Hello!
Thank you for choosing Ashade Photography by Shadow-Themes.
Here you can find common information about using our product and answers on the frequency questions.
Theme Installation
First of all you need the WordPress installed on your server. Learn how to install WordPress.
If you already got one – let’s install our theme, recommended plugins and import Demo Content to your server.
Install parent and child theme
01.
From the WordPress dashboard go to Appearance > Themes and click "Add New".
02.
In the next screen click on the
"Upload Theme" button.
03.
Press the "Choose File" button.
04.
In the dialog window select file ashade.zip from the downloaded package.
05.
When the theme archive is selected press the "Install Now" button.
06.
Wait while the installation process will finish. After that press "Return to Themes page".
07.
Repeat previous steps, but now select the ashade-child.zip file from the package.
08.
After Child Theme will be installed activate it from the installation screen or Themes page.
09.
Now the theme is installed and activated so it is time to press "Begin installing plugins".
Plugins Installation
01.
After clicking "Begin installing plugins" select the plugins you need (or check all).
02.
Click on dropdown with text "Bulk actions", select "Install" and press "Apply" button.
03.
After that wait a little to get the message, that all plugins installed and activated.
Import Demo Content
01.
Go to Appearance > Import Demo Data and press "Import Demo Data" button.
02.
Wait until data will be imported on your server. It may take a few minutes.
03.
After receiving "That's it, all done!" message you can start to customize your website.
Theme installation is complete. Now if you will visit your website you will see exactly the same, what you saw on our demo.
Customization
Where to find?
All theme settings can be found in:
Appearance > Customize
Appearance > Customize
What is there?
With these settings you can change site logo, typography, colors, features and much more.
How it looks?
Included Shadow Core plugin will give you a new look of settings for more comfortable use.
Where to find?
All theme settings can be found in:
Appearance > Customize
Appearance > Customize
What is there?
With these settings you can change site logo, typography, colors, features and much more.
How it looks?
Included Shadow Core plugin will give you a new look of settings for more comfortable use.
Maintenance Template
Now we will talk about your maintenance page. This page is useful like a placeholder on your front page while you work with the content of your website. On this page you can allocate your contact information and count down timer to let your visitors know when your website will become live.
Let's take a look at the steps you need to create such kind of the page.
Let's take a look at the steps you need to create such kind of the page.
01.
Step 01
Go to Pages -> Add New, specify the page title and the overhead if needed.
02.
Step 02
In the "Page Attributes" section select template "Ashade Maintenance" and press "Publish".
03.
Step 03
The Maintenance page is nearly done and now you can tweak it using "Maintenance Settings".
01.
Step 01
Go to Pages -> Add New, specify the page title and the overhead if needed.
02.
Step 02
In the "Page Attributes" section select template "Ashade Maintenance" and press "Publish".
03.
Step 03
The Maintenance page is nearly done and now you can tweak it using "Maintenance Settings".
Now let's take a look at the
Maintenance Template Settings. In the next image you can see them and now we will tell you more about each of them.
Note: if your window after template selection looks different you can refresh your browser window to see it like on image. But the page must be published first.
Content Settings Tab
In this tab you can adjust general settings of your Maintenance page: choose the background, set the release date and specify your contact information.
Let's take a look on each option more detailed:
"Spotlight State" - allows to show or hide the spotlight effect in the top left corner of the page.
"Main Menu State" - using this option you can show or hide the main menu from this page.
"Page Title" - allows you to show or hide the page title.
"Select Background Image" - here you can select the Image from the media library to use as background.
"Background Opacity" - allows you to adjust the opacity of the background.
"Select Date" - here you can select the date to which the countdown will be conducted.
"Show Contact Info List?" - show or hide your contact details. If you will leave any next field empty it will not show.
"Contact List Overhead" - specify the overhead for title before your contact details.
"Contact List Title" - specify the title before your contact details.
"Show List Icons?" - show or hide icons before each contact item.
"Your Address" - specify your address.
"Your Phone" - specify your phone number.
"Your Email" - specify your email address.
"Show Socials?" - show or hide your social links that you can specify in Appearance > Customize > Footer Settings > Socials.
Let's take a look on each option more detailed:
"Spotlight State" - allows to show or hide the spotlight effect in the top left corner of the page.
"Main Menu State" - using this option you can show or hide the main menu from this page.
"Page Title" - allows you to show or hide the page title.
"Select Background Image" - here you can select the Image from the media library to use as background.
"Background Opacity" - allows you to adjust the opacity of the background.
"Select Date" - here you can select the date to which the countdown will be conducted.
"Show Contact Info List?" - show or hide your contact details. If you will leave any next field empty it will not show.
"Contact List Overhead" - specify the overhead for title before your contact details.
"Contact List Title" - specify the title before your contact details.
"Show List Icons?" - show or hide icons before each contact item.
"Your Address" - specify your address.
"Your Phone" - specify your phone number.
"Your Email" - specify your email address.
"Show Socials?" - show or hide your social links that you can specify in Appearance > Customize > Footer Settings > Socials.
Contact Form Settings Tab
Here you can adjust additional contact form for your Maintenance page to allow your visitors contact you directly.
This feature is working only for desktop and some tablets and is hidden on mobile phones.
"Enable Contact Form?" - with this option you can enable contact form for the maintenance page.
"Link Overhead" - here you can specify the overhead for link to the contact form.
"Link Title" - here you can specify the title for the link to the contact form.
"Close Overhead" - here you can specify the overhead for "Return Back" link.
"Close Title" - here you can specify the Title for "Return Back" link.
"Contact Form Shortcode" - here you can insert the shortcode of your contact form from "Contact Form 7" plugin.
"Enable Contact Form?" - with this option you can enable contact form for the maintenance page.
"Link Overhead" - here you can specify the overhead for link to the contact form.
"Link Title" - here you can specify the title for the link to the contact form.
"Close Overhead" - here you can specify the overhead for "Return Back" link.
"Close Title" - here you can specify the Title for "Return Back" link.
"Contact Form Shortcode" - here you can insert the shortcode of your contact form from "Contact Form 7" plugin.
To make this page as your front page go to Settings > Reading, select "Your homepage displays" to "A static page (select below)" and select your published Maintenance page as your Homepage.
Work with Albums
Now, when all is set up we can go to create our first album. Albums is a special post format to include your creative portfolio works. Albums can contain your photos, videos or embed of your videos from YouTube and Vimeo. To create a new album post go to Albums > Add New.
At the image above you can see the screen with a new album post created. Here you can set up your album and add media content into it. And now lets see on the base elements of this screen in more detailed way:
Album Title
Give a name for your Album.
Album Category
Select category or create a new one.
Album cover
Choose image for album cover.
Album Title
Give a name for your Album.
Album Category
Select category or create a new one.
Album cover
Choose image for album cover.
After we have seen the basic elements, let's move on to looking at the content and the layout settings. All settings are grouped into three tabs: "Album Content", "Page Layout" and "Album Meta". Most of the settings that you will need are located in the "Albums Content" tab, because settings in the other two tabs mostly use the default values that you have set into WordPress Customizer.
Album Styles
Ashade theme has different album styles. You can select the needed layout using an option named "Album Style". Also you can select a default value of this (and some other) options in Appearance -> Customize -> Album Settings. Let's talk more detailed about this styles:
"Grid" - shows image grid with 2-4 columns. Images are cropped to the same size for each item.
"Masonry" - shows masonry layout of images in 2-4 columns. Images shown in original ratio.
"Adjusted" - like "Grid" shows even image rows but like "Masonry" keep the original images ratio.
"Bricks" - shows images in a bricks grid layout with 1x2 or 2x3 pattern. Images are cropped.
"Justified" - shows images in original ratio with justification to perfectly fit into the row.
"Ribbon" - shows ribbon of images in original ratio in large, medium or vertical layout.
"Slider" - image slideshow with next transition effects: simple slide, fade in and parallax effect.
"Masonry" - shows masonry layout of images in 2-4 columns. Images shown in original ratio.
"Adjusted" - like "Grid" shows even image rows but like "Masonry" keep the original images ratio.
"Bricks" - shows images in a bricks grid layout with 1x2 or 2x3 pattern. Images are cropped.
"Justified" - shows images in original ratio with justification to perfectly fit into the row.
"Ribbon" - shows ribbon of images in original ratio in large, medium or vertical layout.
"Slider" - image slideshow with next transition effects: simple slide, fade in and parallax effect.
Some other options depend on the selected Album Style and shows below the style selection. But there is one more important dependency: "Intro Description" and "Elementor Content Position" are available only for grid styles albums and are not accessible for "Ribbon" and "Slider" styles.
Elementor and Description
The Intro Description and Elementor Content can be used only in grid layouts, like Grid, Masonry, Adjusted, Justified and Bricks. Intro Description is available for these layouts immediately, but to use Elementor you need to enable it for "Albums" post type. Here is an instructions:
01.
Step 01
Go to Elementor > Settings, check "Albums" checkbox and click button "Save Changes".
02.
Step 02
Return to your Album Post and select the Elementor Content Position to shows.
03.
Step 03
Now you can click the "Edit with Elementor" button and build your own content.
01.
Step 01
Go to Elementor > Settings, check "Albums" checkbox and click button "Save Changes".
02.
Step 02
Return to your Album Post and select the Elementor Content Position to shows.
03.
Step 03
Now you can click the "Edit with Elementor" button and build your own content.
Album media type
Now let's talk about the most important type of Albums: images and videos. Albums can use three types of content:
"Images only" - allows you to insert or upload a group of images from the media library.
"Mixed and Embed" - items adding one by one. Each item can be a single Image, Video from the media library or embed link from YouTube or Vimeo.
"Video Only" - allows you to insert or upload a group of video files from the media library.
The convenience of "Images Only" and "Video Only" is that you can load a group of items in a time, quickly and easily. After you select one of these options in "Album Media Type" you just need to press button "+ Add Media" and select Images or Videos from the library. Let's take a look step by step:
"Images only" - allows you to insert or upload a group of images from the media library.
"Mixed and Embed" - items adding one by one. Each item can be a single Image, Video from the media library or embed link from YouTube or Vimeo.
"Video Only" - allows you to insert or upload a group of video files from the media library.
The convenience of "Images Only" and "Video Only" is that you can load a group of items in a time, quickly and easily. After you select one of these options in "Album Media Type" you just need to press button "+ Add Media" and select Images or Videos from the library. Let's take a look step by step:
01.
Step 01
Select your preferred type: "Images Only" or "Video Only" and click "+ Add Media"
02.
Step 02
In the popup select all needed media files and press the "Select" in the bottom right corner.
03.
Step 03
Voila! You selected media now is added to your album post. Now you can save changes.
01.
Step 01
Select your preferred type: "Images Only" or "Video Only" and click "+ Add Media"
02.
Step 02
In the popup select all needed media files and press the "Select" in the bottom right corner.
03.
Step 03
Voila! You selected media now is added to your album post. Now you can save changes.
The "Mixed and Embed" is a little harder to use but gives you much more possibilities. With this media type your item can be image only, video or embed with defined thumbnail image (for Grid layouts) and also just video or embed. In the last case in Grid layouts video will show a paused version of itself and for embed content will be used a preview image, generated by its server, but the quality will be far from good.
So we recommend defining the preview of your embed content by yourself for more quality. In full screen layouts like "Ribbon" and "Slider" we also do not recommend to use a lot of embedded content, because it may cause performance issues.
So let's figure out how to create the mixed gallery. First of all when you select "Mixed and Embed" you will see first empty item and button "Add New Item":
So we recommend defining the preview of your embed content by yourself for more quality. In full screen layouts like "Ribbon" and "Slider" we also do not recommend to use a lot of embedded content, because it may cause performance issues.
So let's figure out how to create the mixed gallery. First of all when you select "Mixed and Embed" you will see first empty item and button "Add New Item":
"Select Image" allows you to select (or upload and select) a single image for this item from the Media Library. This option can be used standalone and also in a combination with Video or Embed. In that case it will be used like a thumbnail image for Grid Layouts.
"Select Video" or "Embed Video" allows you to define video source for the item but only one of a type can be used at same time.
When you click on "Select Image" or "Select Video" you will see Media Library popup like in previous cases, but for now it will allow you to choose only one item. But when you click on "Embed Video" you will see new popup where you need to paste YouTube or Vimeo URL:
"Select Video" or "Embed Video" allows you to define video source for the item but only one of a type can be used at same time.
When you click on "Select Image" or "Select Video" you will see Media Library popup like in previous cases, but for now it will allow you to choose only one item. But when you click on "Embed Video" you will see new popup where you need to paste YouTube or Vimeo URL:
After you select image and/or video for your item you will see the preview of selected media instead select buttons. Also on the side of the preview you will also see two buttons and when you have more than one item and also your post is published you will see the "Delete Item" button.
Now let's take a more detailed look on the elements of our item:
-
This button will remove the current media source and allows you to select another one.
-
This button will update your media. On click it will open the popup where you can select another file to replace the current. Note: "Refresh" button will not allow you to change video source from "Embed" to "Video" and vice versa. To select another video source you need first by first removing the current using "X" button.
-
This button will delete an item from your album. This action is irreversible.
-
This symbol allows you to change the order of your items by drag and drop.
You can add as many items as you need. Also such kind of the Media Content is available for all gallery types inside the album.
Okay, now we know how to create album posts and add the media inside it. Now let's get a quick review for another two tabs and its options.
Page Layout Tab Options
This tab allows you to change basic page layout which is almost similar for all pages and posts. Here is a list of options you can find in this tab:
"Spotlight State" - allows to show or hide the spotlight effect in the top left corner of the page.
"Content Under Header" - allows to select the start point of content: below the header or at the top of the window.
"Content Top Spacing" - enable or disable top spacing before the album content.
"Content Bottom Spacing" - enable or disable bottom spacing after the album content.
"Title and Back to Top Layout" - select layout for title and "Back to Top" button: vertical or horizontal.
"Show Album Title" - select the Album title state.
"Back to Top" - select the "Back to Top" button state.
"Spotlight State" - allows to show or hide the spotlight effect in the top left corner of the page.
"Content Under Header" - allows to select the start point of content: below the header or at the top of the window.
"Content Top Spacing" - enable or disable top spacing before the album content.
"Content Bottom Spacing" - enable or disable bottom spacing after the album content.
"Title and Back to Top Layout" - select layout for title and "Back to Top" button: vertical or horizontal.
"Show Album Title" - select the Album title state.
"Back to Top" - select the "Back to Top" button state.
Album Meta Tab Options
This tab allows you to change album meta information that shows above the Album title. Here is a list of options you can find in this tab:
"Show Album Author" - show or hide information about album author.
"Show Album Date" - show or hide album post date.
"Show Album Category" - show or hide album category name.
"Show Album Author" - show or hide information about album author.
"Show Album Date" - show or hide album post date.
"Show Album Category" - show or hide album category name.
Albums Listing
Now after you have create your albums posts you need to show them to your visitors in some way. How to do that in simple and easy way? We have an answer and it called
"Ashade Albums Listing". This is a template for regular page and here is how to create a new one with this template:Note: if you have imported demo content you can skip these steps and just open one of Albums Listings from our demo content.
01.
Step 01
Go to Pages -> Add New, specify the page title and the overhead if needed.
02.
Step 02
In the "Page Attributes" section select template "Ashade Albums Listing" and publish your page.
03.
Step 03
The Albums Listing page is nearly done and now you can tweak it using "Albums Settings".
01.
Step 01
Go to Pages -> Add New, specify the page title and the overhead if needed.
02.
Step 02
In the "Page Attributes" section select template "Ashade Albums Listing" and publish your page.
03.
Step 03
The Albums Listing page is nearly done and now you can tweak it using "Albums Settings".
Now let's take a look at the
Albums Listing Settings. In the next image you can see them and now we will tell you more about each of them.
Note: if your window after template selection looks different you can refresh your browser window to see it like on image. But the page must be published first.
"Page Title" - allows you to show or hide the page title.
"Select Categories" - specify categories of your albums to show. Select "All" to show all your albums.
"Sort Albums By" - change albums sort by "Date", "Name" or "Random" on each page load/refresh.
"Albums Order" - allows to change order to "Descending" or "Ascending".
"Albums Cover" - specify what album cover to use: Featured Image or Alternative Cover (if specified).
"Intro Description" - a short description before the albums listing. Available only for Grid, Masonry and Adjusted layouts.
"Intro Description Alignment" - allows to change alignment of description text. Available only for Grid, Masonry and Adjusted layouts.
"Limit Intro Width" - if disabled - description block will use full width of content block.
"Listing Type" - allows you to change the layout of albums listing. Has 5 options: Grid, Masonry, Adjusted, Ribbon and Slider.
"Filter State" - show or hide categories filter above the albums listing. Available only for Grid, Masonry and Adjusted layouts.
"Grid Columns" - specify the number of columns to show from 2 to 4. Available only for Grid, Masonry and Adjusted layouts.
"Customize Image Crop" - allows you to change the size of image thumbnail. In Masonry and Adjusted thumbnail the height sets automatically.
"Ribbon Style" - allows you to change the style for Ribbon layout. There are 3 options available: Large, Medium and Vertical.
"Slider Style" - allows you to change the style of Slider layout. There are also 3 options: Parallax, Fade and Simple.
"Slider Navigation" - shows or hides navigation buttons for Slider layout.
"Content Fitting" - allows to set fitting options for image in the Slider layout. Has 4 options: Cover, Fit Always, Fit Vertical and Fit Horizontal.
"Select Categories" - specify categories of your albums to show. Select "All" to show all your albums.
"Sort Albums By" - change albums sort by "Date", "Name" or "Random" on each page load/refresh.
"Albums Order" - allows to change order to "Descending" or "Ascending".
"Albums Cover" - specify what album cover to use: Featured Image or Alternative Cover (if specified).
"Intro Description" - a short description before the albums listing. Available only for Grid, Masonry and Adjusted layouts.
"Intro Description Alignment" - allows to change alignment of description text. Available only for Grid, Masonry and Adjusted layouts.
"Limit Intro Width" - if disabled - description block will use full width of content block.
"Listing Type" - allows you to change the layout of albums listing. Has 5 options: Grid, Masonry, Adjusted, Ribbon and Slider.
"Filter State" - show or hide categories filter above the albums listing. Available only for Grid, Masonry and Adjusted layouts.
"Grid Columns" - specify the number of columns to show from 2 to 4. Available only for Grid, Masonry and Adjusted layouts.
"Customize Image Crop" - allows you to change the size of image thumbnail. In Masonry and Adjusted thumbnail the height sets automatically.
"Ribbon Style" - allows you to change the style for Ribbon layout. There are 3 options available: Large, Medium and Vertical.
"Slider Style" - allows you to change the style of Slider layout. There are also 3 options: Parallax, Fade and Simple.
"Slider Navigation" - shows or hides navigation buttons for Slider layout.
"Content Fitting" - allows to set fitting options for image in the Slider layout. Has 4 options: Cover, Fit Always, Fit Vertical and Fit Horizontal.
Home Template
Now it is time to talk about your landing page. Our theme includes a unique and modern landing page that you can use as your front page.
Creating this page is very similar to creating Albums Listing because it uses the template too. So let's take a look at the steps and template settings.
Creating this page is very similar to creating Albums Listing because it uses the template too. So let's take a look at the steps and template settings.
01.
Step 01
Go to Pages -> Add New, specify the page title and the overhead if needed.
02.
Step 02
In the "Page Attributes" section select template "Ashade Home Template" and press "Publish".
03.
Step 03
The Landing page is nearly done and now you can tweak it using "Home Template Settings".
01.
Step 01
Go to Pages -> Add New, specify the page title and the overhead if needed.
02.
Step 02
In the "Page Attributes" section select template "Ashade Home Template" and press "Publish".
03.
Step 03
The Landing page is nearly done and now you can tweak it using "Home Template Settings".
Now let's take a look at the
Home Template Settings. On the next image you can see them and now we will tell you more about each of them.
Note: if your window after template selection looks different you can refresh your browser window to see it like on image. But the page must be published first.
General Settings Tab
In this tab you can set up background properties and change the text for "Return Back" link.
Let's take a look on each option more detailed:
"Spotlight State" - show or hide the spotlight in the top left corner of the page. By default use value from General Settings.
"Background Opacity" - allows you to adjust the opacity of the background.
"Background Style" - here you can select one of three background types: "Static Image", "Video", "Photo Gallery".
"Back Label Overhead" - top part of "Return Back" link text.
"Back Label Title" - main (bottom) part of "Return Back" link text.
"Select Video" - here you can select the Video from the media library to use as background.
"For Mobile Browsers" - allows you to show only the static image (poster) as background on mobile browsers instead of video.
"Background Fit" - allows you to set the fitting option for video with next options: "Cover", "Fit Always", "Fit Vertical", "Fit Horizontal".
"Images Order" - allows to select an order of images with next options: "Normal", "Reverse", "Random".
"Slider Transition Speed, ms" - here you can adjust the speed of transition between slides in milliseconds (1 second = 1000 milliseconds)
"Slider Delay, ms" - with this option you can adjust how long the slide is displayed before the transition in milliseconds.
"Zoom Level, %" - allows you to adjust a maximum image zoom level in percentage. You can set this value to 100 to disable Ken Burns effect.
Note: Image zoom point is selected randomly each time for each slide.
Let's take a look on each option more detailed:
"Spotlight State" - show or hide the spotlight in the top left corner of the page. By default use value from General Settings.
"Background Opacity" - allows you to adjust the opacity of the background.
"Background Style" - here you can select one of three background types: "Static Image", "Video", "Photo Gallery".
"Back Label Overhead" - top part of "Return Back" link text.
"Back Label Title" - main (bottom) part of "Return Back" link text.
Static Image background settings This option appear when "Static Image" is selected for "Background Style" option
"Select Background Image" - here you can select the Image from the media library to use as background.Video background settings Those options appears when "Video" is selected for "Background Style" option
"Select Poster Image" - here you can select the Image from media the library to use as a poster for video."Select Video" - here you can select the Video from the media library to use as background.
"For Mobile Browsers" - allows you to show only the static image (poster) as background on mobile browsers instead of video.
"Background Fit" - allows you to set the fitting option for video with next options: "Cover", "Fit Always", "Fit Vertical", "Fit Horizontal".
Photo Gallery background settings Those options appears when "Photo Gallery" is selected for "Background Style" option
"Add Images" - with this option you can add Images from the media library to your background gallery."Images Order" - allows to select an order of images with next options: "Normal", "Reverse", "Random".
"Slider Transition Speed, ms" - here you can adjust the speed of transition between slides in milliseconds (1 second = 1000 milliseconds)
"Slider Delay, ms" - with this option you can adjust how long the slide is displayed before the transition in milliseconds.
"Zoom Level, %" - allows you to adjust a maximum image zoom level in percentage. You can set this value to 100 to disable Ken Burns effect.
Note: Image zoom point is selected randomly each time for each slide.
Works Settings Tab
On this tab you can change everything related to the link "Explore Works": adjust layout, change text labels, change purpose of this link to navigate on another page or external page or disable this link at all. Let's take a look on each option more detailed:
"Show Works on Home?" - allows to change state and purpose of "Explore Works" link. "Yes" - use inner features to display the list of your works.
"Works Label Overhead" - overhead (top) part of link text.
"Works Label Title" - main (bottom) part of link text.
"Select Categories" - here you can select categories of your albums to display. To see categories you must have album posts inside them.
"Sort Works By" - change albums sort by "Date", "Name" ( "Title" ) or "Random" on each page load/refresh.
"Works Order" - allows to change order to "Descending" or "Ascending".
"Gallery Style" - here you can select the layout of your albums listing. It can be "Grid", "Masonry" or "Adjusted".
"Filter State" - this option can show or hide categories filter above the albums listing.
"Columns Count" - specify the number of columns to show from 2 to 4.
"Open link in new tab?" - allows you to choose whether the page will open in a new tab or in the current.
"Show Works on Home?" - allows to change state and purpose of "Explore Works" link. "Yes" - use inner features to display the list of your works.
"Works Label Overhead" - overhead (top) part of link text.
"Works Label Title" - main (bottom) part of link text.
Works Listing Settings This option appear when "Yes" is selected for "Show Works on Home?" option
"Works Intro Description" - in this field you can add a short description that will appear before the listing of your works."Select Categories" - here you can select categories of your albums to display. To see categories you must have album posts inside them.
"Sort Works By" - change albums sort by "Date", "Name" ( "Title" ) or "Random" on each page load/refresh.
"Works Order" - allows to change order to "Descending" or "Ascending".
"Gallery Style" - here you can select the layout of your albums listing. It can be "Grid", "Masonry" or "Adjusted".
"Filter State" - this option can show or hide categories filter above the albums listing.
"Columns Count" - specify the number of columns to show from 2 to 4.
Other Page Settings This option appear when "Link to Other Page" is selected for "Show Works on Home?" option
"Select a Page" - here you can select the page from your site where your visitor will be redirected after clicking on the "Explore Works" link.External Page Settings This option appear when "Link to External Page" is selected for "Show Works on Home?" option
"Link to External Page" - here you can specify the URL of the external page where your visitor will be redirected after clicking on the "Explore Works" link."Open link in new tab?" - allows you to choose whether the page will open in a new tab or in the current.
Contacts Settings Tab
Here you can change everything related to the link "My Contacts". The options here are very similar to the previous tab. Like in the previous case you can change text labels, change purpose of this link to navigate to another page or external page or disable this link at all. Also here you can fill your contact details and specify the shortcode for contact form. Let's take a look on each option more detailed:
"Show Contacts on Home?" - allows to change state and purpose of "My Contacts" link. "Yes" - use inner features to display your contacts and contact form.
"Contacts Label Overhead" - overhead (top) part of link text.
"Contacts Label Title" - main (bottom) part of link text.
"Contact Form Shortcode" - here you can insert the shortcode of your contact form from "Contact Form 7" plugin.
"Show Contact Info List?" - show or hide your contact details. If you will leave any next field empty it will not show.
"Contact List Overhead" - specify the Overhead for title before your contact details.
"Contact List Title" - specify the title before your contact details.
"Show List Icons?" - show or hide icons before each contact item.
"Your Address" - specify your address.
"Your Phone" - specify your phone number.
"Your Email" - specify your email address.
"Show Socials?" - Show or Hide your social links that you can specify in Appearance > Customize > Footer Settings > Socials.
"Open link in new tab?" - allows you to choose whether the page will open in a new tab or in the current.
"Show Contacts on Home?" - allows to change state and purpose of "My Contacts" link. "Yes" - use inner features to display your contacts and contact form.
"Contacts Label Overhead" - overhead (top) part of link text.
"Contacts Label Title" - main (bottom) part of link text.
Contact List Settings This option appear when "Yes" is selected for "Show Contacts on Home?" option
"Contacts Intro Description" - in this field you can add a short description that will appear before your contact details."Contact Form Shortcode" - here you can insert the shortcode of your contact form from "Contact Form 7" plugin.
"Show Contact Info List?" - show or hide your contact details. If you will leave any next field empty it will not show.
"Contact List Overhead" - specify the Overhead for title before your contact details.
"Contact List Title" - specify the title before your contact details.
"Show List Icons?" - show or hide icons before each contact item.
"Your Address" - specify your address.
"Your Phone" - specify your phone number.
"Your Email" - specify your email address.
"Show Socials?" - Show or Hide your social links that you can specify in Appearance > Customize > Footer Settings > Socials.
Other Page Settings This option appear when "Link to Other Page" is selected for "Show Works on Home?" option
"Select a Page" - here you can select the page from your site where your visitor will be redirected after clicking on the "My Contacts" link.External Page Settings This option appear when "Link to External Page" is selected for "Show Contacts on Home?" option
"Link to External Page" - here you can specify the URL of the external page where your visitor will be redirected after clicking on "My Contacts" link."Open link in new tab?" - allows you to choose whether the page will open in a new tab or in the current.
Sidebars
Our theme has two predefined sidebars: one to show at the left or right side of the content, when it is needed, and another one which can be toggled from the icon in your main menu. Content ( widgets ) for both of them you can adjust in Appearance > Widgets.
In the "Widgets" section the block named "Sidebar" is a default WordPress sidebar to show widgets at the side of the page content ( if sidebar for this page is enabled ), and the block named "Aside Bar" is a toggled section. You can simply drag and drop needed widgets to needed blocks.
One more useful thing is that you can set a label for sidebar toggler instead of dots icon. To do that go to Appearance > Customize > Header Settings. Here you can turn on option "Use Text Label?" and specify label text. Also here you can disable toggled bar by turning off the option "Enable Aside Bar".
In the "Widgets" section the block named "Sidebar" is a default WordPress sidebar to show widgets at the side of the page content ( if sidebar for this page is enabled ), and the block named "Aside Bar" is a toggled section. You can simply drag and drop needed widgets to needed blocks.
One more useful thing is that you can set a label for sidebar toggler instead of dots icon. To do that go to Appearance > Customize > Header Settings. Here you can turn on option "Use Text Label?" and specify label text. Also here you can disable toggled bar by turning off the option "Enable Aside Bar".
Clients Page
Clients galleries are designed to make your customer experience simple and easy. Using this post type you can create unlimited pages with grid galleries for your client. You can protect each page with different passwords and provide each client with a personal link and password to let them interact with the gallery. On such kind of pages your clients will get the possibility to mark images they like or dislike, download favorite photos and discuss details with you.
Sounds great, ha? Now let's find out how to create such a page, consider its options and features.
First of all we need to create a new Clients page. It is very similar to creating an album post. To create the new one go to Clients > Add New. Inside the new post you can specify page overhead, title and also Featured Image, which can be used as background. Now let's take a look at the options:
Sounds great, ha? Now let's find out how to create such a page, consider its options and features.
First of all we need to create a new Clients page. It is very similar to creating an album post. To create the new one go to Clients > Add New. Inside the new post you can specify page overhead, title and also Featured Image, which can be used as background. Now let's take a look at the options:
Most of the settings with which you have to work are on the first tab "Client Photo Gallery". Therefore, we will begin our consideration with it. On this tab you can set the page background, add a short description, add images to your gallery and adjust gallery settings.
"Page Background" - here you can select what image to use as background: featured image, custom image or disable background.
"Background Opacity" - allows you to adjust the opacity of the background.
"Intro Description" - using this option you can add a short description before the gallery.
"Intro Description Alignment" - allows to change alignment of description text.
"Add Images" - with this option you can add Images from the media library to your gallery.
"Gallery Style" - here you can select the layout of your gallery. It can be "Grid", "Masonry" or "Adjusted".
"Columns Number" - specify the number of columns to show from 2 to 4.
"Gallery Items Caption" - allows you to select where to show image caption or show only image without captions.
"Show Approval Buttons?" - allows you to display buttons with which your client can express their attitude to the photo.
"Show Image Zoom Button?" - display button which opens image in lightbox.
"Show Download Button?" - display button which allows your client to download the source image.
"Buttons State?" - allow to select how buttons will be displayed: always or only on hover. According to usability on mobile devices the buttons will always be displayed regardless of the option selected.
"Use Default Email?" - allows to specify which email address will be used for notification.
"Include Images Links?" - if you turn on this option you will also get a list of links to source images which your client has selected as "Accepted".
"Content Under Header" - allows you to select the start point of content: below the header or at the top of the window.
"Content Top Spacing" - enable or disable top spacing before the album content.
"Content Bottom Spacing" - enable or disable bottom spacing after the album content.
"Title and Back to Top Layout" - select layout for title and "Back to Top" button: vertical or horizontal.
"Show Page Title" - choose the page title state.
"Back to Top" - select the "Back to Top" button state.
"Allow Comments?" - allows you to enable or disable comments on this post. To display comments they must also be enabled for this post by the WordPress settings.
"Page Background" - here you can select what image to use as background: featured image, custom image or disable background.
"Background Opacity" - allows you to adjust the opacity of the background.
"Intro Description" - using this option you can add a short description before the gallery.
"Intro Description Alignment" - allows to change alignment of description text.
"Add Images" - with this option you can add Images from the media library to your gallery.
"Gallery Style" - here you can select the layout of your gallery. It can be "Grid", "Masonry" or "Adjusted".
"Columns Number" - specify the number of columns to show from 2 to 4.
"Gallery Items Caption" - allows you to select where to show image caption or show only image without captions.
Buttons and Filters Tab
"Show Filter?" - this option can show or hide the filter above the gallery to easily sort between "Accepted", "Rejected" and "Unviewed" items."Show Approval Buttons?" - allows you to display buttons with which your client can express their attitude to the photo.
"Show Image Zoom Button?" - display button which opens image in lightbox.
"Show Download Button?" - display button which allows your client to download the source image.
"Buttons State?" - allow to select how buttons will be displayed: always or only on hover. According to usability on mobile devices the buttons will always be displayed regardless of the option selected.
Notification Settings Tab
"Show Notify Button?" - show or hide "Notify Photographer" button by pressing which your client can let you know that has finished selecting images."Use Default Email?" - allows to specify which email address will be used for notification.
"Include Images Links?" - if you turn on this option you will also get a list of links to source images which your client has selected as "Accepted".
Page Layout Tab
"Spotlight State" - allows to show or hide the spotlight effect in the top left corner of the page."Content Under Header" - allows you to select the start point of content: below the header or at the top of the window.
"Content Top Spacing" - enable or disable top spacing before the album content.
"Content Bottom Spacing" - enable or disable bottom spacing after the album content.
"Title and Back to Top Layout" - select layout for title and "Back to Top" button: vertical or horizontal.
"Show Page Title" - choose the page title state.
"Back to Top" - select the "Back to Top" button state.
"Allow Comments?" - allows you to enable or disable comments on this post. To display comments they must also be enabled for this post by the WordPress settings.
Elementor Widgets
Ashade Photography supports the Elementor Page Builder plugin. This is one of the most powerful and simple in usage page builders for the WordPress. You can find more information about Elementor and how to use it at the official website.
Also our theme includes a proprietary plugin Shadow Core which adds new widgets for Elementor. You can find these widgets in the "Shadow Elements" section of the Elementor widgets list. This collection of widgets will probably extends with new updates, but for now let's see what's included right now:
Also our theme includes a proprietary plugin Shadow Core which adds new widgets for Elementor. You can find these widgets in the "Shadow Elements" section of the Elementor widgets list. This collection of widgets will probably extends with new updates, but for now let's see what's included right now:
Now let's talk about some of the nuances of using the Elementor in our theme. First of all the Elementor cannot be used on pages with templates like "Ashade Home Template", "Ashade Albums Listing" and "Ashade Maintenance". Those pages are configured using its own options.
Also for now Elementor cannot be used on Client post type. Client pages can be configured with their own settings too.
And in Album posts you can use the Elementor but with some restrictions. You can find more detailed information here.
And one more thing. Everything you can see on our Demo was created without any Pro plugins. So the Elementor Pro isn't required to achieve the result.
Also for now Elementor cannot be used on Client post type. Client pages can be configured with their own settings too.
And in Album posts you can use the Elementor but with some restrictions. You can find more detailed information here.
And one more thing. Everything you can see on our Demo was created without any Pro plugins. So the Elementor Pro isn't required to achieve the result.
WooCommerce
Starting from the version 2.0 Ashade Photography theme supports the WooCommerce plugin. This plugin can easily turn your website into the powerful ecommerce platform. You can find more information about WooCommerce and how to use it at the official documentation.
And now let's talk about some basic things you may need to know about that.
First of all, after you have imported the demo content you can face a problem that the page "Digital Store" doesn't show anything. That happens because of WooCommerce settings. The default page for product listing for WooCommerce is "Shop". Let's take a look at the steps you need to change this page to another page like the "Digital Store" for example:
And now let's talk about some basic things you may need to know about that.
First of all, after you have imported the demo content you can face a problem that the page "Digital Store" doesn't show anything. That happens because of WooCommerce settings. The default page for product listing for WooCommerce is "Shop". Let's take a look at the steps you need to change this page to another page like the "Digital Store" for example:
01.
Step 01
Go to WooCommerce > Settings.
02.
Step 02
Switch to the "Products" tab.
03.
Step 03
For the "Shop Page" select the page you need.
01.
Step 01
Go to WooCommerce > Settings.
02.
Step 02
Switch to the "Products" tab.
03.
Step 03
For the "Shop Page" select the page you need.
After these simple steps press "Save Changes" and enjoy the result.
One more thing. In Appearance > Customize > WooCommerce you can find three additional sections: "Ashade: Store General", "Ashade: Product Listing" and "Ashade: Single Product". In these sections you can adjust additional settings for WooCommerce, product listing and single product page. For example if you wish to remove the "Shopping Cart" icon from the header you can do it in the "Ashade: Store General" section.
One more thing. In Appearance > Customize > WooCommerce you can find three additional sections: "Ashade: Store General", "Ashade: Product Listing" and "Ashade: Single Product". In these sections you can adjust additional settings for WooCommerce, product listing and single product page. For example if you wish to remove the "Shopping Cart" icon from the header you can do it in the "Ashade: Store General" section.
String Translation
Ashade Photography Theme is ready for translation on any languages using the translate plugins. Also if you do not need transition but just want to change any text string from another - you can also do it with translation plugins, like "Loco Translate Plugin".
In the next video instruction we will show you how to install this plugin to your WordPress and also show how to change strings using the example of the "Next" button in which we will replace the text with "Move forward".
In the next video instruction we will show you how to install this plugin to your WordPress and also show how to change strings using the example of the "Next" button in which we will replace the text with "Move forward".
01.
Go to Plugins > Add New.
02.
In search string type "Loco".
03.
On the item "Loco Translate Plugin" press "Install" wait a few sec and press "Activate".
04.
Then go to Loco Translate > Themes, select Ashade theme (even if you use a Child theme) and press "New language".
05.
In the next window choose your language and location for the translation file. We strongly recommend to use the "Custom" option like shown in our video.
06.
Press "Start Translating".
07.
In the translating window you can use the search bar to quickly find needed text.
08.
When found needed text click on it and then in the field "Translation" write a new value.
09.
After finishing, save your changes and you will see the result of the translated string.
Theme Update
Staying up to date is very important to get all new features and improvements. First of all you need to know that the content of your website will not be affected if you will update the theme right. The only thing that can be overwritten with the update is your any changes in the code of the parent theme. That is why we strongly recommend to use the Child Theme and do not change the code unnecessarily.
There are a couple of ways to update your theme version.
First way is to use the "Envato Market" plugin. This is most easily and right way to update your themes. You can find more information about how to work with this plugin here: https://envato.com/market-plugin/.
Second way is to download the new version from https://themeforest.net/downloads and then repeat steps from "Install Theme" but use the new downloaded archive. In that case WordPress will compare both theme versions and will prompt you to update the theme. This works only on WordPress version 5.5+.
Third way is to download the new version from https://themeforest.net/downloads and manually upload files from the "Ashade" folder of the archive onto your server in wp-content/themes/ashade with overwriting all existing files.
There are a couple of ways to update your theme version.
First way is to use the "Envato Market" plugin. This is most easily and right way to update your themes. You can find more information about how to work with this plugin here: https://envato.com/market-plugin/.
Second way is to download the new version from https://themeforest.net/downloads and then repeat steps from "Install Theme" but use the new downloaded archive. In that case WordPress will compare both theme versions and will prompt you to update the theme. This works only on WordPress version 5.5+.
Third way is to download the new version from https://themeforest.net/downloads and manually upload files from the "Ashade" folder of the archive onto your server in wp-content/themes/ashade with overwriting all existing files.
How to ...?
In this section you can find answers to frequently asked questions. Also if you have some issues we recommend you to look at the next section where you can find common troubleshooting. This list may be extended in future with your questions.
The spotlight can be disabled globally for a whole site in Appearance > Customize > General Settings > Content Features or local for exact page in “Page Settings” section (for pages) or “Page Layout” tab for “Client” and “Album” posts.
Cursor can be disabled in Appearance > Customize > General Settings > Content Features. Option for this is called “Magic Cursor”.
You can change this text using a translation plugin. More information can be found in the “String Translation” section.
No you do not need the Elementor PRO for that. Everything you can see on our Demo was created without any Pro plugins. And the “Digital Store” page is a default WooCommerce plugin product listing page.
The video you can see on Homepage is just a video clip from the free stock for the video background example. We have no source of this video to edit.
You can find a lot of video templates of this kind on VideoHive. Here is an example links on same type video:
https://videohive.net/item/hands-4k/21283873
https://videohive.net/item/hands/516895
You can turn of the “Show Cart in Header” option in Appearance > Customize > WooCommerce > Ashade: Store General
To change labels “How to find me” and “My contacts” you need to click on the “Contacts Settings” tab when editing the page with home template. And here you can find all settings, including labels, contact information and intro text.
Also “Home Template” settings allows you to change “Works” labels the same way and label for the “Return Back” button on the “General Settings” tab.
Also “Home Template” settings allows you to change “Works” labels the same way and label for the “Return Back” button on the “General Settings” tab.
The video you can see on Homepage is just a video clip from the free stock for the video background example. We have no source of this video to edit.
You can find a lot of video templates of this kind on VideoHive. Here is an example links on same type video:
https://videohive.net/item/hands-4k/21283873
https://videohive.net/item/hands/516895
Yes, our theme will receive free updates.
Do not worry, your settings and any changes inside the Customizer will stay with you. You can find information about safe theme updates here.
Unfortunately according to current browsers specifications videos can not autoplay when sound turned on. So there is no possibility for now to use video with sound as background. The same applies to audio files.
You can change colors of color scheme in Appearance > Customize > General Settings > Color Scheme. Also you can customize colors for some group of elements when you see the option “Customize Colors?” for example in the “Typography” section.
After importing demo content you will get exactly the same look as you can see on our demo. With all images and videos. But the source of video for Homepage is not included.
You can change the logo in Appearance > Customize > Site Logo and then in this section select which logo to use text or image and adjust other settings that affect the logo.
Theme update does not affect your content. It will only affect files in the main theme, so even if you have some code changes in Child Theme – they will stay with you after the main theme update.
You can rate us with 5 stars here: https://themeforest.net/downloads. It will help us a lot. Thank You!
Troubleshooting
Here you can learn how to fix common issues. If you did not find an answer here our support team will be glad to help you. You can contact our support team using the "Support" tab on item description or directly via email support@shadow-themes.com. In your email please provide our support team with your Purchase Code and with a link to your website and/or problem page. You will receive an answer from our support team within one business day. If you did not receive an answer please check it in the Spam folder or blocked messages, because it can happen sometimes.
And now let's take a look at the common issues you can face with:
And now let's take a look at the common issues you can face with:
The 500 Internal Server Error is a very general HTTP status code that means something has gone wrong on the web site’s server but the server could not be more specific on what the exact problem is.
Hard to say what exactly is wrong with your server. Probably it is a firewall or other security settings that blocks connections to the demo server.
You can change your firewall settings or disable it and try again. If disabling the firewall did not help you can contact our support team with details about temporary admin access to your WordPress dashboard and they will try to install demo content manually.
To see the category to select this category must contain posts. If there is no album post assigned to some category it will not appear.
Also after importing demo content there is a little issue with WordPress: it does not recognize category dependencies to album posts (because ID of categories are different in each import). You can create a new album post, assign it to all categories and publish. This action will activate the categories. After that you can delete this temporary post.
There are two mostly cases when images don’t show.
First is CDN for images. In this case image URL is different from server URL and image can not be cropped according to security requirements.
Second case – wrong server PHP configuration.
You can try to disable CDN on your server and check. If it will not work you can contact our support team with details about temporary admin access to your WordPress dashboard and they will try to figure it out.
You need to create a parent menu items as “Custom Link” and the URL with “#” symbol to avoid that.
This error means that you tried to edit the page or post where the Elementor is not allowed. For example Elementor can not be used for theme templates like “Ashade Home Template”, “Ashade Albums Listing” and “Ashade Maintenance”. Also you can find the information of how to use the Elementor inside the album posts in the “Elementor and Description” block of “Creating Albums” section.
In the “WooCommerce” section you can find detailed information about how to fix this issue.
Credits
- Elementor - elementor.com
- Metabox - metabox.io
- Contact Form 7 - wordpress.org/plugins/contact-form-7
- jQuery - jquery.org
- GSAP - greensock.com
- Masonry - masonry.desandro.com
- PhotoSwipe - photoswipe.com
- Justified Gallery - miromannino.github.io/Justified-Gallery