This theme is designed to be used by Internet Society (ISOC) chapters and other ISOC-related entities to create WordPress sites using the same general design as the 2017 www.isoc.nl website. For ISOC Chapters, free hosting is available, see below.
More information - and the theme files themselves - can be found at:
IMPORTANT: If you'd encounter issues using this theme (or have suggestions for changes), please check the issue tracker and raise a new issue if necessary:
https://github.com/InternetSocietyChapters/isoc2017-wp/issues
The issue tracker is public and viewing the issues is open to all. Raising an issue requires a Github account, but those are available for free.
There are more than 10 chapters working with the template and if you would like to see the theme in action, the following sites are already live:
- isoc.nl (ISOC Netherlands)
- isoc.ye (ISOC Yemen)
- isoc-bsig.org (ISOC Blockchain Special Interest Group)
- isoc.org.ni (ISOC Nicaragua)
If you are using the theme and would like to have your site listed as an example, please email voorzitter at isoc.nl
For Chapters of the Internet Society, ISOCNL provides hosting free of charge with antagonist.nl as provider.
To set up hosting, send an email at voorzitter at isoc.nl.
WordPress will then be installed for you and you will receive your personal admin access to the WP-install, a temporary url and if you wish an ftp-account.
When hosted, you will still get as much freedom as possible and for instance, you will be able to create your WordPress child theme, should you wish to make changes that cannot be accomodated in the main theme. If you wish, you can also transfer your domain to antagonist.nl.
This ReadMe document covers the following:
The instructions for this theme assume that the following plugin is installed and activated:
More information about using the Events Manager is provided later in this file.
Recommended plugins
The initial installation of the theme involves the following steps:
IMPORTANT - The theme unzips into a directory called 'isoc'. If you already have a theme using that same directory name, bad things will happen. The safest plan would be to remove the previous theme using that directory name.
To begin, you need to download a ZIP (or tar.gz) file for the latest version of the theme from this URL from the "Releases" page:
https://github.com/InternetSocietyChapters/isoc2017-wp/releases
IMPORTANT - In order for some of the sample code to work in this documentation, you should click on "Theme download (zip)" in order to download a version of the theme that unzips into a folder called simply "isoc". If you choose the other buttons marked "Source code" it will unzip into a folder called "isoc-version". This will work with WordPress, but some of the examples here will need to be modified. It's easier if you just have the folder/directory named "isoc".
Next, in your WordPress admin area (or Network Admin if you are using WordPress MultiSite) do the following:
- Go to "Appearance -> "Themes", choose "Add New" and then choose the "Upload Theme" button,
- Upload the ZIP file you downloaded,
- Activate the theme for your site.
Next you will want to go through the steps in the next sections on configuration to make any changes, update the homepage, etc.
Before you start using the theme, you need to perform these steps.
On activating the theme some configuration of the site is slightly automated. For instance: if there are no pages already, the following are created: "News", "Events", "European news", "About", "Contact", and the 404 page: "Not found". Also the "Recent posts" widget is added to the "Sidebar". The "Main Menu" is created.
Nonetheless, it wouldn't hurt to follow these steps below, in order to learn where and how certain parts of the website can be created or altered.
All of the steps assume you are logged into WordPress, have access to the administration panels of your site and have the required plugins installed. A notice is shown at the top of each admin page if the required plugins are not installed.
- Go to "Appearance" -> "Customize" -> "Site Identity"
- Set the "Site Title",
- Set the "Tagline",
- Set the "Chapter Logo",
- Save the settings by clicking the "Save & Publish" button at the top.
- Go to "Pages" -> "All Pages"
- On installing and activating the ISOC WordPress Theme some basic pages were already created ('News', 'European news', 'About' & 'Contact' ). If they're not available or if you'd like to add some additional pages, click on the "Add New" button on top of the page.
- Add text in the WYSIWYG field "Main Content".
- Go to "Appearance" -> "Customize" -> "Menus"
- If you do not already have the "Main Menu", you need to click the "+ Add a Menu" button to create a menu with this exact name 'Main Menu',
- Set the "Display Location" for this menu to "Primary Navigation",
- You'll want to add at least one item to this menu (and max of 4 items!). If you have not yet created many pages, the simplest option may be to add for example the Homepage:
- In the "Pages" box on the left check the box next to "Home". Note that you may need to click "View All" to see the Homepage.
- Click "Add to Menu". "Home" will now appear on the menu.
- Press the "Save Menu" button.
Alternatively you can add Categories to the menu using the Categories box further down the page.
- Go to "Appearance" -> "Widgets"
- Find the "Sidebar Home" Area.
- Drag and drop Text or other widget types and make appropriate changes.
- Go to "Appearance" -> "Widgets"
- Find the "Sidebar" Area.
- Drag and drop Text or other widget types and make appropriate changes.
If you would like to add a "News" section to your site that lists all your posts, you can follow these steps. Note that this is not required and can also be done at any later time. As noted in the steps, it does not have to be called "News" but could use another name instead.
- Create a new Page ( "Pages" -> "Add New" ) that will be used for displaying all your posts. It only has to have a name and URL as WordPress will supply the content:
It is common to use "News" here with a URL of "news", but you could use another name if you want to. Publish this page so that it is available.
By default the "News" Section is set as the Homepage. In order to change this, follow the steps below. 2. Go to "Settings" -> "Reading" 3. For "Front page displays" choose "A static page". 4. Change "Posts page" to be the name of the page you just created. 5. Change "Front page" to be the name of one of your other pages - or a specific blank page you create for this purpose.
After you save the changes, all of your posts will be visible at "< yoursite >/news", assuming you used "News" as your page name.
This section includes changes that you may want to make on an ongoing basis during the regular usage of your theme.
All of the steps assume you are logged into WordPress, have access to the administration panels of your site and have the required plugins installed.
- From the left-hand column, go to "Appearance" -> "Customize" and click on "Site Identity"
- Browse to upload a new image at Chapter Logo,
- Press the "Save & Publish" button.
NOTE: The Chapter Logo should be at least 200 pixels wide and 50 pixels tall.
Official ISOC chapter logos can be found at: http://www.internetsociety.org/identity/en If you are seeking a logo that is not listed please contact [email protected]
- From the left-hand column, go to "Appearance" -> "Customize" and click on "ISOC Defaults"
- Browse to upload a new image at Default Header,
- Press the "Save & Publish" button.
NOTE: The Default Header should be at least 1600 pixels wide and 500 pixels tall.
The Default Header will be shown on the pages where no Featured Image (see below) is selected.
- From the left-hand column, go to "Appearance" -> "Customize" and click on "ISOC Defaults"
- Select a page to show as your 404 (not found) page,
- Press the "Save & Publish" button.
- From the left-hand column, go to "Appearance" -> "Customize" and click on "Menus"
- Select the appropriate menu tab to edit the menu.
- Click "Add Items". Select the page you wish to add to the menu.
- Drag and drop a menu items to be in the correct order.
- Press the "Save & Publish" button.
NOTE: The "Main Menu" can hold max 4 items.
If you add a "Featured Image" to a post, a thumbnail of that image will then appear next to the text when the post is included in a list of posts, such as an archive or category.
- Edit the post to which you want to add a Featured Image.
- Near the bottom of the right sidebar find the "Featured Image" box and click the "Set Featured Image" link. If you do not see the "Featured Image" box, see the note below.
- Choose the image you want to use, either by uploading a new image or choosing an existing image from the "Media Gallery".
- Select the "Set Featured Image" button to set the image and close the window.
- Click the "Update" button to update the post with the added featured image.
NOTE: If you do not see a "Featured Image" box in the right sidebar it is most likely because WordPress is not set to show that box. Go to the top right corner of the WordPress window and click on "Screen Options" near your name:
In the panel that opens up, check the box next to "Featured Image" to display that box in the sidebar. When you are done you can click "Screen Options" again to hide this panel.
You are free to create whatever widgets and categories you wish, but if you would like an example, here is how you can create a "News" widget and > an "Issues Spotlight" widget and update those widgets accordingly.
- Go to "Posts" -> "Categories"
- Add two new categories:
- News
- Resources
- Add a new post ("News" -> "Add New") with the category "News". The text and title can be whatever you want - this is just a sample post so that you can see the template working when you add a "News" widget. This post can be deleted later.
- Add a new Post ("News" -> "Add New") with the category "Resources". The text and title can again be whatever you want - and can be deleted later. You need this post so that you can configure the Issues Spotlight widget later in the process.
- Go to "Appearance" -> "Widgets"
- Find the "Sidebar Home"
- Drag and drop Category Posts Widget
- Enter:
- Category = "News"
- Number of posts
- Sort by "Date"
- Show Post Excerpt
- Show post thumbnail.
- Save the widget.
- Go to Appearance -> Widgets
- Find the "Sidebar Home"
- Drag and drop Category Posts Widget
- Enter:
- "Issues Spotlight" as title
- Category = "Resources"
- Number of posts
- Sort by "Date"
- Show Post Excerpt
- Show post thumbnail.
- If using the Home Right Widget Area, set the Thumbnail width = 128 (leave height blank)
- Save the widget.
- From the left-hand column, find the News section and click Edit or Add New
- Create or edit a post
- Assign it to the "News" category.
- Save or Publish
- From the left-hand column, find the Posts section and click Edit or Add New
- Create or edit a post
- Add an Excerpt, which is visible on the home page.
- Assign it to the "Resources" category.
- Add a Featured Image, if applicable. Image should be sized to 128px x 80px
- Save or Publish
If you are not already using an events management plugin, this theme has been tested with the Events Manager plugin available here:
The second link for the main site includes documentation and tutorials that go into the many capabilities offered by this plugin.
Within the theme, adding an event involves this process:
- From the left-hand column, find the Events section and click Edit or Add New
- Add Name
- Add Event date
- Add Event time
- Enter Location information
- Enter Details
- Upload Event image
- Submit Event
- Events will need to be approved before going live. To approve an event, click on Events, click on highlighted event and select "approve" or "disapprove".
- Go to "Appearance" -> "Widgets"
- Find the "Sidebar Home" (only visible on the homepage) or "Sidebar" (visible on all the other pages) Area.
- Drag and Drop the Events Widget
- Set the title, number of events to show, order, etc.
- Save the widget.
If you want to make deeper changes to the ISOC WordPress theme than what you can do using the widgets, menus and theme admin panels, the safest option is to create what is called a "child theme." Essentially, this is a separate theme that you apply to your site that references the ISOC theme and only includes whatever files from the original theme you want to modify.
For instance, if you wanted to make further changes to the header of the site, you might create a child theme that included only two files:
- style.css
- header.php
All the other files and settings would be pulled from the main ISOC theme.
The beauty of this setup is that the main ISOC theme can be upgraded without affecting any deep customizations you have made.
More information about using child themes can be found here:
(ACTION: An example of a child theme should be provided for chapters to be able to simply take and use.)
This WordPress theme is provided "as-is" for ISOC chapters and others to develop WordPress sites. While there are WordPress-savvy ISOC staff and volunteers able to assist, please understand that this assistance is not guaranteed to always be available. The best way to raise issues is to use the issue tracker found at:
https://github.com/InternetSocietyChapters/isoc2017-wp/issues
The issues will be posted publicly and can be responded to be others working with the theme.
If you are familiar with modifying WordPress themes and want to make a direct contribution of code changes, we certainly welcome such contributions. You can either:
-
Raise an issue in the issue tracker and include your code in that issue.
-
If you are familiar with how Github works, you can fork the repository, commit your changes and issue a pull request.
To date, the following people or organizations have contributed to this theme:
- Occhio BV, Amsterdam
The original implementation of the theme was performed for the Internet Society Chapter Netherlands.
A separate page on Github contains notes and the step-by-step process for packaging up a release of the theme:
https://github.com/InternetSocietyChapters/isoc2017-wp/wiki
Thank you for using this WordPress theme - please do offer suggestions and feedback through the issue tracker. Thank you.
This theme is licensed for usage under the terms of the GPL v2.0. See the file "license.txt" for more information.
Copyright 2017 Internet Society# isoc2017-wp