Mara Documentation
Thank you for purchasing my theme. If you don't find the answers for your questions in this help file, please feel free to email via my user page contact form . Thanks!
License
When you purchase a theme from Themeforest, the Regular License allows you to use the theme in a single end product. One theme license for one domain ( one theme installation in a single domain )
The billing process and licensing term are fully managed by Envato Ltd. and we don't have any control over this matter.
For more information about licensing check this page https://themeforest.net/licenses/standard?license=regular
FAQ:
Can I use the theme on a test site, then move it to a live site when finished?
Yes, you can use the theme on a test site to build it, then move it to the live site once you're finished. You'll have to remove the theme files from the test site.
Getting Started
If you are new to WordPress here's what you have to do:
Installing Wordpress
In order to install the current version of WordPress Theme, please go to https://wordpress.org and download the current version of WordPress. For information on how to install WordPress, please see the WordPress codex page https://codex.wordpress.org/Installing_WordPress .
Installing Theme
You can do it in 2 ways:
- Via Wodpress Admin: Go to Appearance-> Install Themes -> Upload and choose mara.zip file ((Make sure you are not uploading the whole zip file that you've downloaded (including dummy content, documentation) but only the mara.zip file). Click Install Now.
- Via FTP: Upload mara folder into wp-content/themes folder.
- After you've installed the theme make sure to activate it.
Import Dummy Content
If you want your website to look like the live demo, then customize it as you want, follow these steps:
- Click Tools > Import
- Click on WordPress
- Install the Importer by clicking "Install Now" and then "Activate Plugin Run Importer"
- Upload the xml file from demo xml folder: "mara-demo-xml.xml".
- Now assign your posts to an existing user, check the "Download and import file attachments" checkbox and click "Submit".
Now follow this steps:
-
Go to Appearance > Menus, select "Primary Menu" at the bottom of the page and click Save.
After you've installed the theme, you can customize it in Appearance > Customize.
Setup Menu
- Go to Appearance - > Menus tab
- Add new menu, enter Menu Name
- Add Menu Items. Select the pages you've just created and add them to the menu
- Drag & drop the menu items as you like. Check the image below. Than save the menu
- !IMPORTANT: make sure the Theme Locations option is set to Primary Menu.
Pages General
First go to Settings -> Permalinks. Then you can see Common Settings and choose Post name. This is for better SEO permalinks.
The theme comes with the following custom Page Templates:
- Default Template - The default page
- Contact Template - A page to display contact form and info
- Full Width Template
How to use a template:
- Click Pages > Add New.
- Look for Page Attributes on the right side and click on the "Template" drop-down menu.
- Choose a page template.
- Click the Publish button above.
- Now you can add your new page to your Menu.
Setup Pages
Homepage
In order to add the home intro titles go to Appearance > Customize > Homepage Options > Home Intro Big / Small title fields.
The Homepage has multiple layout variations. To select one of them, go to Appearance > Customize > Blog Layouts.
In order to add the home slider, go to Appearance > Customize > Homepage Options. In the Home - Top Slider - Featured Articles IDs field add the articles IDs you want in the slider, separated by comma.
Posts
Creating posts is nothing new if you have basic experience with WordPress. To add an image to a new post, go to Featured Image option and select / upload your image.
Contact Page
- Click Pages > Add New
- Look for Page Attributes on the right side and click on the Template drop-down menu. Select the "FullWidth" template
- Click Publish
- Install and activate the contact 7 plugin ( https://wordpress.org/plugins/contact-form-7/)
Go to Contact > Add New and create a new contact form
Add the following code in the Form option to look like in my demo
<div class="row"> <div class="col-sm-4"> [text* your-name class:comm-field placeholder "Name"] </div> <div class="col-sm-4"> [email* your-email class:comm-field placeholder "Email"] </div> <div class="col-sm-4"> [text* your-subject class:comm-field placeholder "Subject"] </div> </div> <!--row--> [textarea* your-message id:msg-contact x5 placeholder "Message"] <p class="contact-btn">[submit id:submit-contact "Send message"]</p>
- Click the Save button. Copy the shortcode and paste it in the contact page.
Author Page
In order to customize the author page go to Users > Your Profile . There you'll find fields for social media. Also add small description at the "Biographical Info" to appear on the author page.
Customization
Theme Customizer
Mara is using the WordPress's new Theme Customizer feature. Go to Appearance > Customize and change site title, colors, upload your logo and more. You'll see real time preview of changes you made to your site.
Child Theme
Mara theme comes with a child theme in the main download package.
A child theme is a theme that inherits the functionality and styling of another theme, called the parent theme.
Child themes are recommended if you modify the theme files code and don't want to lose your customization when updating the theme to a new version.