Widgets turn inactive after theme update

[rubenbrief]

Hi,

I've installed the theme_update_checker on my website. Everything's working except the widgets.

I'm using woosidebars to create multiple custom sidebars on my theme. Happens that when I update the theme for the last version, some of the widgets go to the inactive section.

Any hint on this? This happens to anyone else?
Thank you

[YahnisElsts]

Disclaimer: I'm not an expert on themes.

Did the theme name or the theme directory change after the update? That's one thing that could make widgets inactive.

[rubenbrief]

yes changed. I thought that might be the problem. It looked like this:

original: example
after: example-ks~q3

Why are this happening?

[YahnisElsts]

In most cases, the reason that happens is that the update ZIP has the wrong directory structure. All theme files must be inside a directory. If you have multiple files or directories at the top of the ZIP file, WordPress will add a random suffix to the theme directory name.

Here's an example. Incorrect directory structure:

update.zip
    /includes
    style.css
    functions.php

Correct:

update.zip
    /theme-slug-here
        /includes
        style.css
        functions.php

If you're on a Mac, you need to be especially careful about this. By default, macOS displays archive contents in a misleading way. It makes it look like theme files are in a directory when they're actually not. In this case, I would recommend using third-party ZIP software.