StudioBlue elegantthemes WordPress theme

1. How do I installed StudioBlue onto my wordpress blog?
There are several files included in the ZIP folder. These include wordpress theme files, plugin files, and photoshop files. To installed your wordpress theme you will first need to upload the theme/plugin files via FTP to your server.

First you are going to upload the theme folder. Inside the ZIP folder you downloaded you will see a folder named “theme.” Within it is a folder named “StudioBlue.” Via ftp, upload the “StudioBlue” folder to your WordPress themes directory. Depending on where you installed WordPress on your server, the wp themes folder will be located in a path similar to: /public_html/blog/wp-content/themes.

Next you need to upload the plugin files. Inside the zip folder you downloaded there will be a folder named “plugin.” Within this folder are several other files and folders which need to be uploaded to your WordPress plugins directory. This directory will be located at /public_html/blog/wp-content/plugins. Once you have the plugins uploaded you will need to activate them via your WordPress control panel. Login to your wordpress admin area and click on the “plugins” link. Activate the following plugins: Related Posts, and Wp Page Navi.

Next you need to select StudioBlue and make it your default theme. Click on the design link, and under the themes tab locate StudioBlue from the selection of themes and activate it. Your blog should now be updated with your new theme.

2. How do I add the thumbnails to my posts?
StudioBlue utilizes a script called TimThumb to automatically resize images. Whenever you make a new post you will need to add a custom field. Scroll down below the text editor and click on the “custom fields” link. In the “Key” section, input “Thumbnail” (this is case sensitive). In the “Value” area, input the url to your thumbnail image. Your image will automatically be resized and cropped. The image must be hosted on your domain. (this is to protect against bandiwdth left)

Important Note: You must CHMOD the “cache” folder located in the StudioBlue directory to 777 for this script to work. You can CHMOD (change the permissions) of a file using your favorite FTP program. Of course instead of CHMODing the template folder (as in the tutorial) you would CHMOD the “cache” folder found within your theme’s directory.

3. How do I add my title/logo?
In this theme, the title/logo is an image, which means you will need an image editor to add your own text. You can do this by opening the blank logo image located at Photoshop Files/logo.jpg, or by opening the logo PSD file located at Photoshop Files/logo.psd. Replace the edited logo with the old logo by placing it in the following directory: theme/StudioBlue/images. If you need more room, or would like to edit the logo further, you can always do so by opening the original fully layered PSD file located at Photoshop Files/StudioBlue.psd

4. 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 “Current Theme Options” to reveal the various theme options.

5. Can I change how many recent posts are displayed on the homepage?
You sure can. The number of recent posts being displayed on the homepage can be changed at any time via the custom option pages in wp-admin.

6. How do I setup the Featured Articles on the homepage?
If you use this theme you will need to have a featured article on your homepage. These featured articles are pulled from a category within your blog. First, you need to make a category called “Featured Articles” You must spell it correctly in order for it to work. (case sensitive!) Once you have created to category, simply add posts to it when you want them to show up as your featured article. Only one featured article is displayed at a time.

On a side note, you can add your article to other categories as well and still have it show up as a featured article by simply adding the article to the Featured Articles section in addition to its normal category.

7. How do I setup the “Recent from X” category boxes on the homepage?
These are customizable from within the theme’s option menu within wp-admin. Log in, click “Design,” and then “Current Theme Options.” You will see various fields involving the “Homepage Category Boxes.” Here you can choose a title for your box, which category the box pulls its posts from, as well as how many posts are displayed.