Notizia is a revolutionary WordPress theme with tons of features and customization options.
This documentation will help you go through them and make the most of your new theme.
If you still have problems, or don't know how to do something, please contact us at this email address indicating your license key and explaining your questions in detail.
Notizia (which is the italian word for "news") is a revolutionary WordPress theme made for news and magazines. It offers a wide range of customizations, layouts and options to fit your needs, and introduces a brand new function, the Reading Center, that will take your users' reading to the next level.
With the Reading Center, the users visiting your website can choose what to read: they can like the tags you're using in your posts, so you can have their preferences and craft totally personalized post loops. But we will talk more about that later, in this section.
Please, note:
Notizia is a WordPress theme developed with Gutenberg in mind. The new editor, released to the public with WordPress Version 5.0 on December 6, 2018, introduces hundreds of new features and revolutionizes the user experience. So, although Notizia works perfectly with the Classic Editor too, we strongly encourage you to use Gutenberg to make the most of your new theme.
For now, let's start with the basics: the WordPress and theme installation.
Let's start with the WordPress installation.
Installing WordPress is a very easy and fast process. They call it 5-minutes installation, because that's the average time that should take if everything is set up properly. We suggest to follow this link to have all the informations needed.
Once you buy the theme, you will receive a .zip file containing three .zip files: notizia.zip, notizia-child.zip, and demo-content.zip. To install the theme you have to use the first one, and it works like every other theme you can install on WordPress.
Go in your Admin Panel, select Appearance > Themes > Add New > Upload Theme and then select notizia.zip. Wait until the upload finishes, and then you can safely activate the theme.
Once activated, you will see this advice on top of your WordPress Admin Panel:
It is strongly recommended to install and activate all said plugins, in order to take full advantage of the theme. Anyway, we will talk later about them.
As said before, Notizia includes two brand new plugins.
To have the best possible experience with Notizia it is strongly recommended to install and activate all two.
The Theme Customizer is a wonderful tool introduced in WordPress 3.4. We will use it to manage almost all the theme settings, so better learn how to access and explore it.
You just have to login in your WordPress website, and click the button Customize to access the Theme Customizer.
Clicking on Notizia: Theme Options will let you explore all the available settings for the theme. From the next paragraphs we will specifically talk about each of them.
In this first section we have control on some general settings of our theme and its fonts.
Here you can select the logo you want to use when your header is transparent (we'll talk later about how that can happen). In order to select your actual logo, you have to navigate to the Site Identity section in the Theme Customizer.
Notizia gives you the ability to choose between different Google Fonts for your website. We divided them in Headlines (all the titles and subtitles, and some other things), Content (the main content of your site), and Secondary Elements (some section titles and widget titles).
Below you can find all the available fonts, with a detail of some specific supported languages:
Here you can find some options for your site content.
Shows the post views in single posts and post loops.
2. Show comments countShows the comments count in single posts and post loops.
3. Hide authors' email and URLHides the email address and the main URL of your authors in the entire site.
Here you can find some options for your users.
If you have a custom registration page for your users, you can select it here. It will be the destination of the 'Register' button in your header. Note: this will only work if your site allows anyone to register.
Here you can find some options for the search system.
If your search mode is set to Simple, this will show the featured image of the first found post, inside the search results page.
2. Search modeHere you can choose between a classic, simple search mode, and a fast and easy search popup. You won't ever need to change page with this one. You can see below how they appear.
Simple Search
This is just the normal search bar. You can write here your search query, and it will take you to the search results page.
Search Popup
This will allow you to use a search popup with dynamic generated content. No need to change page to see the search results.
Here you can find some options for some other things.
Show or hide an overlay while the page is loading. You can customize its colors by going in the 'Styles & Colors' section of the Theme Customizer.
Notizia offers three different types of header, and a megamenu feature that allows you to show a list of posts in your menus. Let's talk about them in detail and see how it all works.
You can choose between three different types of header. Below we will properly talk about each one of them.
2. Header: TallYou can select this option to give your header a greater padding for top and bottom. Only affects Header Type 1 and 3.
3. Header: BoxedWith this option selected, your header will be contained within the main width of the site. Only affects Header Type 1 and 3.
4. Megamenu: show paginationIf you select this option, you will find the Next and Previous buttons in your megamenus' post lists. If not, posts will be limited to 4 or 2, depending on the header type you chose.
Notizia offers a total of three different types of header, each one with its menu positions, which are always specified inside the menu edit page.
Type 1: Top header with one main menu
With this header type you will have a top bar with a main menu. On the left there's the site logo (or title and subtitle), while on the right you can find the icons for the Reading Center, the search engine and the login button, or the user menu.
Type 2: Left panel with main menu, secondary menu, social menu
With this header type you will have a fixed panel on the left, containing the site logo or name, a main menu, a secondary menu, and a social menu. Between them, you can find the icons for the Reading Center, the search engine and the login button, or the user menu.
Type 3: Top header with main menu; right hamburger with secondary menu, social menu
With this header type you will have a top bar with a main menu, with the site logo or title in the center. On the right there are the icons for the Reading Center, the search engine and the login button, or the user menu, and an hamburger button. Clicking on that will open a side panel containing a secondary menu, and a social menu.
Notizia offers you the ability to create useful megamenus you can use to show post lists in your submenus. You can achieve that using a simple system based on CSS classes and elements ID - but don't worry if you have no idea how they work, we're just going to explain it in detail. If you don't know how to check the ID of an element, like categories or tags, check this out.
This is the final result of a correctly set megamenu, showing a list of posts based on some filters:
Let's see how to achieve that:
The Eye-Catching Zone, introduced with Notizia version 2.0, is a feature of the theme that allows you to show your best content in many different ways. When activated, it will show a section that contains a list of posts you can choose freely and individually.
Note: in order to use The Eye-Catching Zone, the plugin Notizia: Tools must be installed and active.
So, to make a post appear in The Eye-Catching Zone, the first thing to do is going in your backend, in your single post edit panel. There, scrolling down, you will see the relevant option.
After selecting all the posts you want to show, it's time to go in the Theme Customizer, and then clicking the section The Eye-Catching Zone.
Options for The Eye-Catching Zone in the Theme Customizer.
This will activate The Eye-Catching Zone in your homepage.
2. LayoutYou can choose between many different layouts for the section. See below for details.
3. Magazine: background colorWhen using the layout "Magazine", you can customize from here the background color of the section.
4. Magazine: text colorWhen using the layout "Magazine", you can customize from here the text color of the section.
5. Magazine: section titleWhen using the layout "Magazine", you can choose here the section title.
6. Magazine: section subtitleWhen using the layout "Magazine", you can choose here the section subtitle.
7. Magazine: 'Most Read' labelWhen using the layout "Magazine", you can choose here the label for the "Most Read" section.
8. Magazine: Most Read time rangeWhen using the layout "Magazine", you can specify here the time range for the posts you want to show in the "Most Read" section. For example, selecting "Last week" will show the most read posts between the ones published within the last seven days.
You can choose between eight different layouts for The Eye-Catching Zone. Let's explore them in detail.
Deck
Horizon
Progress
Full Screen
One Panel
Wide Columns
Cards
Magazine
You can customize tha layout of your posts and pages' header, as well as some other options. Let's explore them in detail.
Options for posts and pages inside the Theme Customizer (check this section if you want to know about reviews).
You have 7 different types of headers to show in single posts and pages. We will explore them in the next paragraph.
2. Show trending tags (posts)If you select this option, after the content of a single post will appear a section with the latest trending tags.
3. Sharing Buttons (posts)You can choose the sharing buttons you want to show in your single posts.
Notizia offers a total of seven different types of header for posts and pages.
Type 1: Top text, bottom image
Type 2: Full screen image with centered text
Type 3: Top text, bottom image, with sidebar
Type 4: Left image, right text
Type 5: Left text, right image
Type 6: Full width image with centered text
Type 7: Full width image on top, centered text below
When you're creating or editing a single post, you will find some other options after the main content. Let's explore them in detail.
1. Eye-Catching
This will make your post appear in The Eye-Catching Zone. See this section to know more.
2. SourceYou can specify a source for your post. This will make a link appear below the main content.
3. Header typeYou can set an header type for this specific post. This choice will override the one selected in the Theme Customizer. See this section to know more.
4. SidebarYou can set the sidebar position for a specific post. The "Default" option will keep the one you choose in the Theme Customizer.
When you're creating or editing a single page, you will find some other options after the main content. Let's explore them in detail.
1. Header type
You can set an header type for this specific page. This choice will override the one selected in the Theme Customizer. See this section to know more.
2. SidebarYou can set the sidebar position for a specific page. The "Default" option will keep the one you choose in the Theme Customizer.
3. Hide title / ExcerptHides the title and excerpt of this specific page.
4. Hide featured imageHides the featured image of this specific page.
5. Wide contentRemoves the share buttons and the margins at the sides of the content. This is useful if you're creating your homepage, or a section homepage, and want to make full use of all the available space.
Notizia includes a review system that will let you write reviews of whatever you want. You will be able to write pro and cons of a certain product, give it a score and write a final paragraph that will sum up you article. Let's see how it works.
Note: in order to use the review system, the plugin Notizia: Tools must be installed and active.
First, let's see what a review will look like:
This up here is what you'll see at the end of your review. As you can see, reviews introduce many interesting elements that are not present in simple posts.
You can also find some options about the review system in the Theme Customizer.
The label to show before the "Pros" section. Default is "What's good".
2. Label for "Cons"The label to show before the "Cons" section. Default is "What's bad".
3. Label for the "Wrap up"The label to show before the last paragraph. Default is "Wrap up".
4. Show scores in post listsSelect this option if you want review scores to be shown in post lists. Disable it if you don't want your users to have your review scores spoiled.
The Reading Center is one of the core mechanics of Notizia, a brand new feature that will allow you to take your users' reading experience to the next level.
You readers will have the ability to "like" tags, creating data that will be quietly stored in the database. You can use that data to automatically populate a specific section of posts (see image below) based on their preferences, so every single user will have a unique reading experience, and will find in a moment what they're looking for.
Now first, let's start by exploring the Reading Center options in the Theme Customizer.
Note: the plugin Notizia: Reading Center, included with the theme, must be installed and active.
You can use the Theme Customizer to set your preferences. Remember that the plugin Notizia: Reading Center must be installed and active.
This will activate the Reading Center and Reading List features.
2. Store users' reading dataIf you select this option, your users will have the ability to see which posts they haven't read yet (with a little green dot next to the post title, inside the Reading Center). In order to achieve that, their reading data will be stored in the database.
As said before, with the Reading Center active, users will have the ability to like tags. If we open a single post, here is how tags will look like:
As you can see, tags now have a button next to them, a little heart symbol: clicking on it will make you like that specific tag (or dislike, if already liked. Here in this image, for example, we already liked the tag "Mars", so the heart is full). That information will be saved in the database.
That means you can use that data to show in the Reading Center all the posts your readers like.
The Reading List is another brand new feature offered by Notizia. It allows your users to save posts they want to read later, which will be stored in a easy-to-use and easy-to-reach panel with the post list. To access it, just click on the bell icon and change tab, selecting "Reading List". Almost the same way you access the Reading Center.
Here's how the Reading List looks like:
Adding a post in the Reading List is really simple: after you activate the Reading Center option in the Theme Customizer, you will see a little bookmark icon in post lists and post headers. Click on that and that's it, congrats: that post is now stored in your Reading List and you can access it anytime, once you're logged in. To remove it, just click on the bookmark again, click on the X icon next to it in the Reading List, or just open and read it.
Post Loops are a core feature of any WordPress theme. It's how your posts will look in your posts lists, which can appear in your homepage and archive pages. Let's see the loop options in the Theme Customizer.
This is the text of the label that will be shown before the loop starts. You can leave it empty if you don't want to show anything.
2. Post loop layoutThe layout you want to use for your post loops. For now, Notizia offers you five different options. We'll talk more about them below this section.
3. Ajax load moreThis option will make the "Load More" button appear after the last post shown in a list. If you disable it, you'll see the normal pagination.
Notizia offers a total of five different layouts for posts loops.
Type 1: Classic list
Type 2: Big boxes
Type 3: List, alternate items
Type 4: Classic list with small images
Type 5: Classic list with only first image
Sidebars are core features of WordPress. In the Theme Customizer you can set your preferred sidebar position (right sidebar, left sidebar, or no sidebar) for all the different sections of your website. You can access this section by selecting Notizia: Theme Options, then Sidebars.
Specifically, here you can set:
You can use this section to customize your footer: you can add a specific logo to it, write a bottom text, and decide if you want three or four columns of widgets.
Here's how it looks in the Theme Customizer:
If your footer has a different color scheme, you can upload a custom logo to be only shown there. Check the section Styles & Colors to know more about customizing theme colors.
2. Copyright TextYou can write some text to appear in the very bottom of your page.
3. Footer columnsThree or four widget columns? Entirely up to you. If you don't want to show widgets in your footer, just remove all the widgets from the Footer Sidebar positions. If you're not sure about how to use widgets, check out this article.
Here's how the footer will look without widgets, simple and clean:
Here's how it will look with three columns...
And here we have four.
You can use this section to customize the styles and colors of your website. You can access it by going in the Theme Customizer and selecting Notizia: Theme Options, then Styles & Colors.
Here, you will have the ability to change colors, backgrounds, the shape of some elements like buttons or section titles, and the decorations around the site. You can also upload a custom image that will be used for the posts or pages with no featured image attached.
Notizia comes with a brand new block for Gutenberg that allows you to show post lists around your entire site, with many layouts and customization options. It's called Notizia: Post List and you can easily find it while adding a new block in a post or page. Let's see how it works.
Note that the plugin Notizia: Tools must be installed and active, and you have to use the WordPress Block Editor (Gutenberg); otherwise, the new block will not appear.
Notizia: Post ListIf you're using Gutenberg, and you installed the plugin Notizia: Tools, you can find this block in any post or page you're creating or editing.
When you select it, you should see it appearing in the actual editor. Note: in order not to overuse your server's resources, you won't see there a real-time preview. You have to preview the page to check the block behaviour.
Once you select it, you can check the Inspector (the panel you find on the right) to find all the customization options for this block.
Let's explore them in detail.
A title for this post list.
2. SubtitleA subtitle for this post list.
3. LayoutTha layout you want to use for this post list (we will see all of them below).
4. CategoriesIDs of the categories you want to include in this post list, comma separated (don't know how to find category IDs? Check this out).
5. TitoloIDs of the tags you want to include in this post list, comma separated (don't know how to find tag IDs? Check this out).
6. Time PeriodYou can filter your posts by time period. Options are: All, Last Day, Last Week, Last Month, Last Six Months, Last Year.
7. Order byThe order of the posts. Options are: Date, Comments, Views.
8. SearchYou can filter your results by a search query.
9. Load more buttonBy selecting this option, your users will have the ability to navigate between pages or load more posts.
Below you can see all the ten available layouts.
Bundled with Notizia you can find a brand new widget totally focused on content navigation. Let's see what it can do.
Notizia: Post ListIf you installed the plugin Notizia: Tools, you can find this new widget called Notizia: Post List in your widget list. Like our new Gutenberg Block, it's used to show post lists with various possible layouts and customization options.
Let's explore them in detail.
A title for this post list.
2. SubtitleA subtitle for this post list.
3. Number of postsThe number of posts you want to show.
4. LayoutTwo different types of layout: Cards or Classic (we will see them below).
5. CategoriesIDs of the categories you want to include in this post list, comma separated (don't know how to find category IDs? Check this out).
6. TagsIDs of the tags you want to include in this post list, comma separated (don't know how to find tag IDs? Check this out).
7. Time periodYou can filter your posts by time period. Options are: All, Last Day, Last Week, Last Month, Last Six Months, Last Year.
8. Order byThe order of the posts. Options are: Date, Comments, Views.
9. SearchYou can filter your results by a search query.
10. Show load more buttonBy selecting this option, your users will have the ability to navigate between pages or load more posts.
11. Exclude current postIf you're reading a post, you can exclude that post from appearing in the list.
Below you can see the two available layouts.
If you want to customize the files in a way that goes beyond the theme's features, you will need a Child Theme. As you can read in the official WordPress documentation, a Child Theme allows you to change aspects of your site's appearance yet still preserving the theme's look and functionality, and keeping the customizations even after a theme update.
We include the Child Theme of Notizia inside the main zip you get once you buy the theme: it's called notizia-child.zip, and the only thing you have to do is install it in the exact same way you would do with a normal theme.
Note: the main Notizia theme must be installed in order for the Child Theme to work.
Notizia is a theme built with performances in mind. However, a caching plugin could still be useful to speed up loading times to your visitors.
The one we recommend is WP Super Cache, a simple - yet powerful - caching plugin developed by Automattic (same team behind WordPress).
Below you can find our recommended settings (Settings > WP Super Cache) for Notizia to run smoothly.
You can see that two options are marked in red . If you experience problems with your website after activating WP Super Cache, try disabling those options.
Notizia is written in English, and it already includes Italian, French, Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese translations. However, you can easily translate the theme into your language by using the .pot file we included in the /languages directory.
Same goes for the two bundled plugins: you can find the .pot file needed in the /lang folder.
If you're not sure about how to translate a .pot file, please take a look at this page.
If you liked the demo sites of Notizia, and you want your new website to have one of those exact feels, you can do it in just a few clicks. Let's see all the needed steps to import demo content in your new website with Notizia.
First of all: is it really stuck? Note that the process could last more than 10 minutes, and it all depends on many things. Wait a little more.
But if it's really stuck, you can try to manually import the demo content. Check above to see how to do that.
You can try to import each file, one by one. So, follow the steps you can read here, but choose a file at a time, and for each one select Import Demo Data.
To import the demo content you just have to follow the steps written here.
Although Notizia is built with performances in mind, a caching plugin could be useful to speed up loading times. You can read this section to learn more about it.
If you're experiencing problems after installing WP Super Cache, try to disable the options you find here, marked in red. If the problem persists but disappears uninstalling the plugin, it may be related to your server configuration. Ask your server management company for more informations about it.
It's actually quite simple. Your registered users can visit your website, reading posts and start liking tags they're interested in. Then, their Reading Center will automatically be populated will all the posts with the tags they liked. They can access the Reading Center by clicking the bell icon in the header. You can read this section to know more about it.
That means that you still have to read that post. It's new, never opened before. To make those dots appear, you have to select the option to Store users' reading data in the Theme Customizer (check this section to know more about it).
In order for the Reading Center to work, the plugin Notizia: Reading Center must be installed and active. Plus, make sure you actually activated the Reading Center option in the Theme Customizer (read this section to know more about it).
If you can't see those things, the plugin Notizia: Tools may be inactive. Activate it.
As you can see browsing the demos, Notizia offers the ability to show social menus inside specific menu positions. Creating them is quite simple: create a new menu and assign it to the position Social Menu. You can then fill it with your social links (of course they have to be Custom Links elements). If you're not sure about how to create a new menu in WordPress, please check the official documentation.
We're always working hard to improve our theme, add new features and refine the experience of our users. Here's the detail of all the changes we've made so far.