically already set to 256MB or higher. On basic shared hosting, you may need to request this from your hosting provider’s support team or set it manually in your php.ini file.
Check 3 — Envato API Token
Your API token is the authentication credential that connects the Evento plugin to your Envato account. Have it ready before you start the installation.
To generate your token:
- Log into your Envato account at elements.envato.com or themeforest.net
- Click your profile icon in the top right
- Go to Settings > API Keys (or Generate Personal Token on newer interface)
- Create a new token, copy it, and save it in a text file
API tokens expire after a period of inactivity. If you have a previously generated token, generate a new one to be safe — using an expired token is one of the causes of “Invalid License” errors during setup.
Check 4 — Create a Backup
Before importing any template kit, back up your current site. The Evento plugin import process makes changes to your database and media library that are not easily reversible.
If you have UpdraftPlus installed, run a manual backup now. The backup takes three to five minutes and prevents hours of recovery work if the import produces an unexpected conflict.
Step 1 — Installing the Evento Plugin
Go to WordPress Admin > Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin.
Click “Choose File” and select the Evento plugin .zip file you downloaded from Envato Elements or ThemeForest.
Important distinction: Evento is a plugin, not a theme. If you go to Appearance > Themes > Add New and try to upload it there, you will see the “Style.css missing” error. This is the most common first-time mistake. Always upload through Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin.
Click Install Now, then click Activate Plugin when the installation completes.
After activation, you will see a new “Elements” or “Envato Elements” menu item in your WordPress sidebar.
Step 2 — Connecting Your Envato Account via API Token
Go to the new Elements menu item > Settings.
Find the API Token field and paste the token you generated in Check 3. Click Save or Connect.
If the token is accepted, the interface refreshes and shows your Envato account connected with access to your purchased kits.
If you see an “Invalid Token” or “License Error”:
- Verify you copied the complete token without any trailing spaces
- Generate a fresh token from your Envato account (tokens can expire or become invalid)
- Check that you are using the correct type of token — Elements subscriptions and ThemeForest purchases use different authentication flows in some versions of the plugin
Step 3 — Selecting Your Template Kit
Once connected, browse the available kits from within the plugin interface. Find the kit you want to import.
Before hitting import, click “Install Requirements” (or “Install Required Plugins” depending on your plugin version). This installs Elementor, Elementor Pro if required, and any other plugins the kit depends on.
Why this step must come first:
Template kit content is built with Elementor widgets. If Elementor is not installed and activated before importing the kit’s page templates, those widgets render as empty placeholder blocks. The pages import successfully but display nothing because the required plugin is missing. Installing requirements first eliminates this problem entirely.
Step 4 — Import in the Correct Sequence
This is the step most guides cover incorrectly, and it is the most important one for getting a result that matches the demo.
The correct import sequence:
First: Global Styles
Every template kit is designed around a specific color palette and typography system. The global styles import applies this system to your site — setting primary colors, heading fonts, body fonts, and spacing values that all page templates reference.
If you import page templates before importing global styles, the templates use placeholder defaults instead of the kit’s intended colors and fonts. The layout is there but the visual identity is wrong.
Import global styles first. Click “Import Global Styles” or the equivalent option in your kit import interface. Wait for this to complete before moving to the next step.
Second: Required Pages (in order)
Most kits include a specific import order recommendation. If yours does, follow it. Generally:
- Homepage template
- Header and footer templates
- Inner page templates (About, Services, Contact, etc.)
Importing the homepage first lets you verify the global styles applied correctly before importing the rest of the kit.
Third: Demo Content (if applicable)
Some kits include demo content — sample blog posts, sample portfolio items, sample testimonials. Import this last, after all templates are verified. Demo content you do not need can be deleted after import, but importing it last prevents it from conflicting with the template import process.
Step 5 — Fixing the Common Import Errors
Import Failed / JSON Error
Cause: PHP memory limit too low or server timeout during import.
Fix: Increase PHP memory to 256M (see Check 2 above). If already at 256M and still failing, try increasing to 512M. Also check max_execution_time — import processes on slow servers can exceed the default 30-second timeout. Contact your hosting provider to temporarily increase this if needed.
Broken Layout / Wrong Colors or Fonts
Cause: Page templates were imported before global styles.
Fix: Go back to the kit import screen and import Global Styles. Then re-import the page templates that appear incorrect. The global styles will now apply correctly.
Images Not Showing / SVG Icons Missing
Cause: WordPress blocks SVG file uploads by default for security reasons. Some kits include SVG icons and illustrations that do not display because of this block.
Fix: Install the “SVG Support” plugin (free on wordpress.org). After activation, SVGs upload and display normally. Run the WP Skillz Website Malware Scanner after enabling SVG support — SVG files can contain malicious code, so confirming your kit’s SVGs are clean is worth doing.
Invalid License / API Token Error
Cause: The API token has expired or was copied incorrectly.
Fix: Log into your Envato account and generate a fresh API token. Delete the old token from the Evento plugin settings and paste the new one. This resolves the issue in virtually all cases.
Style.css Missing Error
Cause: You are trying to upload the Evento plugin through Appearance > Themes instead of Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin.
Fix: Navigate to Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin and upload the same .zip file from there.
Optimizing Speed After Import — The Critical Step Most People Skip
Envato template kits use demo images that are full-resolution for demonstration purposes. Hero images at 3000×2000px, section backgrounds at 4000px wide, gallery images not compressed for web. Your imported site with these demo images will load slowly until they are replaced and optimized.
The optimization process:
First, identify which demo images you are keeping versus which you are replacing with your own content. Images you are replacing do not need optimization — you will upload new ones in their place.
For demo images you are keeping, use the WP Skillz Bulk Image Resizer to convert them to WebP format and compress them to appropriate sizes:
- Hero and full-width background images: 1920px wide maximum, under 200KB
- Section background images: 1200px wide, under 120KB
- Card and feature images: 800px wide, under 80KB
For your own images that you are uploading to replace demo content, run them through the same compression process before uploading to WordPress. This prevents the problem from recurring as you populate the site with real content.
After completing image optimization, run the Website Speed Test on your site. Compare the score before and after image optimization — most sites with unoptimized demo images score 30-45 on mobile and reach 70-85 after proper image compression.
Mobile Verification After Import
Template kits are built and previewed on desktop. The mobile layout is handled through responsive CSS, but specific elements sometimes need adjustment at mobile viewports — particularly hero sections with overlapping text and images, multi-column feature sections that do not stack cleanly at narrow widths, and navigation menus that have been customized beyond their default behavior.
Run the WP Skillz Responsive Website Checker at three viewports after completing the import:
- 390px (iPhone standard): The most important check. This viewport covers iPhone 13/14/15/16.
- 360px (Android standard): Catches elements that look fine at 390px but break at slightly narrower widths.
- 768px (tablet): Verifies the mid-range responsive behavior between mobile and desktop.
Check specifically:
- Does the hero section render cleanly with text readable on the mobile background?
- Does the navigation menu collapse to a hamburger on mobile?
- Does the hamburger menu open and close correctly on tap?
- Do multi-column sections stack to single column on mobile, or do they remain cramped multi-column?
- Are any elements cut off at the right edge of the screen (horizontal overflow)?
SEO Configuration After Import
Template kits import page content and layout. They do not configure SEO settings. After completing the visual import and optimization, spend fifteen minutes on these SEO basics:
Rename demo images you are keeping. WordPress saves image filenames in the database and uses them in page source. A file named image-123.jpg provides no SEO context. Rename images to descriptive filenames before uploading (or when uploading replacements for demo content): homepage-hero-wordpress-developer.webp is findable and provides keyword context.
Delete demo pages you will not use. Template kits typically include eight to fifteen pages demonstrating different layouts. Delete every page your site does not actually need. Keeping demo pages creates unnecessary indexed content and confuses visitors who stumble onto them.
Set correct meta titles and descriptions. After importing, check each page’s SEO title and meta description in Rank Math or Yoast. Demo pages often have placeholder titles like “Home Page Template” that need to be replaced with your actual content and target keywords.
Add schema markup to key pages. Use the WP Skillz Schema Markup Generator to add Organization schema to your homepage, Service schema to your services pages, and FAQ schema to any page with a FAQ section. Schema markup is what makes your pages eligible for rich results in Google — something template kits do not configure automatically.
Evento Setup Checklist
Before importing:
- WordPress core updated to latest version
- PHP memory limit set to 256MB or higher
- Envato API token generated and saved
- Site backup completed
Installation:
- Evento plugin uploaded via Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin (not Themes)
- Plugin activated successfully
- API token entered and account connected
Import sequence:
- Required plugins installed first (Elementor etc.)
- Global styles imported before page templates
- Homepage template imported and verified
- Remaining page templates imported
- Demo content imported last (if applicable)
After import:
- All demo images compressed to WebP using Bulk Image Resizer
- Speed test run — mobile score above 70
- Responsive check at 390px, 360px, 768px — layout verified
- Demo pages not needed deleted
- SEO titles and descriptions configured for each real page
- Schema markup added to key pages
- Malware scan run — clean result confirmed
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does Evento show “Style.css missing” when I upload it? You are uploading through Appearance > Themes instead of Plugins > Add New. Evento is a plugin, not a theme. Navigate to Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin and upload the same file.
The template imported but looks nothing like the demo. Why? Almost always caused by importing page templates before global styles. Go back to the kit import screen and import Global Styles. This applies the kit’s color and typography system. Then re-import or refresh the page templates that look incorrect.
Can I use Evento with themes other than Elementor-compatible ones? Evento’s template kits are built for Elementor page builder. The layouts are Elementor-specific and will not render correctly in standard WordPress block editor or other page builders. For non-Elementor builds, Evento is not the right tool — look for FSE (Full Site Editing) templates compatible with the WordPress block editor instead.
How do I know if my API token has expired? If the Evento plugin shows “Invalid License” or “Authentication Failed” when trying to browse or import kits, generate a fresh token from your Envato account settings. Delete the old token from the plugin settings and paste the new one.
Is it safe to enable SVG support after importing a kit with SVG files? Yes, with a caveat. SVG files are technically capable of containing malicious code because they support JavaScript. The SVG files in official Envato kits are reviewed and clean. After enabling SVG support and confirming your kit’s SVGs display correctly, run the malware scanner to verify no problematic code was introduced.
Conclusion — The Right Order Makes Everything Work
The Evento plugin genuinely simplifies Envato template kit imports. The setup process that used to take hours of manual configuration now takes twenty minutes when done correctly.
The key word is “correctly.” The sequence matters: memory check, backup, install requirements, global styles, then page templates. Each step sets up the conditions the next step requires. Skipping or reordering them produces the errors and broken layouts that frustrate most first-time users.
Follow the checklist. Run the speed test and responsive check after import. Compress your demo images before they go live.
Connect with me on LinkedIn if you encounter a specific error during your Evento setup — I have worked through most of them and can usually identify the cause quickly.
Waseem Aijaz — WordPress Developer & SEO Specialist, WP Skillz Bulk Image Resizer | All Dev Tools | About WP Skillz
