Why is my Elementor Template Kit import failing, and how do I fix it? – Envato Sandbox

Most import errors happen when the wrong file is uploaded, a server requirement isn't met, or a plugin conflict is blocking the process — this guide covers the most common errors and how to resolve each one.

This guide provides general help for common issues you may encounter when using the Envato Elements plugin for WordPress to import Elementor Template Kits downloaded from Envato.

For help with the Elementor builder itself, see Elementor's troubleshooting guide.

Why am I getting a "theme is missing the style.css stylesheet" error?

If you try to import an Elementor Template Kit using the WordPress theme installer under Appearance > Themes > Add New, you'll get this error.

Envato Elementor Template Kits are not WordPress Themes. They contain design data for the Elementor Page Builder plugin only, and must be imported using the Envato Elements plugin for WordPress. See How to Upload & Install Elementor Template Kits from Envato.

Why am I getting "Upload Valid Template Kit Zip" or "Failed to Process Zip File"?

See our dedicated guide: Template Kit zip and file format errors.

Why am I getting "Template Kit Install Error: PHP Zip extension not loaded"?

This means the PHP Zip extension isn't enabled on your web server. See Template Kit zip and file format errors for how to check and fix this.

Why is my imported kit empty?

You've successfully installed and imported your template kit, but opening a template or inserting it into a new Elementor page shows nothing — the builder is empty. This is most often because the Flexbox Feature isn't enabled. All kits published after Oct 1, 2023 require Flexbox to be active.

Fix: Go to Elementor > Settings, click the Features tab, scroll to Stable Features, and make sure Flexbox Container shows a green dot or is set to Active.

What causes "Unexpected Error: Sorry there was an unexpected error from API Call..."?

Unexpected errors are almost always a hosting configuration problem — either WordPress lacks the correct permissions or resources, or a plugin conflict is limiting resources needed for import. The Envato Elements plugin includes an error handler that shows WordPress errors in a popup (to prevent you from being locked out of your admin) and provides debugging information to help diagnose the cause.

Below are common Unexpected Errors and general troubleshooting steps.

How do I find my error code?

Most errors have a straightforward label, but some show the HTML code of the page your browser would normally display.

If you see HTML code, check for the plain text to determine your error code, then click Show Debug Details — at the bottom is often a paragraph outlining the problem and what to do next.

Tips:

If your URL is behind SSL (https://), confirm the padlock icon is closed with no SSL issues present.
Avoid leaving your WordPress window open and idle for long periods — you may just need to log in again for a fresh session.
Make sure no other processes are running in a different browser tab on your site (e.g., a WordPress update, plugin update, or other maintenance activity).
Make sure you're on a live WordPress install with a publicly reachable domain name. Temp URLs, localhost, direct IPs, password-protected, or maintenance-mode sites can't communicate properly with the content servers and will produce unpredictable results.

On a localhost? We can't debug issues related to localhost setups such as Bitnami or XAMPP. Refer to your software's documentation, or see this XAMPP install guide.

What do the common unexpected errors mean?

Failed to import template: Invalid File

Most commonly caused by an unsupported PHP version, though it may also indicate the uploaded file isn't supported by your server or WordPress, or you're trying to import a single JSON file instead of the full kit.

Note: This article's PHP version guidance should match whatever figure is confirmed in Template Kit zip and file format errors.

If you're confident the item is a genuine Elementor Template Kit from Envato, see the zip file troubleshooting above.

SyntaxError: Unexpected token… 404 Not Found

Typically caused by permission issues — either in your WordPress setup or server configuration — that prevent Elementor from locating or accessing its template storage folder.

Follow the General Troubleshooting section below to check your WordPress setup.
See Elementor's guide to fixing 404 errors.
If the issue persists, contact your host to check your setup, .htaccess file, and DNS settings.

SyntaxError: Unexpected token… 403 Forbidden

403 errors indicate a permission issue with your server's folders or files, or incorrect .htaccess rules — this isn't something Envato can resolve directly. Common causes:

Incorrect URL or SSL setup after a server migration.
Security plugins like Wordfence or Sucuri.
Not being logged in as an administrator.
Trying to import a WordPress theme or other incompatible product.

Step 1: Verify compatibility. If the item listing doesn't say Elementor Template Kit in the title and description, it's not compatible — our plugin won't install WordPress themes, Site Templates, or HTML Templates.

Step 2: Check your connection.

Make sure you're not behind a proxy, VPN, or a browser extension causing network changes.
Confirm the domain isn't in maintenance mode.
Log out of WordPress and back in to refresh your session — you must be logged in with an Administrator role.

Step 3: Check your plugins.

Confirm you're logged in as an administrator.
Go to Plugins and ensure everything is updated.
Deactivate site-modifying plugins such as Jetpack, Wordfence, Sucuri, Really Simple SSL, Yoast, or any plugin that modifies URL handling. If this resolves it, reactivate once your templates are imported and pages are set up.

Further help: Check your host's own documentation for 403-specific guidance:

TypeError: Failed to Fetch

May occur when using the search feature under the Free Kits or Template Kits tabs, or when importing a template kit file, and often requires further review by your hosting provider. If a Show Debug Details button appears, click it for the detailed error code to help your host diagnose the cause.

Common error codes:

cURL error 35: gnutls_handshake() failed: A TLS fatal alert has been received.
cURL error 56: Received HTTP code 403 from proxy.
cURL error 7: Failed to connect to <url> port 443

General troubleshooting:

Log out of WordPress.
Clear your browser cache.
Log in again.
Under Settings > General, ensure your Site URL and WordPress URL match — if you have SSL, both must start with https.
Confirm your server is running a recent version of PHP and the cURL library.
The cURL error can be DNS-related — your host may need to switch DNS configuration to OpenDNS.
Ask your host if there's a wp-cron limitation, or if loopback is disabled.
Ask your host if a firewall or security module (e.g., mod_security) could be blocking outgoing cURL requests.
Go to Elements > Settings and confirm all Server Limit checks are green — red warnings must be resolved by your host.

SyntaxError: Unexpected end of JSON input

May occur when importing a page that includes a content block template not yet imported — for example, if your kit uses the Metform plugin and you haven't imported the forms, this may appear on the Contact page import.

This can also occur when importing Envato "Free Kits" if you try to import a template requiring Elementor Pro without Pro installed — Pro templates always show a dependency notice underneath.

Make sure you're following our Elementor Template Kit Install Guides correctly (linked below).

Failed to import template: Invalid template type

Occurs if you try to import an Elementor Pro template (header, popup, WooCommerce page, or Loop) without Elementor Pro installed and connected. Pro templates always show a dependency notice underneath. Check the item page for Pro requirements and installation instructions.

SyntaxError: Unexpected token… 502 Bad Gateway or 504 Gateway Timeout

Gateway errors originate from your host server or an upstream server (such as Cloudflare) being overloaded. Check with your hosting provider for specific troubleshooting.

SyntaxError: Unexpected token… 503 Service Unavailable or 500 Internal Server Error

Debug Details typically shows an extended message like: "The server encountered an internal error or misconfiguration and was unable to complete your request. Please contact the server administrator..."

Both 503 and 500 errors indicate your server lacks the resources to process the import — due to slow connectivity, PHP configuration, or plugin conflicts. Envato can't solve host-related issues, but here's some general troubleshooting.

What's the general troubleshooting process?

Log out of WordPress, then log in again to refresh your session (you must have the Administrator role).
Go to Settings > Permalinks, ensure Post Name is selected, then click Save (regardless of whether you changed anything).
Go to Appearance > Themes and confirm the Hello Elementor theme is installed and active. Other themes may work with Envato Template Kits, but should be activated later once the kit and templates are installed successfully, to avoid potential conflicts.
Go to Plugins and deactivate all plugins other than Elementor/Elementor Pro and the Envato Elements plugin.
Run any pending updates.
Go to Elementor > Settings, click the Features tab:
- Under Ongoing Experiments, set all items to Inactive.
- Under Stable Features, ensure Flexbox Container is Active and Build with AI is Inactive (unless you specifically pay for this feature).
Go to Tools > System Health. If it shows anything but Good, or you see REST API errors, resolve these before continuing.
Check your PHP configuration. Compare the values under Elementor > System Info against these minimums:
- PHP Memory Limit: 256MB minimum
- PHP Max Input Vars: 1000 minimum (3000 for WooCommerce)
- PHP Max Post Size: 128MB minimum
- Max Upload Size: 64MB minimum (below 10MB typically causes invalid file/image transfer errors; below 50MB will disallow most website image loads or theme uploads)
- open_basedir should be disabled
- allow_url_fopen should be set to ON
Your host should be able to troubleshoot and fix the issue by checking your server error logs. They may also review WordPress's server requirements and Elementor's requirements.

Finally, make sure you're installing your Elementor Template Kit using the correct method:

Don't install kits through the Elementor builder's Envato button.
Don't attempt to install WordPress themes, plugins, or other template types using the Envato Elements plugin.
Don't install Elementor kits from non-Envato sources using the Envato Elements plugin.

Full install guide: How to Upload & Install Elementor Template Kits from Envato

My error isn't listed here — how do I get help?

Email the address listed on the error popup with:

Your URL.
The name of your Elementor Template Kit, or a link to the item on our website.
A screenshot of the error message, or
The contents of Show Debug Details (if available) copied into the body of your email. Please don't send attachments.