MyCuisine Theme Documentation

How to install your new theme

Before you can upload your theme, you first need to download the theme package from the Elegant Themes Members Area. Log in and locate your desired theme on the list and click the "download" link. There will be two download options: Theme Package and PSD Files. Click the "Theme Package" link to download the theme. Next you must upload the .ZIP file you just downloaded to your website via the WordPress Dashboard. Log in to wp-admin and click the Appearances > Themes tab. Next click the "Install Themes" button and then click the "Upload" link. Click "Choose File" and locate the .ZIP file you just downloaded and click "Install Now." Once then theme has been uploaded, you can activate it from within the Appearances > Themes tab.

Adding thumbnails (aka "featured images") to your posts

For each post, you can define an image that will be displayed along with your content on Posts and Category pages. Thumbnail images (aka Featured Images) are added using the "Featured Image" option within your WordPress Dashboard. Whenever you create or edit a post, look for the "Featured Image" box. This box will be located to the right of your text editor or below your text editor depending on the size of your screen. Click the "Set featured image" link and upload the image that you would like to use. Once uploaded, scroll down and select "Full Size" as your image size, and then click the "Use as featured image" link. This image will now be used as your Thumbnail image for the post.

Important Note: The WordPress thumbnail function re-sizes the image you upload based on what thumbnail sizes are needed for your theme. Each time you change a theme, you may need to re-generate these thumbnails so that they fit your new theme correctly. You can use the Regenerate Thumbnails plugin each time you switch themes to re-generate your thumbnails. After enabling this theme, you should run this plugin to update all of your old thumbnails to avoid design inconsistencies.

Defining a Custom Logo Image

You can define your own logo image from within the ePanel theme options page in your WordPress Dashboard. Within ePanel, under the General Settings > General tab, locate the "Logo" field. In the field, input the full URL to your logo image. You can use the "Upload Image" button below the field to upload your logo image if haven't already done so. After installing, copy and paste the URL to the file into the field and click "Save" to save your ePanel settings.

If you don't already have a logo image, then you can use the included logo.psd file as a starting point. If you have Photoshop, this file can be opened and the logo's text can be easily edited using Photoshop's type tool. If you don't have Photoshop, then you can use included logo_blank.png file as a blank canvas in a different graphic design program. These files (logo.psd and logo_blank.png) are located within the Theme Package inside the /psd/ folder.

Required Google Maps API Key

An API key is required in order to use the location feature on the MyCuisine homepage. To obtain an API key, log into the Google Developers Console, which will guide you through the process, and activate the Google Maps JavaScript API and any related services automatically. The first thing you will be asked to do is create a new project.

Next you will be asked to name your project. You can name the project anything you like. In this example, I simply called it "Maps." You can also input your website's domain name (add an * in front of it if you allow access from both www.domain.com and domain.com) to make sure to other website's are allowed to your your API key.

After you have created an named your project, you will be presented with an API Key that you can use.

After you have obtained an API key, you must copy/paste it into the theme options panel by navigating to:

Appearances>>MyCuisine Theme Options>>General Settings>>Google Maps API Key

How do I manage advertisements on my blog?

You can change the images used in each of the advertisements, as well as which URL each ad points to, through the custom option pages found in wp-admin. Once logged in to the wordpress admin panel, click "Design" and then "MyCuisine Theme Options" to reveal the various theme options. You can also use the 125x125 advertisement widget by adding the ET: Advertisement widget to your sidebar, and filling in the required fields.

How do I set up the featured slider on the homepage?

The featured slider can be set up using two different methods. You can either populate the tabs using Pages, or you can popular it using posts from a designated category. In the Appearances > MyCuisine Theme Options page in wp-admin, under the General Settings > Featured Slider tab, you will see an option that says "Use Pages." If you select this option then pages will be used, if you don't then posts will be used. If you want to use Pages then you simply select "Use Pages," and then below the option select which pages you would like to display in the slider. If you don't use pages, then simply select the "Featured Category" from the dropdown menu and posts from that category will be added to the slider.

Setting up the "Chef's Recommendations" on the Homepage.

Each of the menu items within this sections is a post taken from a specific category. The category that is used for your Chef's Recommendations can be configured from within the Appearances > MyCuisine Theme Options page under the General Settings > Homepage tab. Look for the "Exclude categories from Chef's Recommendations" section, and select (with a green checkmark) the category that you would like to use.

Setting up the "Testimonials" on the Homepage.

Each testimonial is created using the Testimonial custom post type. After logging in to the WP Dashboard, look for the "Testimonials" bar on the left-hand side of your screen. Click the Testimonials > Add Testimonial link to create a new testimonials. You can create as many testimonials as you want, each of which will automatically be displayed on the homepage. Each time you load your homepage, a single (random) testimonial is chosen and displayed to your visitor. To add a photo to your testimonial, simply add the Thumbnail custom field as outlined in the "How do I add the thumbnails to my posts?" section above.

Setting up the "Locations" section on the Homepage.

To create the "Location" page, simply create a new page and select the "Location" page template from the Template dropdown menu on the right of the text editor. Once you have selected the Location page template, publish your page. Next you will need to input all of your location information from within the ePanel Theme Options. Click the Appearances > MyCuisine Theme Options link and navigate to the General Settings > Homepage tab. Scroll down and fill in each field that pertains to your location, hours of operation and contact information. Once added, this information will appear on the Location page you created earlier.

How to create a "Menu" page.

To create the "Menu" page, simply create a new page and select the "Menu" page template from the Template dropdown menu on the right of the text editor. Once you have selected the Menu page template, publish your page. Next you will need to configure which posts appear in your menu. Each "item" on the menu is a post, and each "section" of the menu is a category. You will choose which categories you would like to display in your menu, and once selected they will appear on your menu page as sections displaying their posts as menu items. To select which categories appear in your menu, click the Appearances > MyCuisine Theme Options page and navigate to the General Settings > General tab. Look for the "Exclude categories from Menu" section and select, with a green checkmark, which categories you would like to display.

You will also need to define a Thumbnail Image and a Price for each "post" in your menu. This is done using custom fields. To add a thumbnail image, use the Thumbnail Custom Field as outlined in the "How do I add the thumbnails to my posts?" section above. To add a price, create a new custom field with the Name "et_price" and a Value of the price you would like to use for that post. For example, if I was create a post for a pasta dish that costs $14, then I would add the et_price custom field with a Value of "14".

Using Sample Data to populate your first installation

If you are starting from scratch, and installing your theme onto a WordPress blog that does not have any content yet (posts, pages, categories, etc), then you can choose to import our sample data file, which will populate your new WorPress blog with "dummy content." This dummy content is just a bunch of gibberish text, however, it will give you a good template to work with. Instead of following the above instructions, some people prefer to simply upload the sample data first, and then replace the dummy content with their own. To do this, you can use the Tools > Import feature in wp-admin to import the included sample data file. This sample data file comes with all themes, and is located in your theme folder here: sampledata/sample.xml. When performing the import procedure, be sure to check the "Import epanel settings" box.

Using Shortcodes - Create advanced layouts with ease

All of our themes come with a comprehensive collection of shortcodes. These shortcodes allow you to use pre-made design elements to create advanced page/post layouts without any HTML knowledge. When you install the theme, you will notice that some new buttons have been added to the WordPress text editor. Clicking these buttons will reveal options for adding shortcodes to your post. For complete shortcode documentation you can refer to the video on the left, as well as the following documentation page: http://www.elegantthemes.com/preview/TheProfessional/357-2/

Using Page Templates To Create Advanced Layouts

All of our themes come with a collection of page templates that can be used for a variety of purposes. You can apply each of these page templates to any page that you have created. When you edit a page in wp-admin, you will notice a Templates dropdown menu to the right of the text editor. Here you can select from a list of available page templates. Once a template is selected, additional settings will appear in the "ET Page Templates Settings" box below the dropdown menu. These settings should be configured to acheive the desired result, as outlined in this video tutorial.

Translating The Theme To Another Language

You can use the included Mo and Po files (located in the /lang folder of your theme) to translate the various English words that occur throughout the design. You can learn more about translating WordPress here: Translating WordPress

How To Update Your Theme To A New Version

Updating your theme is done via the WordPress Dashboard just like any normal theme. Before you can update, however, you must first authenticate your Elegant Themes subscription using the Elegant Themes Updater Plugin. Once authenticated, you can update your Elegant Themes using the standard update interface in WordPress.

To authenticate your WordPress installation, you must first download and install the Elegant Themes Updater. Download the ZIP file here, and then install it via the Plugins > Add New link in your WordPress Dashboard. Once it has been installed and activated, navigate to the Settings > General tab and scroll to the bottom of the page. You will notice that a new section has been added called "Elegant Themes Automatic Update Settings." Here you will need to input your Elegant Themes Username as your Elegant Themes API Key. You can find your Elegant Themes API Key here. Once both fields have been filled in, click the "Save Changes" button. You can now update your theme when a new version has been released via the Dashboard > Updates page, or via the Appearances > Themes page.