Yesterday, I installed WordPress on my new domain techtreble.com. The installation went smoothly without any problems. Later I decided to install a new theme on my blog by uploading the .zip file from my computer. The file uploaded successfully, but at the time of installation, I got an error like this – The link you followed has expired.Below is the screenshot of the error.
the link you followed has expired
Error message – the link you followed has expired
I tried many times, but every time, I was unable to install the theme. After searching the Internet for possible causes, I found that the problem is due to some misconfiguration of PHP settings on the web host. If you are also facing this problem while trying to install a new theme for your WordPress Blog, then keep reading.
WordPress shows this error when someone is trying to install a theme of size more than 2 MB. By default, for most web hosts, the maximum upload file size is 2 MB. If you try to install a theme of size more than 2 MB, the WordPress shows the error – The link you followed has expired. Please try again. This is somewhat weird because one can never think that this error has something to do with the maximum upload size.

The link you followed has expired – Solution

You can get rid of this error either by changing the PHP settings in the Cpanel or by modifying the php.ini file. I will suggest the former method as it doesn’t involve the risk of messing up with your necessary system data.
  • Log in to your Cpanel and look for the Select PHP version option. This option is usually found under the Software menu. Click it, and PHP Selector page will open. Most probably, you will see 5.6 (native) PHP version as the currently selected version.
the link you followed has expired wordpress
Selecting PHP version
the link you followed has expired wordpress theme
The Current PHP version
  • From the dropdown list, select either 7.1 or 7.2. Wait for the advanced options to show up. On the top-right corner, click the Switch to PHP Options link. Again select the PHP version 7.1 or 7.2 from the drop-down if required.
Switching to PHP options
cannot install theme the link you followed has expired WordPress
  • Make the following changes and hit the save button.
upload_max_filesize = 64M
post_max_size = 64M
max_execution_time = 300
cannot upload wordpress theme
Making required changes
wordpress the link you followed has expired
After making the changes
  • Not forget to click the Set as current button after making the above changes.
To make sure the new settings have been applied, check the currently selected PHP version again. Now, try to install theme after refreshing the WordPress admin area and this time it should install successfully.
Alternatively, you can also make the changes mentioned above in the php.ini file to make it work. But make sure to create the backup of the file first, so that you can revert changes if anything goes wrong.
If this works for you, let me know by dropping a comment below.