Step 1 – Unzip the File

The file you downloaded can be unzipped with any standard unzip program (if you don’t have one already installed on your computer, Stuffit Expander is a popular option for PC or MAC users). Within the unzipped file, you will find the actual theme file along with the end user license agreement (please take a moment to read over the license agreement).

Step 2 – Upload the Theme File to Your WordPress Site

For this step, you’ll need an FTP (file transfer protocol) program. An FTP program allows you to transfer files between your computer and your web hosting account. There are several available, but I use SmartFTP.

You’ll want to upload your theme folder to the /wp-content/themes folder in your WordPress installation. Be sure you upload the theme folder, which will have one of the following names (depending upon which package you purchased):

• WP-MagTheme10-Basic
• WP-MagTheme10-Prem
• WP-MagTheme10-Dev

Step 3 – Activate Your New Theme

Login into your WordPress control panel, and click the Presentation link. On the next page you’ll see all your available themes. Simply click on the WP-Magazine Theme 1.0 screen shot.

Step 4 – Set Up Your Featured Articles Section

If you don’t already have a “Featured” category, you’ll need to create one. Click the Manage tab, then Categories on the sub-navigation bar. Create a new category named “Featured.” Also, be sure the category slug is “featured.”

For the Featured Articles function to work correctly, you may also need to modify your permalink structure. To do that, click the Options tab, then “permalinks” on the sub-navigation bar. Just be sure that any option other than the default permalink structure is selected.

Finally, the only thing left to do is to place some of your posts/articles in the Featured category. By default, the theme is set up to display your 5 most recent Featured Articles in the featured article box on your home page. You can change that number, but we’ll save that for a future tutorial.

Step 5 – Install/Activate Plugins for Popular Articles and Most Commented Articles

In the right sidebar, you’ll see a little box I call the “Site Guide.” It’s designed to give your readers quick access to your most popular posts, most commented posts, site search, monthly archives and site tags (if you use them). For the popular posts and most comments posts to function, you’ll need 2 plugins; Alex Kings Popularity Contest (Note: Popularity Contest plugin has not been updated for WP 2.5 and above yet. There is a fix for it though here) and Nick Momrik’s Most Commented.

Be sure you download the latest version of each plugin and upload them to your wp-content/plugins folder. Then activate them. The theme will do the rest. If you’d rather not use one or both of these functions, that’s fine too. The theme will function normally without them.

Step 7 – Install/Activate Plugin For Related Post

If you look at the top of this article just under the post title, you’ll see a link that says “Related.” The related articles are generated by a plugin called WordPress 2.3 Related Posts. It pulls other posts that share the same tags as the post you’re viewing. You’ll want to download, install and activate the latest version. If you prefer not to use the related posts function, the theme will function properly without it.

Step 8 – Be Sure You Have an “About” Page

If you look on the home page in the Featured Article box, you’ll see a link to the right that says “About this Site.” When folks click that link, the theme is designed to display an excerpt of your “About” page. If you already have an About page, that’s perfect; just make sure the Page Slug reads “about.” To find the page slug, click Manage, then Pages. Edit your About page. On the right side of the Write Page, you’ll see a blue box named “Page Slug.”

If you don’t yet have an About page, well, go ahead and create one.

Step 9 – Add Some Content to Your Sidebars

If you’re using the 3-column version of the theme, you’ll need to add some content to your middle sidebar. So,click the Presentation link, then Widgets, and drag some content into Sidebar1. You can also add some content to Sidebar2 if you like, and it will appear just below the Recent Comment section. Be sure to click the Update button when you’re done.

Step 10 (Optional step for Lightbox users)

There is a Javascript conflict between Lightbox and the Featured Article glider. So far, I’ve been unable to find a fix for it, so in the meantime, here are 3 Lightbox alternatives that have been used successfully by other WP-Mag Theme users.

• Shutter Reloaded plugin
• Highslide
• akWpLightBox

Update – Temp Fix for Lightbox Issue

This is not a perfect fix, but it should make possible to use Lightbox without causing a problem in the Featured Article glider on the home page.

1. Open your Header template, and find these lines of code:
<script type="text/javascript" src="<?php bloginfo('stylesheet_directory'); ?>/js/tabber.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="<?php bloginfo('stylesheet_directory'); ?>/js/prototype.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="<?php bloginfo('stylesheet_directory'); ?>/js/effects.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="<?php bloginfo('stylesheet_directory'); ?>/js/glider.js"></script>

2. Change it to just this line:
<script type="text/javascript" src="<?php bloginfo('stylesheet_directory'); ?>/js/tabber.js"></script>

3. Scroll down a bit further and find this line:
<body>

4. Just after that line, place the following block of code:
<?php if (is_home()) { ?>
<script type="text/javascript" src="<?php bloginfo('stylesheet_directory'); ?>/js/prototype.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="<?php bloginfo('stylesheet_directory'); ?>/js/effects.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="<?php bloginfo('stylesheet_directory'); ?>/js/glider.js"></script>
<?php } ?>

5. Click the Update File button.