GETTING STARTED
Before all else you must setup a WordPress version on your server. After downloading the package, you will have “Blade” folder and “Blade.zip” file inside the Theme package. You can either choose to upload the Theme to your server via FTP (just upload the folder “Blade” into the folder wp-content/themes) or via WordPress upload function ( Appearance > Themes > Install Themes > Upload ) using the “Blade.zip” file.
After the installation of the Blade Theme do not forget to install the required plugins: Visual Composer, Blade Extension Plugin and Contact Form 7. Especially without the Visual Composer and the Blade Extension Plugin you won’t be able to use most of our elements.
This is for sure the easiest and fastest way to update Blade. The only thing you have to do is to activate the theme update
and enter your Themeforest username and an API key (from Envato).
Follow the steps below in order to use the auto update:
- Go Theme Options > Theme Update
- Enable Theme Update
- Insert your Themeforest username and an API key from your Envato account (Go Settings > API Keys on Envato’s account)
- Save changes and you’re ready.
When there is a new update of Blade you will be informed (message at top) in Appearance >Themes screen and in Theme Options screen. Then you will be able to update Blade with just one-click. Don’t forget to update the required plugins in case that you are prompted.
With Blade, you have the possibility to import any of the demos with just ONE click. Just follow the steps below:
- Install and activate the required plugin Blade Demo Data Importer
- Go Blade Demos in the WP Dashboard
- Select the demo you wish to import (you can additionally select to import Dummy Content, Theme Options or/and Widgets).
- Click Import and in a few seconds you will have the whole content in your WP installation.
- Have Fun!
THEME OPTIONS
Blade Options panel is built with the renowned Redux Framework and gives you many configuration options in a user-friendly environment. Click the Blade tab from the main WordPress navigation and then you will be able to access and enjoy many core features of Blade. All the options have detailed descriptions in order to explain their purpose.
Blade’s main philosophy is that the user can have the power to make global settings from Theme Options on how to change the appearance of each Post format ( Pages/Posts/Portfolios) and in addition to be able to override almost everything through the Single Post formats (Pages/Posts/Portfolios). For example: Under Theme Options > Page Options you can select on whether you wish your Page header to overlap the content and select the Header Style you prefer (Default/Light/Dark). That means that the settings you will make will affect every single page of your site. In a creation of a Page, you can surely override this selection (as and most of them). This is the Blade Magic!
Most of these elements can have their own align without one’s place affecting the other’s. This way, virtually dozens of combinations can turn out. If you take into account the TopBar that offers 2 places (left and right) and it’s off the logic On/Off and Add elements, Blade can satisfy even the most demanding user.
Last but not least, Blade provides 3 different Header Modes that you can find under Theme Options > Header Options > Header Mode. The Default Header Mode, the Logo on Top Mode and the Side Mode. All the modes have their own settings (colors, logos etc) via Appearance > Customize.
Don’t forget that above your content you can set the default titles (posts, pages, portfolio items), the Feature section area ( available in pages, posts, portfolio items and Woo products ) and the Anchor menu (available in pages, posts, portfolio items and Woo products ) option.
Blade provides multiple footer layouts that you can choose from. You can select various column layouts or have a single column if you wish. You just need to go to Theme Options > Footer Options in order to build your footer.
Afterwards the creation of your footer layout, you will probably want to add your content. Simply go to Appearance > Widgets. Drag any of the provided widgets to the footer widget areas (Footer 1-4), order and reorder them as you wish and customise the settings.
In the Copyright Area, you can add text (TinyMCE), socials and menu, centered or in the left-right corners.
HANDCRAFTED ELEMENTS
The Blog element is undoubtedly one of the most important elements which most of the users will probably use. Based on that fact, Blade really offers multiple options for this element. Let’s see them briefly, starting with the basic styles.
- Large Media
- Small Media
- Masonry
- Grid
- Carousel
The Portfolio element is surely one of the most famous elements. Based on that fact, Blade really offers multiple options for this element as well. Let’s see them briefly, starting with the basic styles.
- Grid Style
- Masonry Style
- Small Media
- Carousel
With this element, you can simply use any Contact Form 7 you’ve created. When using the Contact Form, the default layout is to have one field per row. However, you can have multiple fields in the same row by adding some HTML markup. For example:
EXTRA FEATURES
The Sliding Area feature is an extra hidden sidebar area at the right of the site. It can be used in order to have the widgets of the Sidebar area you select via Appearance > Widgets. The main concept behind this is the quick access to useful information. Moreover, you are able to enable it globally per custom post type and override it per single custom post type. For example, you can enable the Sliding area with your preferable Sidebar globally for your pages in Theme Options > Page Options and then, in a specific page, you may disable it or select a different Sidebar area just for this page. This is Blade’s philosophy.
Blade comes with the Visual Composer (value $34), a visual layout builder that allows you to forget about the syntax of the shortcodes and create multiple layouts within minutes without writing a single line of code! You can edit, delete, increase and decrease the size of each item.
Furthermore, you can reorder the elements, copy-paste and save templates. It has very simple and instinctive interface! Don’t forget to read the Rows/Columns article in this documentation, where you will discover the amazing responsive possibilities.
Blade uses indeed the latest versions of VC preserving 90% of functionality and features (only a small percentage is handled byBlade for technical purposes). However, Blade ’s elements are especially handmade for the theme’s preferences and they harmoniously use the amazing visual interface of the VC. That means you will not find just one Visual Composer copy in Blade!
Blade is built with SEO best-practices in mind. We use heading tags (H1,H2,H3…) for titles and for the main content which is good practice for search engine site. Moreover, you can select the heading tags in most of the elements (and for the widget titles) for better results.
It goes without saying that Blade uses valid HTML5 code and CSS3. Search engines would love the clean code of Blade.
Additionally, Blade uses internal site linking, which is vital for search engines (two predefined navigation menus, related portfolios etc).
Blade is also fully compatible with the two most popular WP Seo plugins, All in One SEO and WordPress SEO by Yoast, in case you need something more specific for your site optimization. Be sure that we have done our best for your site google ranking.