Help File

# Help File: Gauge

Help file last updated on 27, May 2015

- 1.0 Getting Started

- 1.1 Downloading The Theme
- 1.2 Installation
- 1.3 Installing Required & Recommended Plugins
- 1.4 Importing Demo Data
- 1.5 Updating The Theme
- 1.6 Updating The Plugins
- 1.7 Basic Troubleshooting

- 2.0 Creating Pages
  - 2.1 Visual Composer (Page Builder & Shortcodes)
  - 2.2 Creating A Homepage
  - 2.3 Blogs
  - 2.4 Portfolios
  - 2.5 Categories
  - 2.6 Following Page
  - 2.7 Author Page
  - 2.8 My Reviews Page
  - 2.9 Edit A Review Page
- 3.0 Hubs
  - 3.1 Hub Page
  - 3.2 Review Page
  - 3.3 News Page
  - 3.4 Images Page
  - 3.5 Videos Page
  - 3.6 Write A Review Page
  - 3.7 User Reviews Page
- 4.0 Theme Sections
  - 4.1 Header
  - 4.2 Navigation Menus
  - 4.3 Sidebars
  - 4.4 Footer
- 5.0 Styling Your Site
  - 5.1 Style Settings
  - 5.2 Page Background
  - 5.3 Customizing The Theme
- 6.0 Translating The Theme (Localisation)
  - 6.1 Switching Languages
  - 6.2 Translating - Codestyling Localization
  - 6.3 Translating - Poedit
- 7.0 Advanced
  - 7.1 Optimizing Page Speed
  - 7.2 SEO Optimization
- 8.0 Credits

# 1.0 Getting Started

## 1.1 Downloading The Theme

Download the theme from your ThemeForest Downloads page and unzip the file you just downloaded. You will now see a folder called gauge-theme, within the folder you will see the following:

- Help/ - Help file, changelog and plugin documentation
- PSDs/ - Any layered theme images in PSD form
- gauge/ - The theme folder you would upload to your themes directory via FTP
- gauge.zip - A zip of the theme you would upload via the WordPress admin panel
- gauge-child.zip - A zip of the child theme

## 1.2 Installation

Before installing the theme make sure you have installed WordPress 3.7 or higher. You can download WordPress for free from WordPress.org.

It is recommended that you install WooCommerce, BuddyPress and/or bbPress before installing and activating the theme if you want to use these plugins.

There are two ways to install the theme, please choose the one that best suits you:

### 1.2.1 Installing Through WordPress Admin Panel

You can also install the theme through the WordPress admin panel. However you will need to make sure the file size of gauge.zip does not exceed your upload limit - if it does please see http://wptheming.com/2009/07/upload_max_filesize for more information.

Then to install the theme follow the steps below:

1. Log in to the WordPress Admin Panel.
2. Go to Appearance -> Themes.
3. Click the Install Themes or Add New button.
4. Finally click the Upload or Upload Theme button and upload gauge.zip (NOT gauge-theme.zip).

### 1.2.2 Installing Through FTP

If the theme is too large to upload through the WordPress admin panel you should upload the theme through an FTP client instead.

To set up an FTP client refer to the WordPress documentation on this http://codex.wordpress.org/FTP_Clients.

Once you have set up your FTP client upload the gauge folder to your WordPress themes directory wp-content/themes/ (this is in inside the gauge-theme folder if you downloaded the main files download).

### 1.2.3 Activating the theme

Once you have installed the theme you should activate the theme by going to Appearance -> Themes and clicking the Activate link below the Gauge theme.

## 1.3 Installing Required & Recommended Plugins

### 1.3.1 Installing Plugins

This theme comes with three required plugins:

1. Gauge Plugin: Includes a number of features that you can still use if you switch to another theme such as your slides, portfolio items and custom sidebars.
2. Visual Composer: Adds a drag and drop page builder and front-end editor which many of the page templates rely on.
3. Visual Composer Widgets: Allows you to add Visual Composer elements in widgets.

The theme also recommends several other plugins used in the demo, which do not need to be installed if you don't want to use them. To view the recommend plugins go to Appearance -> Installed Plugins.

You cannot manually update the premium theme plugins unless you have purchased them separately. If these plugins have been updated you will need to wait until a new theme update is released that will include any plugin updates.

### 1.3.2 Plugin Issues

If the required plugins are not installed go to Appearance -> Install Plugins and click the Install link for each plugin.

You can also find the plugins inside the theme folder you downloaded at gauge-theme/gauge/lib/plugins/. You can then upload each plugin zip file manually as follows:

1. Log in to the WordPress Admin Panel.
2. Go to Plugins -> Add New.
3. Click the Upload link in the top sub-menu and upload each zip file.

## 1.4 Importing Demo Data

You can import the demo data so your site looks like the theme demo. This is the easiest way to setup your theme. It will allow you to quickly edit everything instead of creating content from scratch. The demo data imports posts, pages, categories, media, widgets and menus. It will not overwrite your existing content or modify any WordPress settings.

The images imported to your site will not be the same ones seen in the theme demo to ensure the maximum upload limit is not exceeded on your server.

To add the demo data follow the step below:

1. Go to Appearance -> Import Demo Data and click the Import Demo Data button.

## 1.5 Updating The Theme

From time to time free theme updates will be released which will include bug fixes and feature updates.

### 1.6.1 Activating Update Notifications

In order to receive update notifications you need to do the following:

1. Go to ThemeForest Downloads page and find this theme.
2. Check the Get notified by email if this item is updated option as shown in the image below.

### 1.6.2 Updating The Theme

Once you have enabled update notifications there are two ways to update your theme as follows:

#### 1.6.2.1 If you have made NO changes to the theme files

If you have made no changes to the theme files you can update the theme as follows:

1. Download the theme from your ThemeForest Downloads page and unzip the file you just downloaded. You will now see a folder called gauge-theme.
2. Go to Appearance -> Themes and activate another theme.
3. Now click the Delete link for the Gauge theme.
4. Select Install Themes.
5. Now click the Upload link in the top sub-menu and upload the new version of gauge.zip (NOT gauge-theme.zip).

#### 1.6.2.2 If you HAVE made changes to the theme files

It is recommended that you create a child theme to make changes to the theme so you can upgrade automatically without your changes being overwritten. To set up a child theme see Creating A Child Theme.

However if you have made changes to the parent theme's template files you will want to update the theme manually so you do not overwrite these changes as follows:

1. Download the theme from your ThemeForest Downloads page and unzip the file you just downloaded. You will now see a folder called gauge-theme.
2. Now read the changelog so you can see what files that have been updated, added and/or removed.
3. You can use DeltaWalker or DiffMerge and compare the code changes between your modified files and the new theme files.
4. Before uploading the new theme you should make a backup of the current version you have installed. This can be done by downloading the theme folder from your server to your computer.
5. Now upload the new gauge folder that is inside your gauge-theme folder to your WordPress themes directory wp-content/themes/.

## 1.6 Updating The Plugins

Whenever a new version of a plugin is available you will be emailed that the theme has been updated if you activated update notifications as described in the Activating Update Notifications section.

To update the theme plugins do the following:

1. Update the theme as described in the Updating The Theme section.
2. Now go to Appearance > Install Plugins and check the plugins that need updating, select Update from the dropdown menu and click Apply.

## 1.7 Basic Troubleshooting

### 1.7.1 General Issues

Disable all your plugins to see if this fixes any issues you are experiencing. If it does, reactivate the plugins one by one or in groups so you can identify which one is causing the problem.

If the problem is not fixed activate the default Twenty Twelve theme to see if this fixes the issue. If the problem still occurs it is likely a WordPress issue instead of a theme issue and you should post a support topic at the WordPress support site at http://wordpress.org/support.

If the problem is fixed it may be a theme issue, in which case post a support ticket at http://ghostpool.ticksy.com and include your website address and WordPress admin login details.

### 1.7.2 Does your server have the GD library compiled with its version of PHP?

This theme requires the GD library for image resizing. If your images are not working, check with your host to make sure it is installed.

# 2.0 Creating Pages

## 2.1 Visual Composer (Page Builder & Shortcodes)

### 2.1.1 Using Visual Composer

This theme comes bundled with the Visual Composer plugin, which provides a drag and drop interface for creating complex page layouts and provides many shortcodes. This can all be accessed by creating or editing a page and clicking the Backend Editor or Frontend Editor button.

For more information on using the Visual Composer refer to the video below:

### 2.1.2 Default Templates

The theme comes with default Visual Composer templates (these are different from page templates). These default templates automatically insert Visual Composer elements into a page already set up for you. To add them to a page do as follows

1. Create or edit and a page and click the Backend Editor button.
2. Click the Template icon to open the Templates window.
3. Click the Default templates tab and select one of the default templates and then click Close.

## 2.2 Creating A Homepage

### 2.2.1 Creating The Page

1. Go to Pages -> Add New to create a new page.
2. Give your page a title.
3. On the right hand side in the Page Attributes panel select the "FlexSlider" page template from the Template dropdown menu.
4. A new section will appear below the text editor called FlexSlider Options where you can edit the page options.
5. Click the Backend Editor button and then click the Templates button and click the Home Page template image.
6. This will insert the home page layout into the page - you can customize this by editing each individual section.
7. Go to Settings -> Reading, select A static page option and from the Front page drop down menu select the page you just created (leave the Posts page drop down menu empty).

### 2.2.2 Using FlexSlider

1. You can add posts, pages, hubs, reviews and custom slides to the FlexSlider.
2. To import the slider seen in the demo page please refer to Importing Demo Data section.
3. To create your own custom slides go to Slides -> Add New, give your slide an image, title, and link if necessary.
4. On the right hand assign your slide to a category from the Slide Categories panel.
5. Now go back to the homepage you created and select your categories from the Categories drop down menu.

## 2.3 Blogs

### 2.3.1 Creating Blog Posts

To set up a blog page to display all your posts you first need to create some posts as follows:

1. Go to Posts -> Add New to create a new post.
2. Give your post a title and content in the text editor.
3. Scroll down to the Post Options panel where you can control the way the post looks.
4. On the right hand side you will see a Featured Image panel, click the Set featured image link to set an image for this post.
5. After uploading or selecting your featured image click the Set featured image button in the image upload window.
6. On the right hand you can assign your post to categories from the Categories panel e.g. "Blog".

### 2.3.2 Creating A Blog

#### 2.3.2.1 Blog Page Template

1. Go to Pages -> Add New to create a new page.
2. Give your page a title.
3. On the right hand side in the Page Attributes panel select the "Blog" page template from the Template dropdown menu.
4. A new section will appear below the text editor called Blog Options where you can change the blog page options.

#### 2.3.2.2 Blog Visual Composer Element

1. Go to Pages -> Add New to create a new page.
2. Give your page a title.
3. Click the Backend Editor button and then click the Add element button to open the element window.
4. Next click the Blog button where you can customize the appearance of the blog.
5. Click Save when you are done to insert the blog element into the page - you can move this element around and edit the settings by hovering over the element and clicking the Pencil icon.

## 2.4 Portfolios

### 2.4.1 Creating Portfolio Items

To set up a portfolio page to display all your portfolio items you first need to create some items as follows:

1. Go to Portfolio Items -> Add New to create a new item.
2. Give your item a title and content in the text editor.
3. Scroll down to the Portfolio Item Options panel where you can control the way the item looks.
4. On the right hand side you will see a Featured Image panel, click the Set featured image link to set an image for this post.
5. After uploading or selecting your featured image click the Set featured image button in the image upload window.
6. On the right hand you can assign your item to categories from the Portfolio Categories panel e.g. "Music".
7. These categories will be used as portfolio filters on portfolio pages.

To add Visual Composer support to portfolio items go to Settings -> Visual Composer and under Content types check the gp_portfolio_item option.

### 2.4.2 Creating A Portfolio

There are two ways to create a portfolio, you can either use a portfolio page template or insert a portfolio element into a page using the Visual Composer.

#### 2.4.2.1 Portfolio Page Template

1. Go to Pages -> Add New to create a new page.
2. Give your page a title.
3. On the right hand side in the Page Attributes panel select the "Portfolio" template from the Template dropdown menu.
4. You can control the all the portfolio page options by going to Theme Options -> Portfolios -> Portfolio Categories.

#### 2.4.2.2 Portfolio Visual Composer Element

1. Go to Pages -> Add New to create a new page.
2. Give your page a title.
3. Click the Backend Editor button and then click the Add element button to open the element window.
4. Next click the Portfolio button where you can customize the appearance of the portfolio.
5. Click Save when you are done to insert the portfolio element into the page - you can move this element around and edit the settings by hovering over the element and clicking the Pencil icon.

## 2.5 Categories

You can create post, video and hub categories. Posts and pages assigned to these categories are then displayed on these category pages on your site. You can add, edit and view categories as follows:

1. Go to Posts > Categories OR Posts > Video Categories OR Pages > Hub Categories and either create or edit an existing category. You can view the categories you have created by hovering your mouse over the category name and clicking the View link.
2. You can also assign a color, header image and sidebar to each category from this page. To edit existing categories hover your mouse over the category name and click the Edit link.

## 2.6 Following Page

The Following page template shows users all the hub pages they are following and the last X amount of posts/pages relating to that hub from the last X amount of days. To set up this page do as follows:

1. Go to Pages -> Add New to create a new page.
2. Give your page a title.
3. Scroll down to the Page Attributes panel on the right hand side and select the "Following" page template from the Template dropdown menu.
4. To edit "Following" page template options edit the following page and find the Following Options panel below the text editor.

## 2.7 Author Page

The Author page template automatically redirects to the current logged in user's author page which lists all the posts and pages by this user - this is useful for adding in a navigation menu. To set up this page do as follows:

1. Go to Pages -> Add New to create a new page.
2. Give your page a title.
3. Scroll down to the Page Attributes panel on the right hand side and select the "Author" page template from the Template dropdown menu.
4. Go to Appearance -> Menus and add the Author page to a menu - when the user clicks this link it will take them to their author page.

## 2.8 My Reviews Page

The My Review page template lists all the user reviews a user has created. To set up this page do as follows:

1. Go to Pages -> Add New to create a new page.
2. Give your page a title.
3. Scroll down to the Page Attributes panel on the right hand side and select the "My Reviews" page template from the Template dropdown menu.
4. To edit the My Reviews page template options edit the my reviews page and find the MY Reviews Options panel below the text editor.

## 2.9 Edit A Review Page

The Edit A Review page template allows members to edit their reviews. To set up this page do as follows:

1. Go to Pages -> Add New to create a new page.
2. Give your page a title.
3. Scroll down to the Page Attributes panel on the right hand side and select the "Edit A Review" page template from the Template dropdown menu.
4. You can change the Edit A Review page template options from Theme Options -> Hubs -> Write/Edit A Review Page.

# 3.0 Hubs

## 3.1 Hub Page

A hub page is the central page where all the information on a particular item such as a video game is displayed. This may include a review of the game, the latest news, videos and images. Each hub page can have child pages which can optionally be displayed as tabs in the hub page header.

There are two ways to create a hub page, you can either manually create a hub page and its child pages or the much easier way is to automatically create a hub page and its child pages.

### 3.1.1 Creating A Hub

#### 3.1.1.1 Automatically Creating A Hub

1. Go to Pages -> All Pages and at the top of the page you will see an area to create your hub page and child pages (review, news, images, videos, write a review and user review pages).
2. Enter a hub page title (e.g. the name of the game) and click the Create Hub button - you will then be redirected to the hub page you just created.
3. The news, images and video sections on the hub page will automatically display the relevant content associated with the hub page. To associate a post with your hub page, edit the post and find the Post Options panel below the text editor.
4. In the Post Association selection box select the hub pages you want to associate with this post.

#### 3.1.1.2 Manually Creating A Hub Page

1. Go to Pages -> Add New to create a new page.
2. Give your page a title.
3. On the right hand side in the Page Attributes panel select the "Hub" page template from the Template dropdown menu.
4. A new section will appear below the text editor called Hub Options where you can edit the page options.
5. Click the Backend Editor button and then click the Templates button and click the Hub Page template image.
6. This will insert the hub page layout into the page - you can customize this by editing each individual section.
7. The news, images and video sections on the hub page will automatically display the relevant content associated with the hub page. To associate a post with your hub page, edit the post and find the Post Options panel below the text editor.
8. In the Post Association selection box select the hub pages you want to associate with this post.

### 3.1.2 Hub Excerpts

To add excerpt text for your hub pages that is displayed on hub category pages do as follows:

1. Create or edit a hub page and click the Screen Options button in the top right corner of the page and check the Excerpt option.
2. Scroll down to the Excerpt panel and add your excerpt text.

### 3.1.3 Hub Categories

To display hub categories in your hub header and on hub category pages do as follows:

1. Create or edit a hub page and on the right-hand assign your hub to categories from the Hub Categories panel.
2. Now go to Theme Options > Hubs > Hub Header Categories and select which categories you want to display in the hub header.
3. Finally go Theme Options > Hubs > Hub Categories > Hub Categories and select which categories you want to display on hub category pages.

## 3.2 Review Page

The review page is where you write a review about a particular item and give it a rating or multiple ratings.

If you automatically created a hub then the review page would have already been created for you. If you didn't do this, create a new page and assign it the "Review" page template.

1. Edit the review page and find the Review Options panel below the text editor.
2. Enter a rating in the Site Rating text box - you can add multiple ratings by clicking the Add Site Rating button.
3. The multi rating criteria can be added from Theme Options -> Hubs -> Review Page Template -> Rating Criteria.
4. You can add good and bad points in the Good Points and Bad Points text boxes respectively.
5. Add your review text in main text editor.
6. You can change the review page options from Theme Options -> Hubs -> Review Page Template.

## 3.3 News Page

The news page displays all the articles relating to that particular item.

If you automatically created a hub then the news page would have already been created for you. If you didn't do this, create a new page and assign it the "News" page template and set the parent page to the hub page.

1. The news page will automatically display any posts that have been associated with your parent hub page.
2. To associate a post with your hub page, edit the post and find the Post Options panel below the text editor.
3. In the Post Association selection box select the hub pages you want to associate with this post.
4. You can change the news page options from Theme Options -> Hubs -> News Page Template.

## 3.4 Images Page

The images page allow you to add images to a page and display as a gallery.

If you automatically created a hub then the images page would have already been created for you. If you didn't do this, create a new page and assign it the "Images" page template and set the parent page to the hub page.

1. To add images to the images page, edit the page and find the Image Options panel below the text editor.
2. Click the Add/Edit Gallery button to add images to this page.
3. You can change the images page options from Theme Options -> Hubs -> Images Page Template.

## 3.5 Videos Page

The videos page displays all video posts relating to that particular item.

If you automatically created a hub then the videos page would have already been created for you. If you didn't do this, create a new page and assign it the "Videos" page template and set the parent page to the hub page.

1. The videos page will automatically display any video posts that have been associated with your parent hub page.
2. To associate a video post with your hub page, edit the post on the right hand side in the Format panel select the Video format.
3. Add your video URL or add a video in the Video Options panel below the text editor.
4. Now find the Post Options panel below the text editor.
5. In the Post Association selection box select the hub pages you want to associate with this video post.
6. You can change the videos page options from Theme Options -> Hubs -> Videos Page Template.

## 3.6 Write A Review Page

The write a review page allows guests and/or members to write their own review.

If you automatically created a hub then the write a review page would have already been created for you. If you didn't do this, create a new page and assign it the "Write A Review" page template and set the parent page to the hub page.

1. You can add rules and change the write a review page options from Theme Options -> Hubs -> Write A Review Page Template.

## 3.7 User Reviews Page

The user reviews page displays all the reviews submitted by guests and/or members.

If you automatically created a hub then the user reviews page would have already been created for you. If you didn't do this, create a new page and assign it the "User Reviews" page template and set the parent page to the hub page.

1. You change the user reviews page options from Theme Options -> Hubs -> User Reviews Page Template.

# 4.0 Theme Sections

## 4.1 Header

### 4.1.1 Changing The Logo

1. Go to Theme Options -> Header and find the Logo option.
2. Click the Upload button to upload or use an image from your media library.
3. For retina support make your logo double the width and height you want to display it at, you can then specify the logo width and height in the options.

## 4.2 Navigation Menus

### 4.2.1 Creating Menus

1. Go to Appearance -> Menus to set up your navigation menus.
2. Click the create a new menu link and create three menus.
3. Click the Manage Locations tab and select your menus from the Main Header Navigation, Left Top Header Navigation, Right Top Header Navigation and Footer Navigation drop down menus.
4. To create dropdown menus drag the menu items you want in the dropdown inwards and underneath the parent link as shown in the image below.

### 4.2.2 Menu Types

You can create four different menu types, including a standard dropdown menu, mega menu, content menu and tabbed content menu:

#### 4.2.2.1 Mega Menus

1. Go to Appearance -> Menus and add or edit an existing menu item.
2. Select "Mega Menu" from Menu Type dropdown menu.
3. You can also choose the number of columns and define each mega menu column by dragging the menu items you want in each column inwards and underneath the parent link as shown in the image below.

#### 4.2.2.2 Content/Tab Content Menus

1. Go to Appearance -> Menus and add or edit an existing category menu item (this will only work with category menu items).
2. Select "Content Menu" or "Tab Content Menu" from Menu Type dropdown menu.

### 4.2.3 Menu Icons

To add icons next to your navigation links do as follows:

1. Go to Appearance -> Menus and click the Screen Options button in the top right corner of the page and check the CSS Classes option.
2. Add or edit an existing menu item and in the CSS Classes text field add `fa` followed by the icon class name e.g `fa-search`. The full list of icon class names are available here.

### 4.2.4 Menu Text

To add text to your menus do as follows:

1. Go to Appearance -> Menus and add or edit an existing menu item.
2. Add your text to Navigation Label text box.
3. Finally select "Menu Text" from the Content dropdown menu.

### 4.2.5 Menu Images

To add images to your menus do as follows:

1. Go to Appearance -> Menus and add or edit an existing menu item.
2. Add your image URL to URL text box and add a title in the Navigation Label text box.
3. Finally select 'Menu Image" from the Content dropdown menu.

## 4.3 Sidebars

### 4.3.1 Setting Up The Sidebar Widgets

The sidebar area is used to display widgets. To create a new sidebar and assign it to a page do as follows:

1. Go to Appearance -> Sidebars, click the Add Sidebar link and give your new sidebar a name.
2. Now go to the desired page and scroll down to the settings panel and select one of your sidebars from the Sidebar drop down menu.
3. To change the sidebar on all posts, pages, categories, products etc. this can be done from Theme Options page.
4. Now go to Appearance -> Widgets and drag and drop widgets from the Available Widgets panel over to the widget areas on the right.
5. You can add any elements, shortcodes, scripts, advertisements within a Text widget.

### 4.3.2 Visual Composer Widgets

The theme comes with a plugin called Visual Composer Widgets, if you haven't installed this already please see 1.3 Installing Required & Recommended Plugins. Once installed you can add any Visual Composer element as a widget to your sidebars. To do this do as follows:

#### 4.3.2.1 Adding Visual Composer Elements To Sidebars

1. Go to VC Elements > Add New to create a new Visual Composer element widget.
2. Give your widget a title and insert your element(s) just as you would with a page.
3. On the right hand side in the Widget Integration panel select what sidebars you want to add your widget to and then click Publish.
4. Go to Appearance > Widgets where you can change the position or delete your newly created widget.

#### 4.3.2.2 "Find Games" Filters Element

To add the "Find Games" Filters element to your sidebar do as follows:

1. Go to VC Elements > Add New to create a new Visual Composer element widget.
2. Give your widget a title.
3. Next click the "Add new element" icon to open the "Add Element" pop up box and select the Filters element.
4. Edit the element options as necessary and click Save Changes.
5. On the right hand side in the Widget Integration panel select your hub categories sidebars and then click Publish.
6. Go to Appearance > Widgets where you can change the position or delete your newly created widget.

## 4.4 Footer

The footer comes in two sections. The first section contains the footer widgets. The second section contains the copyright text. To set up both sections do as follows:

### 4.4.1 Setting Up The Footer Widgets

1. Go to Appearance -> Widgets and drag and drop widgets from the Available Widgets panel over to the five footer widget areas on the right.
2. Each footer widget area represents a new column in the footer

### 4.4.2 Setting Up Copyright Text

1. To replace the default copyright text, go to Theme Options -> Footer add your own text in Copyright Text text box.

# 5.0 Styling Your Site

## 5.1 Style Settings

With this theme you can style every element of the site as follows:

1. Go to Theme Options -> Styling.
2. Simply change the colors using the color picker or input your own color code.
3. Click the Save Changes after you have finished editing this section.

## 5.2 Page Background

1. Go to Appearance -> Customize to add your own background colour or upload your own background image.

## 5.3 Customizing The Theme

If you want to customize the theme beyond what the Styling section offers the theme allows you to make customizations without editing the theme files so your changes are not lost when updating the theme. There are two ways of editing the theme as follows:

### 5.3.1 Creating A Child Theme

This theme comes with a child theme called "gauge-child". A child theme inherits the functionality of another theme, called the parent theme, and allows you to modify, or add to, the functionality of that parent theme. A child theme is the safest and easiest way to modify an existing theme, whether you want to make a small change or extensive changes. Whenever you update the theme any changes you make to the child theme will not be overwritten. To install the child theme do as follows:

1. Go to Appearance -> Themes -> Install Themes -> Upload and click Choose File and select the gauge-child.zip file from inside gauge-theme folder you downloaded from ThemeForest.

For more information on child themes refer to the WordPress documentation at http://codex.wordpress.org/Child_Themes.

### 5.3.2 Custom CSS Settings

You can also add your custom CSS code from the theme options, however this is limited as you cannot edit the template files like you can with a child theme. To add your custom CSS code do the following:

1. Go to Theme Options -> Styling and add your CSS code to the CSS Code text box.

### 5.3.3 Developer Tools

An excellent way of editing your theme is to use the developer tools that come with most modern browsers. The developer tools allow you to see what HTML elements need to be styled and allows you to edit the styling of the theme within the browser window. These changes are not permanent and nobody else sees them, it's just a great way of adjusting the look of your site quickly. Here are some links to the developer tools for each of the major browsers:

- Google Chrome - Inspect Element Tool
- Firefox - Firebug Tool
- Safari - Developer Tools
- Internet Explorer 9 - F12 Developer Tools

# 6.0 Translating The Theme (Localisation)

The theme is localisation ready so all that is needed is your translation. This documentation covers two methods to create your translation. The easiest method is to use a plugin called Codestyling Localization and more advanced users can use Poedit.

## 6.1 Switching Languages

The theme includes a language file that contains all of the English text which is located in the theme folder at gauge-theme/gauge/languages/.

WordPress needs to be told which language it should use. Open wp-config.php (this is located in the root of your WordPress installation where wp-content/ is) and modify the line below, or add it if it is missing. We've set it to Norwegian in the example below. See the complete list of language codes and country codes to find your exact locale.

    define ('WPLANG', 'nb_NO');

## 6.2 Translating - Codestyling Localization

Codestyling Localization is the recommended method for most users as it is the simplest to setup and allows you to translate both the theme and plugins such as BuddyPress and WooCommerce.

1. Go to Plugins -> Add New, search for "Codestyling Localization" and install and activate the plugin.
2. Go to Tools -> Localization and follow the instructions on how to translate the theme and plugins (such as BuddyPress and WooCommerce).

### 6.2.1 Updating Your Translation

If you update the theme and the language file has been updated, you will need to rescan Gauge using the Codestyling Localization plugin and then translate the new strings.

1. Go to Tools -> Localization and find Gauge in the translations list.
2. Click the Rescan link to update the language file.

## 6.3 Translating - Poedit

Translating the theme using Poedit is an alternative to translating the theme using Codestyling Localization plugin and only recommended for more advanced users.

1. Install and open the translation program Poedit.
2. Go to File -> New From POT/PO File and open the gauge-theme/gauge/languages/en_EN.po.
3. You will be asked to specify the language you want to translate to.
4. Now click on each string and enter your translation in the text box.
5. After translating the strings you can save your file. Poedit will give it a filename based on the country code, so a Norwegian translation will be saved as nb_NO.po

### 6.3.1 Updating Your Translation

If you update the theme and the language file has been updated, you will need to update the translation file and then translate the new strings.

1. To do this insert your modified translation file (e.g. en_EN.po) into the gauge-theme/gauge/languages/ folder overwriting the new file.
2. Now open this file in PoEdit and click Update and it will display the text changes from the latest theme update.

# 7.0 Advanced

## 7.1 Optimizing Page Speed

In order to improve the page load speed you will want to optimize your site. This is not something the theme alone can do as it would make editing the theme difficult for the customer and relies on your own site content.

We recommend you follow the steps provided by GTmetrix at http://gtmetrix.com/wordpress-optimization-guide.html.

## 7.2 SEO Optimization

The theme was created with the best SEO practice in mind, but to add greater SEO functionality we recommend you use the WordPress SEO by Yoast plugin.

# 8.0 Credits

- Aqua Resizer
- BuddyPress
- Flexslider
- Isotope
- LazyLoad
- Modernizr
- Nicescroll 3
- Placeholders.js
- prettyPhoto Lightbox Script
- Redux
- Selectivizr
- Sidebar Generator WordPress
- Stellar.js
- UItoTop jQuery Plugin
- Visual Composer for WordPress
- Widget Importer & Exporter
- WooCommerce