General Settings

Prerequisites #

In order to install this Theme you should have a working version of WordPress already installed. Supposing you need help installing WordPress, follow the instructions in WordPress Codex.

Below are all the helpful links for WordPress information.

To use the Novo Theme you need a WordPress installation from WordPress.org running on your own web server either you will need a WordPress.com site with the Business plan. For the WordPress.com please note that Themes only work on WordPress.com sites if you are on the Business plan. If you have the Free, Personal or Premium plan, WordPress.com does not allow you to install custom themes and plugins.

Choosing a hosting provider depends on their location, pricing and services. This is a significant decision at the start and we firmly suggest you choose a WordPress friendly hosting provider for using our Themes.

Tp download Theme files from ThemeForest you should going to the Downloads tab and finding the Novo Theme.

Click on the Download button.

The “All files & Documentation” archive contains everything and the Installable WordPress file only is just the installable WordPress Theme file.

The contents of the Theme package downloaded from ThemeForest.

Below you can see the structure of the theme archive you download from ThemeForest (from this point referred as TF).

  • Licensing –  this folder contains the terms and conditions of the license under which Novo is distributed and some information on licensing of various parts of the theme in a separate file
  • Plugins – this folder contains plugins required to work with our theme in case you cannot install them with the prompt or just need a local copy of
  • novo.zip – this is the archive you need to upload to WordPress.
  • novo-child.zip – this archive contains the basic child theme that you can use with our theme. Just installing it won’t hurt and in case you decide to make some changes/extend the source code of the theme, it will be very helpful because it helps not to lose your custom changes after updating the parent theme. More on child themes

Server requirements #

In order to use Theme, you should employ WordPress 5.x or higher, PHP 7.4 or greater, and MySQL 5 or greater on your server.

Below you can see a list of items you should ensure your host can comply with.

  • Make sure that your web host has the minimum requirements to run WordPress and Themes;
  • Always check to ensure they are running the latest version of WordPress;
  • Download the latest release of WordPress from the official WordPress website;
  • Create secure passwords for FTP and Databases anytime.

Minimum PHP requirements

Many issues you may encounter such as; white screen, demo content fails when importing, empty page content, a theme not being saved, and other similar issues are all related to low PHP configuration limits. Еhe solution to this problem is to increase the PHP limit, what you can do on your own, or contact your hosting provider and ask them to increase those limits to a minimum of the following:

max_execution_time 600
memory_limit 256M
post_max_size 256M
upload_max_filesize 256M
max_input_time 60

Besides, you should consider upgrading your PHP version to the latest version, the newer the better.

Updating your PHP version

Generally, you can not update the PHP version by yourself and you need to communicate with your host about this. The upgrade process is a gentle process and should be something your host can do for you without impacting your website or charging you a fee.

Theme Installation #

Thank you for choosing our Theme. This article is intended to help you understand how to install the Theme and simplify the process of setting it up.

From the dashboard go to “Appearance” tab “Themes”.

Click on the “Add New” button.

Next step is “Upload Theme” button.

And look for the file with the theme on your PC.

If the Theme is not activated then go to “Appearance”  “Themes”.
Click on “Activate”.

Installing via FTP

This is a more advanced way to install your theme. To install Novo via FTP:

  • Download the Theme archive and extract the files it contains;
  • Use an FTP client to access your hosting server;
  • Unzip the novo.zip archive, put its contents (folder called novo) in the /wp-content/themes directory provided by WordPress;
  • Go to Appearance → Themes, find Novo and activate it.

Theme Wizard Installation #

When you first install the theme you’ll see the Wizard guide installation. It will help you to install theme easyally.

Please follow these steps:

Theme License Activation #

If you skip the Wizard setup or after the demo content installation your theme is deactivated.  In this way, you need to activate your Theme license.
Please go to the Novo Dashboard and insert your Envato Purchase Code in the field and click “Activate”.

Your purchase code you can find HERE

Problems with the Theme License Activation #

In some reasons you can have problems with the Theme activation:
1) “Purchase code is wrong” – check that you activate the main theme (not the child). After go “Theme Options”->“License”, insert you purchase code (check that it hasn’t spaces after (you can mistake copy it with)), click “Save” and wait 5-7 sec. After that, click “Register the code”. Some servers have delay and waiting 5-7 sec.
2) “Something wrong, please try later” – you need to try to activate it later. If it won’t help – the problem in incoming and outcoming queries from your hosting. The firewall on your hosting blocks it and our license system can’t check your purchase code and send the status. In this situation you need to contact your hosting support to allow incoming and outcoming queries from the domain promo-theme.com.

Theme updating #

This section is at the beginning of the article because if you set up the Envato Market plugin at first, it will save you save from unnecessary actions with updating the theme in the future.

You can enable the Auto-Updating feature for Theme. To do this, primarily,you should make sure that you have the Envato Market plugin activatedYou don’t have to download it provided you’ve installed the required plugins because The Envato Market plugin is already included in the Theme pack.

Previous to Updating please read all the release notes for the update, found in the changelog.  Make sure to look through the notes for every release since the last time you updated. In addition think about deactivating caching plugins temporarily to avoid the caching of old markup.

Afterwards you have to fulfill the following steps:

  • Go to https://build.envato.com/create-token/ page and generate an Envato API token;
  • Give your token a name, agree to the terms and click on the “Create Token” button;
  • Copy the generated token;
  • From the dashboard go to Envato Market and paste your token in the Token line;
  • In the end don’t forget to save the changes.

Now that you have the Envato Market plugin set up, you can:

From the dashboard go to Appearance  Themes and see if there is any updates.

Besides you can update your Theme manually, the same way it is installed manually via FTP. This will not erase your current pages/settings and is a valid updating option.

Demo Content Installation. #

NOTICE: Before the Demo Content Installation you need to activate your Theme License Read more

To install the Demo content you need to go to “Novo Theme” → “Import Demo Content”.

Select page for import and click to “Import” button.

If you are sure you want to import this page, click “Yes, import!” button

After importing a page, you need to select a header and footer for this page.

You can set “Default” in Page Settings to inherit the header from the theme settings or choose an individual one for this page

The same settings will need to be set for the footer.

 

NOTICE: After importing the full demo content, you should follow these steps to complete the installation.

  • Go to “Appearance” → “Menus”, Scroll down the page, in “Menu Settings” choose Display location – Navigation
  • Go to “Settings” → “Reading”, select Homepage and Post page:

Initial Theme Setup #

The last step after installation the Theme, plugins and importing the demo data is to setup your home page and menu, that  can help you to get your new Theme setup and ready for you to edit as you want.

At first, to set your Front Page you should head to Settings > Reading.

Although, by default WP is set to show your latest posts, to make your Theme just like our demo you should choose a static front page from the pages provided in the demo data.

Setting a homepage #

To set the demo as the homepage:

  • From the dashboard go to Settings  Reading;
  • Find the Your homepage displays option and toggle the switcher to A static page (select below);
  • Choose the demo homepage and save your changes.

Create a menu #

To create a menu for your site, do the following:

  • From the dashboard go to Appearance Menus;
  • On the left, find the list section that starts with Pages;
  • Check the checkbox of every element you want to have in your menu;
  • Click on Add to Menu;
  • Finally, you have to set Display location in Menu Settings as Primary and click on Save Menu button.

Header Builder #

You can create and customize with the “Header Builder”

  1. In this field you can set the header title
  2. This is switching between desktop and mobile versions of the header.
  3. When you click on this button, you can customize the header
  4. You can customize the header bar
  5. When you hover over a column, a button for its settings appears
  6. This is a bar of elements that you can use to build a header.
    To do this, you need to drag the element to the column where it should be displayed

Migration to 4.x.x version #

Notice:
1) Please create a FULL BACKUP of your site before update.
2) If you have a custom header or footer, please be aware because the new Theme version uses an absolutely new Header and Footer Builders, and all header and footer customizations will be lost after updating (Please contact our support team before updating). All standard headers and footers are included in the demo content and can be imported one-click after the theme update.
3) Clear all caches (cache plugins) and disable them before updating.
When upgrading to 4.x.x version of the theme from 3.x.x, you need to follow these steps (only this order):
    1. Update PT Novo Shortcodes plugin to the latest version
    2. Update theme to the latest version ( How to update the theme )
    3. Import headers from Novo Dashboard->”Import Demo Content”
      Then you can customize the added headers in the “Header Builder”
    4. Import footer from Novo Dashboard->”Import Demo Content”

      After that, you can customize the imported footers in the “Footer Builder”
    5. Set the default header and footer in the Novo Dashboard->Theme options
      • For header – Novo Dashboard > Theme Options > Header -> Header
      • For footer – Novo Dashboard > Theme Options > Footer > Footer
    6. If you are using WPBakery editor check that you have the option to edit the footer
  • If you have a blank page or menu (like links) on the Header Builder page or on the site page – Please clear your cache browser on this page CTRL+F5 on Windows, Cmd+R on MacOS
  • If your header or footer are missed after all steps, please reselect them in the Page Settings (the right sidebar settings) on the necessary page. Or reselect the default options and update this page.
If you are upgrading from 2.x.x, please follow these steps (only this order):
  • Disable and remove PT Novo Shortcodes plugin
  • Disable and remove PT Portfolio plugin
  • Disable and remove Novo theme
  • Install the latest version of Novo theme
  • Install the latest version of the PT Novo Shortcodes plugin and other required plugins
  • Follow steps 3-6

Color Switcher #

We are excited to announce a new feature on our site – the Color Switcher! With just a simple click, you can now easily change the color mode(light/dark) of site to suit your preferences. Whether you want to switch to a dark mode for better eye comfort during nighttime browsing, or prefer a lighter mode for a brighter experience, the Color Switcher has got you covered.

Color Switcher

How to enable it

Novo Dashboard->Theme Options->General->Color Switcher (On/off)

Additional options:

  • Position (Top left, Top right, Bottom left, Bottom right)

 

Potential issues with the Switcher feature

  • Switcher is not visible or broken – Solution: Check that you are using the Theme version – 4.2.0, PT Novo Shortcodes – 4.2.0, and later. Clear all caches(browser, optimization, cache plugins) to apply new CSS and JS styles
  • Certain paths on the site don’t seem to update the background even after switching – Solution:

Demo pages can have a background color that was been selected in the section or row setting, so it has to be cleared and added new custom class.

WPBakery:

For the necessary Section (clear the old background color and set the new color class)

If the default color scheme is dark version – row-dark-bg-switch , light version – row-light-bg-switch

And the same for the row settings (if necessary)

 

Elementor:

For the necessary Section or Column (clear the old background color and set the new color class)

If the default color scheme is dark version – row-dark-bg-switch , light version – row-light-bg-switch

If you need to add another background color for the switcher – you can change it in the /wp-content/themes/novo/css/style.css (line #14305 for the dark version, line #14309 for the light )

Changelog #

Version 4.2.5

- Booked plugin was changed to the QuickCal (possible vulnerabilities issues). Required to be deleted and change to recommended QuickCal (installation from the recommended plugins)
- Google Map JS script loading duplicate (WPBakery version)
- WooCommerce templates update
- WPBakery (Gallery widget) JS fix

Version 4.2.4

- PHP 8.2 Compatible
- Minor CSS Fix (Elementor Banner Widget - Mobile view)
- Side Header (Added Social Icons) - Theme Options->Side Header->Social Icons (On/Off)
- Liquid Banner with Video - Fixed (Video Popup issue)
- Minor jQuery functions updates

Version 4.2.2

- Updated Font Awesome Icons to the 6 version
- Added new Brands logos to Elementor, WPBakery icons (x Twitter, Threads, etc.) 
- Fixed Elementor Swiper CSS styles (broke Banner widget navigation positions)
- Updated WooCommerce templates
- Deleted Google Plus share feature (deprecated service)
- Minor Setup Wizard Fixes

Version 4.2.0

- Added Color Switcher feature
- Added Swiper to pop-up mode
- Fixed Google maps script loading issue(The script was loaded without a Google map being present on the page)
- Updated WooCommerce templates
- Updated Booked plugin styles and Booked plugin version

Version 4.1.0

- Update JS security and fixed minor bugs
- WooCommerce templates update
- fixed CSS minor issues

Version 4.0.5 (required update)

- Update of the jQuery latest version support.(Please update the PT Novo Shortcodes plugin too, min. version - 4.0.24)

Version 4.0.4

- WooCommerce templates update (variable products template)

Version 4.0.3

- WooCommerce templates update

Version 4.0.2

- ACF plugin update
- Added External link (Portfolio project caustom filed)
- Added External link (Portfolio Shortcode) 

Version 4.0.1

- Added Hover menu type settings for Mobile
- Added Full Screen menu type for Mobile
- Added Custom Short Description in Portfolio Projects
- Fixed Top button feature on mobile verison 

Version 4.0.0

- Added the new Page Builder Elementor
- New Header and Footer Builder (customize your header and footer with Visual builders)
- New Install Wizard
- New Demo Content Installation (options to import feature)
- New Elementor Demo content (All Pages included)
- New Gallery Grid 6 Cols
- New Pop-up design
- New Portfolio project share feature
- New Shortcode Gallery (External Link). Add a external link to your images
- Category order changing feature (Portfolio shortcode). Change the necessary category order in filtering.
- New masonry type in Shop (Product shortcode)
- New field in Portoflio Porject page (Custom link)
- Redesign Password protected pages 

Version 3.1.8

- Added customization options for default Blog view (Categories, Tags)

Version 3.1.7

- Updated styles for active submenu (portfolio categories)

Version 3.1.6

- Updated compatibility with Redux version (after 4.1.24).
- Updated compatibility with WPBackery 6.5.0.

Version 3.1.5

- Added Snapchat sharing.

Version 3.1.4

- Updated WooCommerce templates

Version 3.1.3

- Updated WooCommerce templates
- Updated WooCommerce functions (the last version)
- Added liquid slider
- Added the new slider position (liquid)

Version 3.1.2

- Photo Project title and Description for Lighbox
- Added Likes, Share in the Lightbox portfolio view
- Added Ajax filtering in the Lighbox view (in the Lighbox photos don't show as the selected category)
- Added Full Demo Content version in Importing.

Version 3.1.1

- The New Demo Content installation method
- The New Shop Design (The new Theme Options->Shop)
- The New Ajax filtering for the Shop (Product shortcode)
- Added RTL support
- Added Maintenance mode (Theme Options->Coming Soon)
- Added Blog Categories styles in Theme Options (The blog-style when you click select a category)
- Added GDPR feature (Theme Options->GDPR)
- Added the new share system for Blog posts and Portfolio projects
- Added Footer variant for Project Pages (Theme Options->Portfolio Projects)

Version 3.1.0

- Fixed video player (YouTube API changing)
- Added Hover effect "Gallery"
- Added Hover effect "None"
- Added Gallery mode in the Portfolio and Gallery shortcode (open the full project gallery in lightbox)

Version 3.0.9

- Added Theme Options Translation settings
- WPBAckery update
- Fixed CSS minor bugs

Version 3.0.8

- Added the new Scattered gallery
- Added the new Horizontal gallery type 2
- Added the new Project page horizontal gallery
- Added Gallery Lighbox description always shown
- Added Footer Col 4
- Added the option Prev/Next (Post/Project) Hide/Show
- Added Blog items "read more" button enable
- Added Category (One Home Page) description show

Version 3.0.7

- Added Booking system
- Added Video lightbox feature in the banner shortcode (You can open add video to backgound or open it in the lightbox) 

Version 3.0.6

- Fixed loading gallery problem (filter changes)

Version 3.0.5

- Portfolio Gallery Filtering - the New Mechanism (You can load all photos from categories, Ajax loading without page reloading)

Version 3.0.4

- WooCommerce version update

Version 3.0.3

- fixed 404 and Coming Soon page error after the theme update from 2.4.3 version

Version 3.0.2

- fixed "White Screen" if the Page Template is "Default" 

Version 3.0.1

- Added Memphis remove in the Footer (Theme Options)
- CSS minor update

Version 3.0.0

- Redesign Pages: Home One Page, Agensy, Business, Split Screen, Photographer
- New Theme Options with new customization features
- New video feature (Play-stop buttons)
- Single Blog Post with Sidebar
- New Demo Content Installation
- New license system with theme deregistering 
- Lazy Load feature

Version 2.4.3

- Fixed CSS bug mobile version button HomePage "One Page" 

Version 2.4.2

- WPBackery plugin update 6.0.2

Version 2.4.1

- Added Photo in the Mobile One Homepage version

Version 2.4.0

- Added Photo Proofing gallery
- Added translation customization in Theme Options
- Added Show/Hide "Category" in Gallery, Shop pages

Version 2.3.5

- WPBackery plugin update 5.7

Version 2.3.4

- Added Amazon Pay checkout form

Version 2.3.3

- Added feature "Logo height" (Theme Options)
- Added feature open social icons in new tabs (target="_blank") 
- WPBackery plugin update 5.6

Version 2.3.2

- Fixed "Portfolio" shortcode categories selecting bug 
- WooCommerce plugin update 3.5

Version 2.3.1

- Fixed the minor mobile CSS issues
- WpBackery plugin update 5.5.5

Version 2.3.0

- New pages "Musician" Black/White
- New pages "Videographer" Black/White
- New Gallery Shortcode (Select any photos from the media library)
- New Music Plugin (Add your albums, tracks)
- New shortcode coming soon
- New shortcode playlist
- New shortcode albums
- Added possibility add video in the shop
- New shortcode Image Carousel (Instagram feed)
- WpBackery plugin update 5.5.4

Version 2.2.2

- Fixed YouTube video background play.
- New mobile adaptive feature (Images can be cropped by the divices screen or use the origianl image size) - General Theme Options.
- Added photos position in the portoflio shortcode (right, left, top, bottom) - Portfolio Project custom settings.

Version 2.2.1

- Fixed license bug issues on some hostings platforms

Version 2.2.0

- WPBackery update, version 5.5.2 (Visual Page Builder)
- Blog posts customizing (Disable likes, data, featured image)
- New protfolio items customizing (Always visible - hover effect "none")
- 404 and Coming Soon customizing
- fixed Firefox parallax error on the Home SplitScreen

Version 2.1.1

- WPBackery update, version 5.5 (Visual Page Builder) 

Version 2.1.0

- Added new page Parallax Slider
- Added new page Split Screen2
- Added shop download link after purchase. (customer can download photo after a purchase)
- Added GDPR plugin
- Added Photo optimization plugin
- Added possibillity to disable "likes, date" in the Project Pages (Portfolio)
- Added new Portoflio Project Pages styles (Grid, Masonry: 2,3,4 columns)
- Added Before/After slider and shortcode
- Added Right-Click Protection (Disable the Right-Click mouse option)
- Added possibillity to edit 404 and Coming Soon page.

Version 2.0.2

- Fixed mobile video bug (not playing on iOS)
- Added possibility to add YouTube, Vimeo videos to "Banner" shortcode (like background)
- Added Custom link to "Categories" and "About" buttons on the Home OnePage
- Added possibility to add links to the project page in the Pop-up mode
- Fixed problem with updating photos in the Project Page (Set Gallery)
- Added possibility to upload cutom preloader

Version 2.0.1

- Fixed mobile version Home Split Screen, Business

Version 2.0.0

- New 3 Home Pages (Business, Categories, Split Screen)
- Visual Composer Update 5.4.7
- Added new mobile version for Home One Page
- Added customisation custom link in the Categories (Home One Page)
- Added social icon 500px
- Added possibillity to disable download photos (pop-up mode)
- Added possibility to add watermarks (Watermark plugin)
- WooCommerce version update

Version 1.3.2

- WooCommerce version update

Version 1.3.1

- Added posibillity to add multicategories

Version 1.3.0

- Visual Composer update 5.4.5
- Added Video supporting in the main slider "Banner" shortcode
- Added Video supporting in the portfolio "Portfolio" shortcode

Version 1.2.2

- Visual Composer update 5.4.4
- Added Video Shortcode

Version 1.2.1

- Added customising "Category" and "About" buttons
- Added Social links customization
- Added new Portfolio types and Blog & Portfolio Password Protection 

Version 1.2.0

- Added "Main Color" customization

Version 1.0.1

- Fixed included plugins error

Version 1.0.0

- Theme Release