GridFeel Documentation

GridFeel is a three-column, 100% responsive, and visually appealing grid WordPress theme for fans of dark themes. It is ideal for creating websites for news, galleries, or photographic portfolios. GridFeel features a grid-based posts layout, 2 navigation menus, a header banner, sticky menu and sticky sidebars, 2 sidebars, 4 footer columns, 60+ social buttons, and many options. GridFeel theme also has RTL language support and a translation-ready codebase. The theme is very starter-friendly and easy to set up.

Method 1: Install via WordPress Dashboard (Recommended)

1. Log in to your WordPress Dashboard.
2. Navigate to Appearance → Themes → Add New.
3. Search for GridFeel in the search box.
4. Click Install on the GridFeel theme, then click Activate.

Method 2: Upload via WordPress Dashboard

1. Download the gridfeel.zip theme file from WordPress.org.
2. Log in to your WordPress Dashboard.
3. Navigate to Appearance → Themes → Add New → Upload Theme.
4. Click Choose File, select the gridfeel.zip file, and click Install Now.
5. After installation, click Activate.

Method 3: Upload via FTP/File Manager

1. Download the gridfeel.zip theme file and extract it.
2. Connect to your server via FTP (FileZilla) or use your hosting File Manager.
3. Upload the extracted gridfeel folder to /wp-content/themes/.
4. Go to your WordPress Dashboard → Appearance → Themes and activate GridFeel.

You can import the demo content, widgets, and Customizer settings shown in the GridFeel theme demo.

If your website already has existing posts with featured images, it's highly recommended to regenerate thumbnails after activating the GridFeel theme. This ensures that all images match the new theme's layout and display sizes.

Regenerating thumbnails is optional if your site is completely new and doesn't have any uploaded images yet.

However, if you imported the demo content, regenerating thumbnails is essential to display images correctly across the site.

1. Install and activate the Regenerate Thumbnails plugin.
2. Go to Tools → Regenerate Thumbnails.
3. Click the "Regenerate Thumbnails for All x Attachments" button to start the process.
4. Wait until all images are regenerated. This may take a few minutes depending on your media library size.
5. If you want, you can deactivate and delete the plugin once the process is complete.

This step ensures clean image alignment and sharp visuals throughout your website using the GridFeel theme.

Use the WordPress Customizer to add or manage the header image that appears at the top of your site.

How to add a header image

1. Go to Appearance → Customize → Theme Options → Header Image.
2. Click Add new image and choose/upload your image (recommended width: 1920px or larger).
3. Crop if prompted, then click Publish.

Useful options

• Hide Header Image from Everywhere – remove the header image globally.
• Remove Link from Header Image – keep the image but remove the homepage link.
• Hide Title/Description – hide the overlaid title/description text.
• Custom Title/Description – enter your own text for the header image area.
• Header Image Destination URL – set a custom link target when the image is clicked.
• Header Image Alt Text – set an alt attribute for accessibility/SEO.
• Show Header Image Title on Smaller Screens – display the title on mobile devices.
• Show Header Image Description on Smaller Screens – display the description on mobile devices.

This theme includes two Display Locations for menus: Primary Menu, and Secondary Menu.

Right after installing the theme, WordPress may display your existing pages as the default menu items in these locations. You can replace them with your own custom menus containing links, categories, pages, and more by following the steps below:

1. Go to Appearance → Menus and click the create a new menu link.
2. Enter a name for your menu in the Menu Name field.
3. Select a display location for your menu by checking one of the available options under Display location
4. Click the Create Menu button.
   
5. To add items to the menu, use the options in the left-hand column—select the pages, posts, categories, or tags you want, then click Add to Menu.
6. To create dropdown menus, simply drag and nest the submenu items beneath the parent menu item.
7. Once you've added your links, click the Save Menu button.

There are 23 widget areas in the GridFeel theme. The free version does not bundle custom widgets; use WordPress core widgets or plugins of your choice inside these areas.

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1. Header Right Widgets

   Located on the right side of the header. Ideal for a 728x90 banner ad using a "Custom HTML" widget.

2. Sidebar 1 Widgets

   Left-hand sidebar for your pages/posts.

3. Sidebar 2 Widgets

   Right-hand sidebar for your pages/posts.

4. Top Full Width Widgets (Default HomePage)

   Full-width area after the header, shown only on the default homepage (latest posts).

5. Top Full Width Widgets (Everywhere)

   Full-width area after the header, shown on every page.

6. Above Content Widgets (Default HomePage)

   Above main content (above posts), shown on the default homepage (latest posts).

7. Above Content Widgets (Everywhere)

   Above main content (above posts), shown on every page.

8. Top Left Widgets (Default HomePage)

   Located at the left top of the site, shown on the default homepage (latest posts).

9. Top Left Widgets (Everywhere)

   Located at the left top of the site, shown on every page.

10. Top Right Widgets (Default HomePage)

    Located at the right top of the site, shown on the default homepage (latest posts).

11. Top Right Widgets (Everywhere)

    Located at the right top of the site, shown on every page.

12. Below Content Widgets (Default HomePage)

    Below main content (below posts), shown on the default homepage (latest posts).

13. Below Content Widgets (Everywhere)

    Below main content (below posts), shown on every page.

14. Bottom Full Width Widgets (Default HomePage)

    Full-width area before the footer, shown on the default homepage (latest posts).

15. Bottom Full Width Widgets (Everywhere)

    Full-width area before the footer, shown on every page.

16. Single Post Bottom Widgets

    Appears at the bottom of single posts (all post types except pages/attachments).

17. Footer Top Widgets

    Full-width area above the footer columns.

18. Footer 1 Widgets

    Footer column 1.

19. Footer 2 Widgets

    Footer column 2.

20. Footer 3 Widgets

    Footer column 3.

21. Footer 4 Widgets

    Footer column 4.

22. Footer Bottom Widgets

    Full-width area below the footer columns.

23. 404 Page Widgets

    Displayed on the 404 (not found) page.

GridFeel includes four custom page/post templates you can use for full-width layouts.

• Full Width, no sidebar (Page) — Template for pages without any sidebar (template-full-width-page.php)
• Full Width, bottom sidebar (Page) — Template for pages with a bottom sidebar (template-full-width-page-sidebar.php)
• Full Width, no sidebar (Post) — Template for posts without any sidebar (template-full-width-post.php)
• Full Width, bottom sidebar (Post) — Template for posts with a bottom sidebar (template-full-width-post-sidebar.php)

How to apply a template

1. Edit a page or post in the WordPress editor.
2. In the Page Attributes (or Post Attributes) panel, open the Template dropdown.
3. Select the desired full-width template and update/publish.

Navigate to Appearance → Customize to access the WordPress Customizer. You will find a Theme Options panel with several sections for configuring your GridFeel theme.

GridFeel is fully translation-ready and supports Right-to-Left (RTL) languages like Arabic, Hebrew, and Persian out of the box.

🌐 Translating the Theme

The theme includes a gridfeel.pot file located in the /languages folder inside the theme directory. You can use this file to create translations in your own language using any of the following tools:

• Poedit – Desktop translation editor (view tutorial)
• Loco Translate – Translate the theme directly from your WordPress dashboard (view tutorial)

After translating, save your files as:

• gridfeel-[language_code].po
• gridfeel-[language_code].mo

Place them inside the /languages folder in the theme.

↔️ RTL Language Support

GridFeel includes built-in RTL support. If your WordPress site language is set to an RTL language, the theme will automatically adjust layout direction, alignment, and spacing accordingly. No extra setup required.

If you're customizing your site with RTL content, make sure your text widgets, menus, and custom styles are also RTL-compatible for best results.

These tips are not specific to the GridFeel theme — they apply to any WordPress site:

• Use a caching plugin – Recommended: W3 Total Cache, WP Super Cache, or LiteSpeed Cache.
• Optimize images – Use EWWW Image Optimizer, Imagify, or ShortPixel.
• Use a CDN – Cloudflare, BunnyCDN, or similar services can speed up content delivery globally.
• Minify CSS and JavaScript – Use Autoptimize to combine and minify resources.
• Use PHP 8.x – Modern PHP versions are significantly faster. Check with your host.
• Use an SEO plugin – Recommended: Yoast SEO or All in One SEO.
• Set up SSL (HTTPS) – Most hosts offer free Let's Encrypt SSL. This also helps SEO.
• Use good hosting – Quality managed WordPress hosting makes a significant difference.
• Limit active plugins – Only keep essential plugins active to reduce bloat and conflicts.
• Keep WordPress, theme, and plugins updated – Updates include security patches and performance improvements.

How do I display my latest posts on the homepage?

Go to Settings → Reading and set "Your homepage displays" to "Your latest posts". The theme will automatically display them as a grid.

How do I set a static page as the homepage?

Go to Settings → Reading and set "Your homepage displays" to "A static page". Select the desired page for the homepage and a separate page for your blog posts.

How do I add social profile links?

Go to Appearance → Customize → Theme Options → Social Links Options. Enter the full URLs for each social network you want to display.

How do I change the number of columns in the footer?

The free version has 4 footer columns. You can use all four or fewer columns by simply adding widgets to only the footer widget areas you want to use.

How do I remove the "Design by ThemesDNA.com" credit?

The footer credit link can be removed by upgrading to GridFeel PRO.

How do I change the grid item height?

Go to Appearance → Customize → Theme Options → Posts Grid Options and set the Height of Grid Post Items option. Default is 220px. Set to auto for dynamic height.

How do I disable the sticky menu?

Go to Appearance → Customize → Theme Options → Menu Options and check "Disable Sticky Primary Menu".

How do I disable the sticky sidebars?

Go to Appearance → Customize → Theme Options → Other Options and check "Disable Sticky Feature from Sidebars".

Can I use this theme for RTL languages?

Yes. GridFeel includes full RTL support. Simply set your site language to an RTL language in Settings → General.

How do I add a header banner/ad?

Go to Appearance → Widgets and add a Custom HTML widget to the "Header Right Widgets" area. Paste your ad code (e.g., a 728x90 banner) into the widget.

Images are not displaying properly / Images look stretched or blurry

Install and run the Regenerate Thumbnails plugin. This regenerates all image sizes to match the theme's layout requirements.

Menus are not showing

Go to Appearance → Menus, make sure you've created a menu and assigned it to a display location (Primary Menu or Secondary Menu). Also check that the menu is not disabled in Appearance → Customize → Theme Options → Menu Options.

Widget areas are empty

Go to Appearance → Widgets and add widgets to the desired widget areas. If no widgets are added, the areas will not be visible on the site.

Header image not showing

Go to Appearance → Customize → Header Image and add a header image. Make sure the "Hide Header Image from Everywhere" option is not checked.

Theme looks different from the demo

Import the demo content as described in the Import Demo Content section, then regenerate thumbnails.

Footer widgets are not visible

Check that the "Hide Footer Widgets" option is not checked in Appearance → Customize → Theme Options → Footer Options. Also ensure you have added widgets to the footer widget areas.

Header content area is not visible

Check that the "Hide Header Content" option is not checked in Appearance → Customize → Theme Options → Header Options.

Site loading animation won't stop

This usually happens when a JavaScript error from another plugin prevents the page from fully loading. Check the browser console for errors or disable the loading animation via Appearance → Customize → Theme Options → Other Options → Disable Site Loading Animation.

Sidebar not sticking / Sticky sidebar not working

Make sure the "Disable Sticky Feature from Sidebars" option is not checked in Appearance → Customize → Theme Options → Other Options. Sticky sidebars require enough content in both the sidebar and the main content for the effect to be visible.

Still having issues?

Visit the ThemesDNA Support page and describe your issue. Include your site URL if possible.

The GridFeel theme is released under the GNU General Public License v2.0 (GPL v2). You can use the theme on unlimited websites and modify the code.

What's included in free support:

• Help with theme installation and setup
• Bug fixes and troubleshooting related to the theme
• Guidance on using built-in theme features

What's not included in free support (but available as paid tasks):

• Theme customization or resolving third-party plugin conflicts
• Custom coding or feature implementation requests
• Performance tuning, SEO setup, or server configuration assistance

If you need help, please contact us. We typically respond within 24-48 hours on working days.

Contact Support

Upgrade to GridFeel PRO

For more features including color options, font options, news ticker, related posts, and much more, consider upgrading to GridFeel PRO.

You can use the following date format values to control how dates appear in various places such as custom widgets, post metadata, news tickers, and more. These formats follow the standard PHP date formatting rules used by WordPress. Refer to the table below to choose a format that best fits your design and content style.