By the end of this video the theme is downloaded, installed, set as default, and you know the one naming detail that trips up every drush command afterwards.
What it needs first
Very little. The info file declares core_version_requirement: ^9 || ^10 || ^11 || ^12, so Drupal 9, 10, 11 and 12 all accept it, and the README states plainly that the theme requires no modules to be installed. There is no build step, no Node, no compiler: the W3.CSS framework itself ships inside the theme as plain CSS.
Installing it
- With Composer, run
composer require drupal/d8w3css. Otherwise download the archive and unpack it into your site'sthemesdirectory. - Visit
/admin/appearanceand scroll to the uninstalled themes. - Find W3CSS Theme V2 and click Install and set as default.
- From the command line the equivalent is
drush theme:enable drupal8_w3css_theme.
The naming detail
The project short name is d8w3css, which is what Composer and the drupal.org URL use. The theme's machine name is drupal8_w3css_theme, which is what drush wants, what the settings path uses — /admin/appearance/settings/drupal8_w3css_theme — and what a sub-theme must put after base theme:. Mixing the two is the most common reason a command reports that the theme does not exist.
The first ten minutes after install
- Place blocks into the 22 regions at
/admin/structure/block; the theme prints nothing at all for a region you leave empty, wrappers included. - Open theme settings and pick a predefined colour theme and a site width.
- Replace the shipped copyright text and the sample social media URLs, which point at the maintainer's own accounts by default.
The W3CSS Theme project page has the full feature list. One decision to make now rather than later: on a brand new Drupal 10.1 or newer site, its successor Solo is where new development happens. On Drupal 9 that option does not exist, because Solo declares ^10.1 || ^11 || ^12 — install this theme instead.
Want a Drupal theme built or customised around your brand rather than configured by hand? See Drupal theming services, or request a quote.
