Vendd is a full-featured marketplace theme designed for use with Easy Digital Downloads, supporting extensions, and other handy WordPress plugins. However, it is flexible enough to stand on its own as a simple theme for any type of content.

In this doc, we will go over the basics of how to get Vendd up and running as well as tips for getting the most out of its features. This is not a technical guide.

Installation & Activation

To get started, download Vendd to your computer in zip file format. You should have received a download link on the purchase confirmation page after making your purchase and in your purchase receipt email. You can also download Vendd from 
your account page.

Once you have Vendd on your computer in a zip file (Ex.vendd-v1.0.zip), navigate to Appearance > Themes in your WordPress dashboard and click the “Add New” button at the top of the page. At the top of the next page, click the “Upload Theme” button and you will be directed to a page where you can search for the Vendd zip file on your computer.

Browse your computer and select to upload the file as-is. Follow the on-screen process and when given the opportunity, select to activate your new theme.

Now that Vendd is installed and activated, you can view the front end of your website to see it in action. However, there are a few things you may want to set up in your dashboard. Let’s cover that information.

Activate Your License Key

The most important thing to do is activate your license key.
Please note that Vendd is fully functional whether you activate your license key or not. However, you will not receive dashboard updates for the theme unless you activate your license key.

Navigate to Appearance > Vendd License. There you will find the form to enter your license key and activate it. Your license key was provided to you on the purchase confirmation page after your purchase and also in the purchase receipt email. Again, you can also find your license key on your EDD account page.

Enter your license key into the text field and click the “Save License Key Changes” button. This will save your license to the database. Now you can click the “Activate License” button to activate your license.

Once your license is activated, you’re all set to receive dashboard updates when new versions of Vendd are pushed out.

Note: Please contact support if you have issues activating your license key.

Activate Your Child Theme

This step is not required. However, we highly recommend that you install a child theme before making any adjustments to your new Vendd install.

Child themes are designed to protect your theme customizations from theme author updates while inheriting all of the parent theme (Vendd) functionality. Because child themes are treated as actual themes themselves, if you begin to set up menus, widgets, customizer settings, etc. in your parent theme, those customizations will be lost when you do choose to activate a child theme.
It’s best to activate a child theme first.

Navigate to Appearance > Vendd License in your WordPress dashboard and beneath the license key area, you will find instructions for how to create your own child theme. Follow the directions and activate your child theme.

Note: This section will disappear once you have a child theme installed and activated.

Vendd Customizer

Besides the license key form, all of Vendd’s settings are built into the WordPress Customizer.

To start making customizations, navigate to Appearance > Customize in your WordPress dashboard. This is a great place to handle most of your theme customizations.

By default, the following sections should appear in the sidebar of the customizer (depending on what other tools you have installed on your site, you may see more sections):

• Site Title (Logo) & Tagline
• Vendd Design
• Content Options
• Navigation Menus
• Static Front Page

If you have Easy Digital Downloads activated, you will also see a section titled “Easy Digital Downloads.” Likewise, if you have Frontend Submissions activated, you will see a section called “EDD Frontend Submissions.”

We will not discuss the “Navigation Menus” and “Static Front Page” sections as they are default WordPress functionality.

Site Title (Logo) & Tagline

This is a modified version of WordPress’ default section for editing your site’s title and tagline. Vendd makes slight adjustments based on the theme’s capabilities.

In this section, you can still edit your site title and tagline. You can also choose to upload a site logo which will automatically replace your site title text and link to your site home URL. With a site logo uploaded, you may no longer need your tagline to display. You can check the setting to remove the tagline and it will no longer display.

Vendd Design

Primary Design Color

The bulk of Vendd’s design is created using one color called the “Primary Design Color.” In this section, you can set your primary design color to be whatever you’d like.

Full Site Background Color

Vendd also allows you to adjust the background of your site, the area that displays outside of the main page area. By editing the “Full Site Background Color,” you can set your site background to a solid color of your choosing.

Full Site Background Image

If you would like to use a background image, you can upload an image through the “Full Site Background Image” setting. Take note that if you use a background image, unless it is transparent, this will appear to override your background color setting.

Enable Parallax Background Effect

If you opt to use the site background image, you can check the “Enable Parallax Background Effect” setting to give the main page area the appearance of moving at a different speed than the background image as you scroll the page.

Content Options

This is where you start getting into the content structure of your site.

Display Post Excerpts

On your main blog page, you have the option of showing full post content or post excerpts. For excerpts, check the “Display Post Excerpts” setting.

Excerpt & More Link Text

When using post excerpts or truncating full posts with WordPress’ “more tag,” a link to the full article will display. Use the “Excerpt & More Link Text” field to edit the text for that link.

Show Featured Images in Post Listings

Still on the main blog page, you have the option to display featured images uploaded to your individual posts. To do so, make sure the “Show Featured Images in Post Listings” setting is checked.
These images will be cropped into a square if you are displaying post excerpts.

Show Featured Images on Single Posts

You can choose whether or not you want to display the same featured images on individual posts with the “Show Featured Images on Single Posts” setting.

Enable Comments on Standard Pages

Moving on to WordPress Pages, they’re typically not a place for conversation. However, if you’d like to allow comments on pages, check the “Enable Comments on Standard Pages” setting. Take note that comments can be disabled from the Edit Page screen and this setting
will not reverse that.

Show Search in Main Menu

Checking this box will add a search form to the very last line item in your Main Menu. The search form will expand only when in focus to save space. It will be expanded by default an actual search results page in order to display the given search query and allow for easy editing.

Use Advanced Search Results

By default, Vendd will display search results in much the same manner as it display the blog feed. The Advanced Search Results template will logically separate products, posts, and pages in order to make the search results easier to understand. The downloads themselves will display exactly as the [downloads] shortcode does.

Information Bar Text

At the very top of most pages on your site, there is an area called the “Information Bar.” This area supports a single level menu as well as an area for general text. Use the “Information Bar Text” field to control the text displayed in this area.

Footer Credits & Copyright

Lastly, you may edit the footer text on your site using the “Footer Credits & Copyright” field. If you do not enter any information into this area, it will display your site title, tagline, and a copyright date by default.

Easy Digital Downloads

Show Comments on Downloads

EDD single download pages do not typically support comment functionality. While Vendd adds this functionality, you can choose wwhetherhere or not to add download comment support using the “Show Comments on Downloads” setting.

Show Categories/Tags on Downloads grid

In various pages on your site, you may be using the [downloads] shortcode to display a grid layout of your products. Vendd enhances the product display by also showing download category and tag information for each product. Using the “Show Categories/Tags on Downloads grid” setting, you can choose whether or not to show this information.

EDD Button Color

While you have already chosen a primary design color for your site, that setting does not control the color of EDD buttons. Instead, you can do so using the “EDD Button Color” setting. This color picker works alongside EDD’s button color settings found at Downloads -> Settings -> Styles in your WordPress dashboard. By default, EDD’s settings are used. You may simply override those limited settings using the color picker in the customizer.

Store Front Title

When creating a new page in WordPress, there is a setting called “Template” in the “Page Attributes” section on the edit screen. From there, you can select to use the “EDD Downloads” page template on all pages where you are using the [downloads] shortcode. When you choose to use that template, your downloads display grid will include a customizable page headline. Use the “Store Front Title” field to customize this headline.

Empty Cart Title, Text, and Downloads Count

Your EDD site must have a checkout page to function properly. However, when a user’s checkout cart is empty, default content will display. You can control the display of this content with the “Empty Cart Title,” “Empty Cart Text,” and “Empty Cart Downloads Count” settings.

Note: This section will only appear if Easy Digital Downloads is installed and activated.

EDD Frontend Submissions

FES Dashboard Title

The main focus area for Frontend Submissions is the vendor dashboard which you should already have configured as you are using the extension. The dashboard page format is shared by all vendors but you can customize the title of the dashboard instead of using the name of the actual WordPress Page. To do so, use the “FES Dashboard Title” field.

Show contact form on Vendor template

When FES is activated, download items will display vendor information on both the downloads grid display as well as the single download page. This information will link to the appropriate vendor’s store profile where all of his or her products will display. At the bottom of this page there is a contact form that customers can use to contact the vendors directly. Choose whether or not to show this form with the “Show contact form on Vendor template” setting.

General Customizer Information

As mentioned previously, these settings are specific to the active theme. So it’s best to adjust these settings with a child theme activated.

Some settings are self-explanatory while others are a little more difficult to understand. Where necessary, the setting labels will be immediately followed by a question mark [?] that will reveal a setting description when clicked. View these descriptions to understand more about a particular setting like what it is used for or what HTML tags it will allow.

Note: This section will only appear if Frontend Submissions is installed and activated.

Vendd Page Templates

As mentioned previously, there is a setting titled “Template” underneath the “Page Attributes” section on the page edit screen in your WordPress dashboard. This setting is used to control what front-end theme template any given page will use.

Vendd comes with three default page templates that can be selected at any time. 

Full-width Page

Landing Page

This template is designed to limit distractions by narrowing the overall width of the design, removing all menus and the Information Bar, and not supporting sidebars. The Landing Page template is perfect for pages that are meant to serve one purpose only.

Focus Page

This template is a mix between the aforementioned templates. The overall site structure will display full-width and support a full header and footer. However, the content area is narrowed down and centered much like the Landing Page template. It does not support a sidebar. This template is perfect for login/registration forms and the like.

When Easy Digital Downloads Is Activated

When EDD is activated, more page templates will appear in the Template setting. While they are optional, it is recommended that you use them appropriately.

EDD Checkout

When you activated EDD for the first time, a checkout page was created for you with the [download_checkout] shortcode in the content. The shortcode works just fine in a regular page. However, switching that page to the EDD Checkout page template will narrow and center the checkout page content and reduce distractions so that your customers are more likely to complete their order.

 

EDD Downloads

EDD’s [downloads] shortcode will display your products wherever you place it as long as shortcodes are accepted. However, a grid layout of products does not always look nice everywhere. The EDD Downloads template is built to improve the display of the downloads grid and also utilizes custom settings mentioned in the Customizer section.

EDD Members

This template should be applied to a page that is
not created when EDD is activated. The purpose of this template is to display information useful to your previous customizers, like download history and a profile editor. Create a new page and set its template to EDD Members to create a members area that only logged in users will be able to view. No shortcodes are necessary because they are already built into the template.

EDD Purchase Confirmation

This template is where customers are redirected after they have completed a purchase. When you activated EDD for the first time, this page was created for you with the [edd_receipt] shortcode in the content. This shortcode works just fine in a regular page. However, switching that page to the EDD Purchase Confirmation page template will remove all unnecessary information so that your customers are focused on their purchase details.

EDD Purchase History

When you activated EDD for the first time, this page was created for you with the [purchase_history] shortcode in the content. This shortcode works just fine in a regular page. However, switching that page to the EDD Purchase History page template will remove all other content from the page and center the content.

EDD Transaction Failed

When you activated EDD for the first time, this page was created for you with content in it explaining to the customer that his or her transaction has failed. You may use the EDD Transaction Failed page template to minimize distractions and help the customer understand what should be done next.

When Frontend Submissions Is Activated

When FES is activated, more page templates will appear in the Template setting. While they are optional, it is highly recommended that you use them appropriately.

FES Dashboard

When you activated FES for the first time, a page was created for you with the [fes_vendor_dashboard] shortcode in the content. This is the dashboard area that all vendors will use.

This template is responsible for the designed display of the FES dashboard. When the dashboard is placed in a regular WordPress page, it can be difficult for vendors to navigate. This template structures the dashboard in a manner that improves navigation and styling.

Again, it is highly recommended that the [fes_vendor_dashboard] shortcode is only used in pages that use the FES Dashboard page template.

FES Vendor

As mentioned previously, vendor information will display in the downloads grid as well as the single download page when FES is activated in order to indicate which vendor created the product. This introduces links to the vendor’s profile page and that is where the FES Vendor page template should be used.

The vendor profile utilizes the [downloads] shortcode just like your store front. So the FES Vendor template improves the display of the downloads grid. It also adds additional content specific to the vendor including his or her avatar, profile biography, and a contact form (if the Customizer setting is checked).

Without this page template activated, only the downloads grid will show with no vendor information or contact form. In the event the vendor page is displayed and no specific vendor is targeted in the URL, it will still show the downloads grid but will not show the additional content.

Vendd Widgets

By default, Vendd will output content in the sidebar of single product pages. This output will look just like widgets, though they are not widgets. If you choose not to add any widgets to the
Download Sidebar widgetized area, the default output will display automatically.

In the event you add one or more widgets to the Download Sidebar widgetized area, all default output will be removed and you are now in full control of the single product page sidebars. This is handy if you want to reorganize the content in your sidebar, or even add and remove content.

Each of the sections in the default output can be replicated with actual widgets. Below you will find each default section and its

Purchase Form

By default, Vendd will prevent the standard purchase button from displaying below the product description’s and instead, display it in the sidebar.

That said, if you add custom widgets to the sidebar, meaning you have now removed the default display of the purchase button, please remember to add the purchase form back so that your users can make purchases. The most direct way to do this is using the
Download Details widget.

When you use the
Download Details widget to output a new purchase form, keep in mind that the widget has additional settings so you will want to customize those to your liking. This widget is native to Easy Digital Downloads and is not specific to Vendd.

Author Information & Download Details

Vendd comes with two built-in widgets that serve a very specific purpose. They are specific to single download pages and should only be used in the “Download Sidebar” widgetized area.

These widgets are exact replicas of the default content shown on single download sidebars. The widgets simply exist so that if you decide to add widgets to the download sidebar, as mentioned above, you can still have the same content but arranged in a way that better fits your needs. Likewise, you can add widgets to the mix or remove widgets.

Vendd: Download Author Widget 

The Download Author Widget displays information about a product’s author. The widget’s options include a title field and checkbox toggling of the author’s avatar, name, author-since date, and personal links. Simply toggle the checkboxes to show or hide this information on the front-end.

Vendd: Download Details Widget 

The Download Details Widget displays information about the product itself. The widget’s options include a title field and checkbox toggling of the product’s publish date, sales count, categories, and tags.

If the Software Licensing extension is activate, you also have two more options for showing whether or not the product is licensed and what its version number is.

Downloads Cart

You can use the Downloads Cart widget to output a store cart for the user. This widget is native to Easy Digital Downloads and is not specific to Vendd.

Plugin Support

Vendd is designed to support additional plugins by default. While
Vendd is not limited to the following plugins, it has been enhanced specifically to support:

• Frontend Submissions – adds page templates and styling
• EDD Software Licensing – adds license information to single download page sidebar
• EDD Variable Pricing Descriptions – adds styles for description display
• Subtitles – adds styles for entry subtitle output
• EDD Cross-sell and Upsell – adds styles for product displays
• EDD Product Reviews – adds review styles and template support
• Kolakube Email Forms – adds styles for email sign up
• Ninja Forms – adds styles for form elements

As time goes on, more plugins may be added to the list so check back with each update.