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CDS WEBSITES DOCUMENTATION
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Installation and Setup

This page explains the expected setup flow for a new WordPress site using this project.

1. Download the Latest Stable ZIP Files

Section titled “1. Download the Latest Stable ZIP Files”

Open Current Versions and use the Download ZIP links in the Public rows.

Download both packages:

  • the latest stable theme ZIP,
  • the latest stable plugin ZIP.

2. Install the Theme and Plugin

Section titled “2. Install the Theme and Plugin”
  1. Open your WordPress site admin.
  2. On the left sidebar, go to Appearance -> Themes.
  3. Click Add Theme.
  4. Click Upload Theme.
  5. Choose the theme .zip file you have downloaded earlier, or drag and drop it.
  6. Click Install now.

3. Activate the Theme

Section titled “3. Activate the Theme”
  1. Go to the Themes page (Appearance -> Themes).
  2. Look for the polimi-cds-theme theme.
  3. Move the mouse on top of the name, then click Activate.

When the theme is activated, it performs a few important setup actions automatically:

  • creates a Home page if a page with slug home does not already exist, and sets that page as the static front page,
  • sets the permalink structure to /%postname%/,
  • flushes rewrite rules so URLs work immediately.

This ensures a fresh site gets a homepage target and clean URLs without extra manual steps.

4. Install the Plugin

Section titled “4. Install the Plugin”
  1. In the WordPress admin, on the left sidebar, click Plugins.
  2. Click Add Plugin.
  3. Click Upload Plugin.
  4. Choose the plugin .zip file you have downloaded earlier, or drag and drop it.

After activation, confirm you can see the Polimi CdS Design System block category in the block inserter.

5. Configure Branding and Global Settings

Section titled “5. Configure Branding and Global Settings”

Use the WordPress Customizer section for core site configuration:

  • School selection
  • navigation title override
  • homepage title section
  • archive page copy
  • social links
  • footer links
  • language switcher visibility

See Customizer Settings for details.

6. Configure Menus

Section titled “6. Configure Menus”

The theme registers four menu locations:

  • Header Menu
  • Footer Menu
  • Campus List
  • Resources List (footer)

The header and footer use the first three directly.

7. Build the Homepage

Section titled “7. Build the Homepage”

The homepage combines:

  • theme-controlled hero media and hero text from the Customizer
  • normal page content below the hero, usually built with plugin blocks

The hero is not a Gutenberg block. It comes from the theme settings.

8. Populate Content Types

Section titled “8. Populate Content Types”

The theme registers these main content types:

  • News
  • Projects
  • People
  • Testimonials
  • Subjects

9. Build Standard Pages

Section titled “9. Build Standard Pages”

Standard pages use the theme page template and can optionally use the Page Layout - 3 Slots block.

Important page behaviors:

  • A title section is shown automatically.
  • The sidebar includes an automatic table of contents.
  • The sidebar can include Quick Links from the dedicated editor panel.

See Pages and Layouts.

See Content Types.

See Admin Tools and Special Behaviors and Editor Panels and Sidebar Tools.

Section titled “Related Pages”