Table of Contents
- Getting Started
- Site Identity
- Colors
- Typography
- General Settings
- Header Layouts (8 styles)
- Socials & Contacts
- Homepage Styles (5 styles)
- Single Post Layouts (10 styles)
- Archive Layouts (13 styles)
- Search Results (3 styles)
- Author Page (4 styles)
- Footer Layouts (5 styles)
- 404 Page (5 styles)
- Menus
- Sidebar & Widgets
- Author Social Profiles
- Custom JavaScript
- Newsletter / Form Area
- RTL & Translations
Getting Started
Aurora is a flexible, highly customizable WordPress blog theme built for creators, publishers, and content-driven sites. Almost every visual aspect of the theme — from colors and fonts to complete page layouts — is controlled through the WordPress Customizer, with no coding required.
Accessing the Customizer
Most color and typography changes update the preview instantly (live preview). Layout changes — such as switching header or archive style — require a full page refresh in the preview, which Aurora does automatically.
The Customizer is organized into the following main panels and sections:
- Site Identity — logo, site name, tagline, site icon
- Colors — every color used across the theme
- Typography — font family, size, weight, style for headings, body, menus, and buttons
- Layouts — header, footer, homepage, single posts, archives, search, author, and 404 page styles
- General Settings — site width, date format, newsletter/form area
- Menus — assign menus to the available locations
- Widgets — add widgets to the sidebar
Site Identity
Found at the top of the Customizer panel. This is the standard WordPress site identity section.
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Logo | Upload your site logo image. Aurora displays this in the header and can also show a separate logo in the footer (see Footer Layout). |
| Site Title | Your site name. Shown when no logo is set, and used for screen readers and SEO. |
| Tagline | A short description of your site, used by some header layouts and for SEO. |
| Display Site Title and Tagline | Toggle whether the site title/tagline appear alongside or instead of the logo. |
| Site Icon | The favicon shown in browser tabs. Recommended size is 512×512 px. |
The Header Logo Width control (found under Layouts → Header Layout) lets you set separate logo sizes for desktop, tablet, and mobile.
Colors
The Colors section gives you individual color pickers for every region of the theme. All colors update the live preview immediately.
Text & Links
| Setting | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Heading | #006370 | Color of all heading elements (H1–H6) across the site. |
| Body text | #111111 | Default color of all body paragraph text. |
| Link color | #006be5 | Color of hyperlinks in post content and other areas. |
| Link hover color | #003e75 | Color of links when hovered. |
Buttons
| Setting | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Button text color | #f7f4e8 | Text color for all theme buttons in their default state. |
| Button background color | #d38600 | Background color of buttons in their default state. |
| Button text hover color | #541600 | Text color when the cursor hovers over a button. |
| Button background hover color | #fcf4e0 | Background color when the cursor hovers over a button. |
Header
| Setting | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Top bar background color | #002930 | Background of the narrow top bar. Only visible with Apex and Detailed header layouts, which include a top bar above the main header. |
| Header background color | #004354 | Main background color of the header area. |
| Menu text color | #edede1 | Color of navigation menu links in their default state. |
| Menu text hover color | #5bdeff | Color of navigation menu links when hovered. |
| Menu text active color | (empty) | Color applied to the currently active menu item. Leave empty to use the default menu color. |
| Header icon color | (empty) | Color of icon elements in the header (e.g. search icon). Leave empty for the default. |
Footer
| Setting | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Footer background color | #111111 | Background color of the entire footer area. |
| Footer text color | #d3d2c9 | Color of text within the footer. |
| Footer link color | #f2b100 | Color of links within the footer. |
Other Areas
| Setting | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Sidebar background color | (empty) | Background color of the sidebar widget area. Leave empty to inherit the site background. |
| Site background color | #ffffff | The overall page background color behind all content. |
Typography
Aurora's Typography panel lets you control fonts independently for four elements: Headings, Body text, Navigation menus, and Buttons. All settings support hundreds of Google Fonts and include responsive controls for desktop, tablet, and mobile.
Changes in the Typography panel apply live in the Customizer preview. The font family is loaded from Google Fonts automatically — no additional setup is needed.
Sections
The Typography panel contains four subsections:
- Headings — controls typography for H1 through H6 individually. Use the Select Heading to Edit dropdown at the top to switch between heading levels.
- Body Font — controls the default text used in post content, descriptions, and general page text.
- Menu Font — controls the font used in all navigation menus.
- Button Font — controls the font used on theme buttons.
Controls Available Per Element
Each typography section offers the following controls:
| Control | Description |
|---|---|
| Font Family | Choose any Google Font from the list, or select Default to use the theme's built-in font. |
| Font Size (desktop / tablet / mobile) | Set the font size in any CSS unit (e.g. 18px, 1.2rem). Each device breakpoint can have a different value. |
| Line Height (desktop / tablet / mobile) | Controls vertical spacing between lines. Enter a unitless value (e.g. 1.6) or with a unit (e.g. 28px). |
| Letter Spacing (desktop / tablet / mobile) | Spacing between individual characters. Enter values like 0.5px or 0.05em. |
| Word Spacing (desktop / tablet / mobile) | Spacing between words. Enter values like 2px. |
| Text Transform | Choose from None, Capitalize (first letter of each word), Uppercase, or Lowercase. |
| Font Weight | Choose from Thin (100) to Black (900). Note: not all Google Fonts include every weight. |
| Font Style | Choose Normal, Italic, or Oblique. |
| Text Decoration | Choose from None, Underline, Overline, or Line Through. |
Leave size, spacing, and other optional fields empty to inherit the theme's default values. You don't need to fill in every field — only override what you want to change.
General Settings
Miscellaneous site-wide settings that don't belong to a specific layout area.
| Setting | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Site Width (in px) | 1300 | The maximum width of the content area in pixels. Accepts values between 800 and 1920. Adjust this to make your site feel narrower and focused, or wider and editorial. |
| Date Format | M j, Y | Choose how post dates are displayed across the site. Options include: April 16, 2025 (F j, Y), 2025-04-16 (Y-m-d), 04/16/2025 (m/d/Y), 16/04/2025 (d/m/Y), Apr 16, 2025 (M j, Y), Wed, Apr 16 (D, M j), or Custom. |
| Custom Date Format | j F Y | Only visible when Date Format is set to Custom. Enter any valid PHP date() format string. |
The Newsletter / Form Area setting is also found here. See the Newsletter section for details.
Header Layout
Found under Layouts → Header Layout. Choose from 8 header styles. The header appears on every page of your site.
A classic horizontal bar with logo on the left, primary navigation in the center, and an inline search toggle and optional header buttons on the right.
Two-row header: a slim top bar with social icons and a search button, then a wider bottom bar with a secondary menu, centered logo, and CTA buttons. Great for content-heavy sites.
Adds a top bar with contact details (phone, email, address) and social icons above the standard logo + navigation row. Ideal for sites that want prominent contact info.
A top bar with contact details and socials inside a rounded pill/border, then a clean main header row with logo and navigation. Uses the site background color rather than the header background color, giving a lighter feel.
A top row with social icons, logo, and CTA buttons, then a second navigation bar below. The secondary menu also features a slide-out vertical panel for deeper navigation. Strong branding focus.
Single-bar header with logo left, an integrated search box in the center area, and a slide-out panel for the secondary menu, contacts, and social icons. Clean and compact.
A fixed vertical sidebar header on the left side of the screen (occupies approximately 20% of the viewport width). Logo at the top, vertical menu in the middle, social icons and a search form at the bottom. Content fills the remaining 80%.
A very narrow fixed strip (approximately 4% wide) on the left edge of the screen. Clicking the hamburger icon expands the full sidebar panel, revealing logo, vertical navigation, contacts, and social icons. Maximizes content space.
Upright and Thin are vertical sidebar headers. The Make the header sticky option is not available for these two layouts (it is automatically hidden in the Customizer when either is selected). All other headers support sticky behavior.
Header Settings
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Header Layout Style | The dropdown to choose one of the 8 header layouts above. |
| Make the header sticky | When checked, the header stays fixed at the top of the screen as the user scrolls. Not available for Upright and Thin layouts. |
| Header Logo Width (desktop) | Logo width in pixels for desktop screens. Default: 80 px. Range: 40-400 px. |
| Header Logo Width (tablet) | Logo width in pixels for tablet screens. Default: 70 px. |
| Header Logo Width (mobile) | Logo width in pixels for mobile screens. Default: 60 px. |
| Primary Button Text | Label for the first call-to-action button shown in the header. Leave empty to hide the button. |
| Primary Button Link | URL the primary button links to. |
| Secondary Button Text | Label for the second CTA button. Leave empty to hide it. |
| Secondary Button Link | URL the secondary button links to. |
| Custom Header JavaScript | JavaScript or tracking code (e.g. Google Analytics) to be injected inside the <head> tag. See the Custom JavaScript section for more details. |
Homepage Style
Found under Layouts → Homepage style. Aurora's homepage is built from configurable sections. Choose an overall homepage style, then configure each section's post source independently.
The homepage layout only applies when your WordPress Reading Settings are set to show your latest post as the front page, or you set a static page as the Posts page. Go to Settings → Reading and set "Your homepage displays" to "A static page", then assign your desired page as the Homepage.
Homepage Styles
A featured post hero area at the top with a two-column grid of sections below. Clean and editorial.
Opens with a large 3-column featured post grid (with image backgrounds and white text), followed by two sidebar-style lists. High impact and visually strong.
A full-width post slider as the hero, with navigation arrows. Below the slider, sections are arranged in columns with additional content areas. Supports a large number of homepage sections.
A slider hero (without standalone arrows visible at top) combined with a multi-column post section area below. Designed for content-rich sites with many categories.
A large hero area at the top followed by a swappable two-column section layout. Post cards use image-as-background with white text overlay, giving a visual, magazine-like feel.
Configuring Homepage Sections
Each homepage style displays a series of named sections (e.g. Bold, Overlay, Magazine, Card Grid, Embed, Plain, Genteel, News, Detail, Poster, Compress, Sweet, Vanilla). For each section you can configure:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Post Source | Choose where this section pulls posts from: Category, Tag, or Specific Posts. |
| Category | Visible when Post Source is Category. Select which category's posts to display. |
| Tag | Visible when Post Source is Tag. Select which tag's posts to display. |
| Number of Posts | How many posts to show in this section (for sections that support it). |
| Include Posts | Visible when Post Source is Specific Posts. Enter comma-separated post IDs to show exactly those posts. |
| Exclude Posts | Visible when Post Source is Category or Tag. Enter comma-separated post IDs to hide from this section. |
Custom Content Areas
Four custom content areas are available (Custom Content 1 through 4). These accept plain HTML and WordPress shortcodes, and are rendered at defined points within the homepage layout (separated by thin dividers). Use them to embed newsletter signup forms, ads, promotional banners, or any custom HTML block.
Single Post Layout
Found under Layouts → Single Post Layout. Controls the layout used when a visitor reads an individual blog post.
Breadcrumb navigation at the top, then post header with category, title, excerpt, and author/date meta. Featured image below the header. Clean and widely readable.
Full-width hero with the featured image filling the header area and text overlaid in white in the center. Dramatic and magazine-style. Best for posts with strong photography.
Post header split into two halves: meta/text on the left (about 50%) and featured image filling the right half at full height. Feels like a book cover or editorial spread.
No hero image in the header zone. A simple text-only post header with breadcrumbs, categories, title, and meta. The featured image appears inline within the post content area.
Full-width featured image hero with text left-aligned (approximately 55% width) and overlaid on the image with a dark gradient. Post content follows in a standard column below.
A moderately tall hero (380 px) with centered title and meta overlaid on the featured image. Content below is constrained to a narrower reading width, ideal for focused editorial reading.
A plain white header section with category, title, and excerpt — no image in the hero. The featured image appears prominently just below within the post container. Prioritizes text and readability.
Full-width featured image as background. A white card (about 40% width) is positioned left-center over the image, containing title, excerpt, and meta. Bold contrast between image and content.
Centered, text-only post header without a hero image (the featured image appears in the content body). A minimal, typographic style with category links above and author attribution below the title.
A wide featured image banner at the top (350 px tall), then the post header and content below. Category labels use the header background color. Clean separation between image and text.
Single Post Settings
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Single Post Layout | Dropdown to select one of the 10 layouts above. |
| Show the sidebar in single posts | When checked, a sidebar widget area is displayed alongside the post content. The sidebar must have widgets added to it under Appearance → Widgets. |
| Drop Cap Style | Applies a decorative large initial letter to the first character of each post. Options: None (off), Bold (heavy weight), Casual, or Pretty (more ornate styling). |
Social Sharing Settings
Below the main layout settings, you can enable or disable each sharing button that appears on single posts. All buttons are enabled by default. Available options:
Facebook · X · Reddit · Tumblr · Telegram · WhatsApp · Email · Messenger · SMS · Link Copy
Uncheck any button to hide it from your posts. The share bar is shown either after the post content or below/above the post header depending on template you choose.
Archive Layout
Found under Layouts → Archive Layout. Controls how posts are displayed on category, tag, date, and author archive pages.
Three-column card grid. Each card shows the featured image, category badge, title, and excerpt. A balanced all-rounder. Supports Masonry.
Three-column grid with card-style posts. Each card has the image on top with a subtle shadow. Slightly more spaced and rounded than Default. Works best with a colored background. Supports Masonry.
Three-column grid where each post is a tile with category and date badges above the image, then the title below. Posts have a card shadow effect on hover. Works best with a colored background. Supports Masonry.
Three-column grid like Default, but includes author avatar, name, and a "View post" button on each card. More information-dense. Supports Masonry.
Three-column grid stripped to just the image, category, and title. No excerpt. Very visual and clean. Supports Masonry.
Three-column grid where each post is a tall card (440 px) with the featured image as the background and title/category overlaid at the bottom on a dark gradient. Visually striking. Supports Masonry.
Each post is a wide horizontal row with a large image on the left (about 43% width) and text details on the right. Full-width and editorial.
Each post occupies the full content width with a very tall featured image (550 px), followed by a long excerpt and meta below. Bold and immersive. Includes a "Read More" button.
A vertical list layout at 85% content width with each post centered, displaying categories, title, excerpt, and a "Continue reading" link. Pure typographic; no images in the list itself.
Two-column grid where each row shows a small square image on the left and title/meta on the right. Compact and efficient for archives with many posts.
Single-column layout where each post is a full-width dark card (450 px tall) with the image on the right half and text on the left. Alternating image/text sides create a dynamic rhythm.
A four-column grid where each post cell is a tall narrow tile (aspect ratio 1:2). Odd and even tiles alternate their layout (image top/bottom) for visual variety.
A vertical list where each post has a prominent date column on the left (day number large, month/year smaller) and the content on the right with a subtle bottom border separating posts.
Archive Settings
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Archive Layout Style | Dropdown to select one of the 13 layouts above. |
| Enable Masonry Layout | When checked, posts are arranged using a Pinterest-style masonry grid where each item slots into the shortest column. Available for: Default, Cards, Board, Detailed, Minimal, and Overlay layouts. |
| Posts Per Page | Number of posts shown per archive page. Default: 16. Enter 0 to show all posts on a single page (no pagination). |
| Show More Post Option | Choose how additional posts are loaded: Pagination (numbered page links) or Load More (a button that loads posts via AJAX without leaving the page). Only visible when Posts Per Page is greater than 0. |
| Show the sidebar in archives and search page | When checked, the sidebar widget area is displayed alongside the archive listing. Add widgets under Appearance → Widgets. |
| Disable Archive Top Banner | When checked, hides the archive banner that normally appears at the top of category, tag, and date archive pages, showing the archive title and description. |
Search Results Page
Found under Layouts → Search Results Page. Controls the layout and appearance of the search results page.
A colored banner at the top with the search query and a search field. Results are displayed below using the archive grid layout.
A large colored banner with the site name and a tagline ("Search the site", "Explore various topics and articles"), plus a centered search form. High visual impact on the search entry point.
A colored banner header with the page title and a rounded search input on the left. The submit button is hidden — search activates on Enter. Clean and understated.
Search Settings
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Search Results Layout | Select one of the 3 layouts above. |
| Search Header Background | Color of the search banner/header area. Default is a deep amber-brown (#664700). |
| Search Placeholder Text | The hint text inside the search input box. Default: "Search posts…". Customize to match your site's voice. |
Author Page Layout
Found under Layouts → Author Page Layout. Controls the header style shown on the author archive page, where a visitor views all posts by a specific author along with their bio and social links.
Author avatar (large) on the left, with name, bio, and social links on the right. A clean, standard author card layout.
Similar to Default but with the avatar and info positions creating a higher-contrast appearance against the header background color.
The author's avatar image is used as a full bleed background (with a dark overlay for readability). Name, bio, and social links appear centered on top of it. Visually dramatic.
Text and social links on the left, with the author avatar displayed large on the right side. A spacious, airy layout.
Author Page Settings
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Author Page Header Style | Select one of the 4 layouts above. |
| Author Header Background (color) | Background color of the author header section. Default: a deep teal (#004c40). |
| Author Header Background (image) | Upload an image to use as the background of the author header instead of (or behind) the color. The color picker value can be used as a fallback or overlay base. |
The author's profile photo, display name, and bio are taken from their WordPress user profile. Social links are set per-author — see the Author Social Profiles section.
404 Page
Found under Layouts → 404 page style. Controls what visitors see when they reach a URL that doesn't exist. A custom menu is shown on the page if set.
A simple, clean 404 page with the error title, descriptive text, and a button.
A very minimal error display with just the heading and message text. Stripped back and unobtrusive.
Includes a "How did this happen?" heading and a more conversational layout. Adds a friendlier tone to the error page.
A darker, moodier style for the 404 page. Works especially well when combined with a background image.
A stylized layout with a distinctive visual presentation for the error page.
404 Page Settings
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| 404 Page Style | Select one of the 5 layout styles above. |
| 404 Page Title | The main heading displayed on the error page. Default: "Page Not Found". |
| 404 Page Text | The descriptive text below the heading. Default explains the broken link. Accepts basic HTML. |
| Background Image | Upload a custom background image for the 404 page. Works especially well with the Deep and Anthro styles. |
| 404 Button Text | Label for the call-to-action button on the error page. Default: "Back to Home". |
| 404 Button Link | URL the button links to. Default: your homepage. Leave this field empty to hide the button entirely. |
You can also assign a navigation menu to the 404 Menu location. This is a good way to show a list of key links on the error page to help visitors find what they were looking for.
Sidebar & Widgets
Aurora includes one widget area: the Sidebar. Add widgets to it under Appearance → Widgets or via the Customizer's Widgets panel.
The sidebar can be shown in two contexts:
- On single posts — enabled via "Show the sidebar in single posts" under Layouts → Single Post Layout.
- On archive and search pages — enabled via "Show the sidebar in archives and search page" under Layouts → Archive Layout.
When the sidebar is active, the content area is narrowed to accommodate it. Any standard WordPress widgets can be added — Recent Posts, Categories, Search, Text, HTML, and widgets from installed plugins.
The sidebar background color can be customized under the Colors section using the Sidebar background color picker.
Author Social Profiles
Aurora adds social media link fields to each WordPress user's profile page. These fields are separate from the site-wide social links in the Customizer — they are personal to each author and appear on individual post pages and the author archive page.
How to Set Author Social Links
Available Social Fields
Where Author Links Appear
- Single posts — an author card is shown after the post content, displaying the author's avatar, display name, bio, and social icon links.
- Author archive page — the author header (whose style you choose under Author Page Layout) displays the same avatar, name, bio, and social links.
Only networks where the URL field is filled in are shown. Networks left empty are hidden automatically.
Custom JavaScript
Aurora provides two areas for adding custom JavaScript code without editing theme files.
Header JavaScript
Found under Layouts → Header Layout → Custom Header JavaScript. Code entered here is injected inside the <head> tag on every page. Use this for:
- Google Analytics or Google Tag Manager snippets
- Facebook Pixel or other tracking scripts
- Any script that needs to load before the page renders
Footer JavaScript
Found under Layouts → Footer Layout → Custom Footer JavaScript. Code entered here is injected just before the closing </body> tag. This is the preferred location for most scripts as it does not block page rendering.
Use these fields with care. Incorrect JavaScript can break your site's functionality. Always test changes and keep backups. Aurora does not validate the code entered in these fields.
Enter only the JavaScript code itself, including <script> tags if required by the service's instructions.
Newsletter / Form Area
Found under General Settings → Add your form shortcode or HTML here.
This content area is displayed just above the footer on every page. It accepts plain HTML and WordPress shortcodes, making it ideal for embedding:
- Email newsletter signup forms (Mailchimp, ConvertKit, etc. via their plugin shortcodes)
- Contact forms (e.g.
[contact-form-7 id="..." title="..."]) - Promotional banners or calls-to-action in HTML
- Any content you want consistently visible site-wide above the footer
Leave this field empty to hide the area entirely. There is no visible wrapper when the field is empty.
RTL & Translations
Translations
Aurora is fully translation-ready. All user-facing text uses the aurora text domain and is localized via standard WordPress .po/.mo files.
Place translation files in the languages/ folder inside the theme directory. The file name must match your WordPress site language setting. For example:
aurora-es_ES.mo— Spanish (Spain)aurora-de_DE.mo— German (Germany)aurora-fr_FR.mo— French (France)aurora-ja.mo— Japaneseaurora-ar.mo— Arabic
WordPress picks up the correct file automatically based on the language set in Settings → General → Site Language.
If you are using a child theme, you can place translation files in your child theme's languages/ folder instead, which means they won't be overwritten during theme updates.
RTL (Right-to-Left) Support
For RTL languages such as Arabic, Hebrew, or Urdu, Aurora includes a dedicated rtl.css stylesheet that automatically mirrors the layout. When WordPress detects an RTL language, it loads this file automatically — no additional configuration is required.
If you are building a child theme and need to extend RTL support, create an rtl.css in your child theme directory. WordPress merges both files automatically.
Socials & Contacts
Found under Layouts → Socials & Contacts. Enter your contact details and social media profile URLs here. These are displayed in the header (for layouts that support it), and optionally in the footer.
Contact Info Display
Choose how contact information (phone, email, address) is shown in compatible header layouts:
Contact Fields
mailto:link.Social Media Links
Enter the full URL to your profile page for each network. Leave a field empty to hide that icon. Supported networks:
Facebook · X (Twitter) · TikTok · Instagram · WhatsApp · LinkedIn · Pinterest · Reddit · YouTube
Social icons appear in the header for the Apex, Detailed, Elegant, Overlay, Upright, and Thin header layouts. You can also show them in the footer by enabling Show social links in the footer under Footer Layout settings.