VamTam Help Desk

• Check to ensure that your web host has the minimum requirements to run WordPress.
• Always make sure you are running the latest version of WordPress
• You can download the latest release of WordPress from the official WordPress website 
• Always create secure passwords for FTP and Database

Install & Activate VamTam Theme

You may check our in-depth installation tutorial or follow the instruction below: 

Installation Guide

1. Download the "Installable WordPress file only" from your ThemeForest Account - "Downloads" tab.

3. Select the Appearance panel, then Themes.

4. Select the "Install Themes" tab and select Upload.

5. Browse your computer to select the "themename".zip file you downloaded.

6. Click Install Now, and WordPress will work its magic and install the theme.

7. Activate the theme

8. Now go to General Settings and click the "Save changes" button to update the CSS styles

Install the recommended plugins

When you first install any WordPress theme, it will not contain all the extra content you might have seen in the live demo. The first step in recreating the live demo is to install the recommended plugins.

You can do this from 

Appearance - Required plugins

Live Demo Content. How does it Help Me?

Please note that you must install the required plugins before importing the dummy content. 

This is a great feature that helps novice WordPress users and veterans alike. This feature makes the necessary settings/configurations and installs demo content in the WordPress theme: categories, pages, posts, and widgets.

Your VamTam theme will look exactly like the one you see on our live preview. It doesn't matter if you know WordPress inside out or have seen it for the first time. It's always easier to modify posts, categories,  pages, and widgets that are already there rather than creating them from scratch. Moreover, it is easier to understand how your new VamTam theme works.

Our Quick Import is a tremendous feature that will save you a lot of frustration and headache at a press of a button. Try it out. We promise you won't be disappointed.

Due to copyright restrictions, please note that the dummy content doesn't come with the original images. If you like the images from the demo and you intend to use the theme, check out the guide "Stock used in the theme" in the section "Changelog and Credits"

You will notice that widgets, content, and Revolution Slider demo slides can be imported separately.

You can access the feature from your WordPress admin panel: VamTam > Quick Import > Content, Revolution Slider or Widgets.

Click on Save Changes.

Logo

Using a Text Logo

1. Go to Settings > General in the WordPress left-side navigation menu.
2. Locate the Site Title item.
3. Change it to what you like.
4. Click the "Save Changes" button.

Using an Image as a Logo

1. Please go to General Settings in the VamTam theme left side navigation menu.
2. Locate the "Custom Logo Picture" and upload your logo.
3. Click the "Save Changes" button.

Menu

WordPress automatically creates a menu of your pages for you, but the Custom Menu feature gives you complete control of what appears in the menu, where it appears, and the menu title. The page title you want to use will often take up a big part of the width of your header where the navigation menu appears. The custom menu allows you to shorten or change the name that appears in the navigation.

We use the Custom Menus feature in all our themes. You must create one if you haven't imported the demo content.

If you need detailed info on this topic, please read this guide:

Theme Navigation

Problems Installing?

On rare occasions, our themes may not be installed properly. If you have any issues with installing the theme, you might want first to check the 

Common Installation Issues Guide.

Updates

If you need to update a theme to a newer version, check this guide:

Update Guide

Changing the layout is easy and takes place in two locations:

1. Global layout options are located here: VamTam Theme Options > Layout.
2. Local layout options are below the text editor on every page/post: Layout and Styles.

You can set the website's general layout from VamTam Theme Options > Layout > General > Layout type.

Header Layout

VamTam Theme Options > Layout > Header

In this section, you can change the Header and Top Bar layouts and set the height of the header area.

You can enable or disable the SEARCH.

This will be the default layout for all pages.

Body Layout

VamTam Theme Options > Layout > Body

In this section, you can enable or disable the body top widget areas and the body sidebar areas.

You can set the width of the sidebars.

This will be the default layout for all pages.

Note: You can override some options page-by-page: enable/disable body sidebars and body top widget areas.

Footer Layout

VamTam Theme Options > Layout > Footer

You can enable or disable the footer widget areas and choose the desired layout.

This will be the default layout for all pages.

Advanced Widget Builder

VamTam Theme Options > Layout > Body

VamTam Theme Options > Layout > Footer

This builder is used in the body top and the footer widget areas but not the sidebars.

Please note that you can easily re-create the footer, body top widget areas, and widgets by importing the dummy widgets data from theme options > quick import > import widgets. If you have done so, you will learn in this section how to change the layout of the widget areas and the widgets.

In the footer and the body top widget areas of your website, you can place from one up to six widget areas. You can place as many widgets as you need in each widget area.

You can easily create your widget areas by choosing from the three predefined footer layouts in "basic sidebars".

In "advanced sidebars," you can build your layout using the sidebar builder.

1. Please choose the number of widget areas and adjust each widget area's settings.
2. You can adjust the width of the widget area from the sixth predefined and place them in one to six rows. When "empty" is enabled, the next widget area goes on the next row. Please note that you can have a widget area that spans only one-third of the website's width and still is the only widget area on this raw.
3. Press the button "Save Changes" when you are done.

Once you have created the layout, you can add widgets to your created widget areas.

Please go to Appearance > Widgets.

You will see the footer widget areas on the right-hand side. Open the widget area and drag the widget(s) you need.

1. You can choose from 9 custom widgets and all the WordPress standard ones.
2. Drag the widget in the widget area,
3. Its option panel will open up, and you can adjust the settings accordingly.
4. Do not forget to click on "Save".

Manage Custom Sidebars

Appearance > Widgets > Add Widget Area button

Once you create the custom widget area, you can insert widgets into it.

Please note that you have default - blog posts, portfolio posts, and general page widgets. There is no point in using custom widget areas if you haven't used the default one yet.

If you need detailed info on this topic, please read this guide:

How to create sidebars and add widgets to them? 

Styling Your Website

You can easily edit the color and the background of each website entity. Just follow the instructions below.

Styling of Elements

1. Go to VamTam Theme Options > Styles > Global Color/Background Settings in your back-end.
2. You will see accent colors - all website elements are attached and grouped to these colors. Simply change the colors by using the color picker or inputting the color value in the box.
3. Click the "Save Changes" button after you finish editing.

Changing Backgrounds

1. You can change the background of the website's different sections: header, body, and footer. You also have general page background located in VamTam Theme Options > Styles > Global  Color/Background Settings.
2. Locate the section that you want to change.
3. You can choose a color or an image as a background.
4. If you choose an image, you can make it full screen by switching on the "cover" option.
5. Select the image repeat method in the drop-down.
6. Click the "Save Changes" button after you finish editing.

Changing Fonts

The general font styling options are located here: VamTam  Theme Options > Styles > General Typography. The options for styling the fonts in the website's different sections are located in VamTam Theme Options > Styles > Header/Body/Footer.

Styling the Menu

All the options for styling the main menu are located in VamTam Theme Options > Styles > Header.

Using Custom CSS

There is a limit to what the theme options can do. When trying to customize colors, text, margins, padding, control an element's size, etc., options aren't always the best solution. The preferred way  to do it is with your CSS

1. Navigate to Appearance » Theme Options » General Settings.
2. Insert your custom CSS code into"Custom CSS"textarea.
3. Press the[Save changes]button. Your custom CSS styles will be added at the end of the main theme stylesheet file (thestyle.css.phpfile). Please note that your custom styles may not apply immediately as the main theme stylesheet file is being cached by your browser. To empty the browser cache and load the new stylesheet, please try to reload the website by pressing the CTRL + R key combination several times.

If you need more info, please read this guide:

How to add Custom CSS

Using Shortcodes

Builder Construction Architect Renovation comes with many custom shortcodes that allow you to add custom styles to your post/page/portfolio content. You can get the shortcodes from the demo website or the Admin Panel. Above the text editor on the top right side, you will notice three tabs - Visual, Text, and VamTam.

The VamTam drag & drop editor is tightly integrated with the TinyMCE editor, and you can switch to a visual or text editor anytime without losing any changes.

Guide to using shortcodes

Shortcode Generator

You can easily insert Shortcodes by using the Shortcode Generator that can be found on the toolbar of the visual editor. You can select the shortcode in the dropdown menu and simply change the options in the shortcode editor and then click Insert to insert the shortcode into the content editor.

Only the shortcodes for styling the text can be found here. In the "VamTam" tab

above the text editor, you will find the drag-and-drop page builder and the remaining shortcodes.

Some drag-and-drop elements come with Visual Editor; you can insert shortcodes.

List of shortcodes available in the shortcode generator:

Lightbox

Tooltip

Buttons

Vertical blank space

Divider

Drop cap

Pre & code

Styled lists

Icons

Highlights

Using the code from the Demo Website

Alternatively, you can take the codes from our demo website and insert them into the text (HTML) editor. You can switch to the "VamTam" tab of the editor and use the drag-and-drop page builder to move the shortcodes around.

Drag and Drop Page Builder

The Drag and Drop Page Builder is based on the popular visual composer; those who know Visual Composer well may not need to read further.

Above the text editor on the top right side, you will notice three tabs - Visual, Text, and VamTam. By default Vamtam tab - the Drag & Drop page builder will be loaded.

The VamTam drag & drop editor is tightly integrated with the TinyMCE editor, and you can switch to a visual or text editor at any time without losing any changes.

Click on or drag the element buttons to add shortcodes to the builder.

Once the element is inserted, you will see its block in the builder. Now you can change the element's width and position relative to the other elements( if there are more than one), delete,  clone, or edit it by using the buttons on the left and right sides of the shortcode block. You can insert elements into some other elements - tabs, accordion, and column/color box work this way.

You do not need to use the column/color box shortcode unless the layout is very complex, as the width of the elements is controlled by buttons +/- located on each element.

Please note that some of the element's blocks have a toggle on the right side.

You can open them directly in the builder and edit the text.

If you need more info, please read the guide:

How to use Drag & Drop Page / Post Builder

List of shortcodes available in the drag & drop page builder:

Accordion

Blank Space

Blog

Box with a Link

Call Out Box

Column-Color Box

Contact Info

Countdown

Contact Form 7

Divider

Expandable Box

Featured Products

Flickr

Google Maps

IFrame

Revolution Slider

Portfolio

Price Box

Progress Indicator

Service Box

Sitemap

Tabs

Team Member

Testimonials

Text Divider

Text/Image Block

Twitter Timeline

If you need more info, please read the guide:

Vamtam Drag and Drop Editor Shortcodes

Setting up pages

Global Options

Any VamTam theme has global options for all pages/posts, archive pages, and custom post types. You will see the global options panel in the WordPress menu on the left side of your dashboard - VamTam.

Local Options

You have an option to override some of the global options. These options are below your text editor in pages/posts/portfolios. You can create a unique style and layout for any page/post/portfolio post.

Setting up the Home Page

Any page you create can be set as a Home page.

Please navigate Settings > Reading your WP Admin Dashboard and select the static page. Now you can choose any existing pages as a Home Page from the drop-down menu.

Please note that even if you want to display a classic blog on the front page, you must create a static

blog page with the blog shortcode and follow the steps above. You do not have to choose "your latest post" or

set any page as a blog post page. These options will enable the standard WordPress blog styling.

Reviews

The theme comes with a Guestbook Page Template that helps you have a beautiful Guestbook only using the standard WordPress Comments. Here is a guide:

Guide to Reviews

Setting up Blog Listing Page and Blog Posts

Setting up Blog Listing Page

1. Please navigate to Pages => Add New
2. In the VamTam Drag & Drop Page Builder, click the "Blog"  button. Once the element is inserted, you can click on the "edit" button located on the right side of the element to change its setting. You can control - the number of posts per page, pagination on/off, the image on/off, and showing a particular category or a post.
3. Publish.

In VamTam Theme Options > General Settings > Posts, you will find options to hide the meta info and pagination type.

Blog Archive Pages: Categories, Post formats, Tags, Monthly  Archives. These blog listings are created automatically. In VamTam Theme  Options > Layout - you can change the default layout and, respectively, the layout of the blog archive pages.

Setting up Blog Posts

Creating Blog Post

1. Please navigate to Posts > Add New
2. Choose the category, tags, or post format from the options on the right-hand side.
3. Set the post format settings according to the help text above the editor.
4. Publish.

You can customize the layout and style of your Blog Post in two locations:

Global Layout and Styles

Global Layout

If you need to change the layout - please navigate to VamTam theme options - Layout.

If you need to change a particular website area, go to the tabs - header, body, footer.

Global Styles

If you need to change the style (colors, backgrounds, typography), please navigate to VamTam theme options - Styles

if you want to style a particular website area, go to the tabs - header, body, footer.

You will find VamTam theme options - General Settings - Posts to hide the meta info.

In VamTam theme options - General Settings - Media, you will find options to resize bog images.

These options control the size of some of the images used by the theme. Changes are not immediate. If you have changed any of these options, please use the Regenerate thumbnails plugin to update your images.

Local Layout and Styles

You have an option to override some of the global options. These options are located just below your text editor. You can create a unique style and layout for any blog post. Show Body Top Widget Areas, Page  Layout Type, Custom Sidebars, and Page Background are options.

If you need more info, please read this guide:

Guide to Blog listing and Blog posts

Creating a Portfolio Listing Page

Please do the following to create a standard portfolio:

1. Please navigate to Pages > Add New
2. In the VamTam Drag & Drop Page Builder, click on the "Portfolio" button.
3. Once the element is added, click on the edit button on the right of it. Its option panel will open up, choose your setting and click on the "Save Element" button.
4. Publish

Creating a Portfolio Item

A portfolio item is a single entity of your portfolio collections. It can be a photo, project, design, product, etc.

1. Go to Portfolios ( in the main WP navigation menu on the left) > Add New.
2. Select the Portfolio item post format - gallery, image, video, link, document, HTML.
3. Set the post format settings according to the help text above the editor.
4. Attach the post to a category/ies. They are found on the right-hand side.
5. You can add different description text in the portfolio items listing page to the excerpt module, found below the text editor.
6. Publish

You can customize the layout and style of your Portfolio Posts in two locations:

Global Layout and Styles

Global Layout

If you need to change the layout - please navigate to VamTam theme options - Layout.

If you need to change a particular website area, go to the tabs - header, body, footer.

Global Styles

If you need to change the style (colors, backgrounds, typography), please navigate to VamTam theme options - Styles

if you want to style a particular website area, go to the tabs - header, body, footer.

In VamTam theme options - General Settings - Posts, you will find options to show "Related Portfolios". You will find navigation with three buttons in a single portfolio post view at the top. The middle gets you to the portfolio listing view.

You will find the option here.

In VamTam theme options - General Settings - Media, you will find options to resize portfolio images.

These options control the size of some of the images used by the theme. Changes are not immediate. If you have changed any of these options, please use the Regenerate thumbnails plugin to update your images.

Local Layout and Styles

You have an option to override some of the global options. These options are located just below your text editor. You can create a unique style and layout for any blog post. Show Body Top Widget Areas, Page Layout  Type, Custom Sidebars, and Page Background are options.

If you need more info, please read this guide:

Guide to Portfolio listing and Portfolio posts

Setting up the slider

We always recommend importing the demo content. If you had done so, you would have imported the sample sliders that come with the theme and replicated the one on the demo website. You can use these sliders as a starting point for your website. The "sample sliders" are well-designed and complex. They must be used if you are not yet familiar with the slider and theme options. Revolution Slider is a powerful and complex parallax slider. It gives you unlimited opportunities to create slides with many sub-layers with different animations. Please note that the Revolution Slider is a plugin and has its option panel found in the main left side navigation menu - Revolution Slider.

Guide to Revolution Slider