Written for Reign 8.0.8
Reign docs.
76 pages, written against the version you are running rather than an older one. Every page says which release it was written for, so you can tell at a glance whether it still matches your site.
Getting started
Install Reign, activate your licence, and make the first configuration pass.
- What Reign does for your site The practical difference Reign makes for you and your visitors, and where to switch each part on.
- What you can build with Reign and the free plugins Complete community, learning, directory, events, job board and services sites built from Reign and the free editions of the Wbcom plugins, with what each free plugin gives you and what Pro adds.
- Your site setup checklist Every step from buying Reign to launching your site, in the order that saves you rework, with a link to the guide for each one.
- Install Reign What your server needs, how to upload and activate the theme, and where Reign's settings live once it is running.
- Activate your licence Where the licence key goes, what activating unlocks, and what to check when a key is refused.
- A tour of Reign Settings What each of the seven Reign Settings screens does, and which settings live there rather than in the Customizer.
- The Brand your site checklist The eight items on the Reign Settings Home checklist, what each one changes for a visitor, and where it takes you.
- Choose your plugins and start from a ready-made site Match the kind of site you are building to the Wbcom plugins that power it, install them in the right order, and load demo content so the site looks finished in minutes.
- First configuration An ordered pass through the settings that matter on a new site, from logo to footer, using the palette-first route rather than the legacy one.
- Update Reign safely How updates arrive, what to do before one, and why a child theme is the difference between a safe update and a lost afternoon.
How-to guides
Step-by-step guides for the things site owners do most.
- What people usually do first A short list of the guides most Reign site owners follow, in a sensible order, with what each one gets you.
- How your site fits together How Reign, your plugins, pages, menus, header, login, search and layout connect, with ready-made wiring for community, course, event, directory, job board, services and shop sites.
- Build a community site Go from an empty WordPress site to a working BuddyNext community on Reign, with sample content, menus and login checked.
- Set up your menus Fill every menu location Reign registers, in the right order, for logged-in and logged-out visitors, phones and the profile dropdown.
- Build your homepage Use Reign's starter pages or block patterns, set a static homepage, and control the page width and title banner.
- Set up login and registration Let visitors sign up, choose between a popup and full pages for login, brand the WordPress login screen, and test the result.
- Choose page layouts and sidebars Set the site width, choose a layout and sidebar for blog posts, pages and search, fill the sidebars with widgets, and override one page.
- Change the footer Add footer widgets, edit the copyright line, and set footer spacing and colours.
- Turn on dark mode Give visitors a light and dark switch, choose the default mode, add a dark logo and check both looks.
- Make it look right on phones Choose the mobile header layout, add a separate mobile logo, order the mobile icons, set the tablet menu width and preview each screen size.
- Add a shop Install WooCommerce, see what Reign styles for it, and choose your cart icon, shop layout, product page and sidebar settings.
Customize
Layout, header, colours, typography, forms and footer, panel by panel.
- Global layout Set the site-wide container width, border radius, page loader and scroll-up button from General > Global Layout.
- Page mapping Point login, registration and 404 at custom pages, and understand the SEO trade-off of mapping a 404 page.
- Custom code Add tracking scripts and quick header or footer JavaScript from General > Custom Code, and know how it relates to Additional CSS.
- Smart performance One switch that limits Reign's plugin-integration styles to only the pages that need them.
- Sign-in and register popup Replace the WordPress login page with an in-page popup, and know that BuddyPress owns the register fields once it is active.
- Header layout Pick a header style, order its icons, and set how the main menu behaves on hover from Header > Layout.
- Left panel Configure the optional slide-in navigation panel, covering behavior, size and spacing, icon styling and menu text, from Header > Left Panel.
- Sticky menu Turn on sticky-on-scroll for the header, then configure the colors used once it sticks so it stays readable.
- Topbar Add a thin strip above the header for contact info and social links, and control how it behaves on mobile.
- Mobile menu Choose the mobile header layout, set an optional mobile-only logo, and order the icons shown on small screens.
- Sub header Style the page-title banner shown below the header, and understand how its hide settings layer between global and per-content-type controls.
- How the color system works Why Reign has four color-related sections, how they override each other, and why a palette change sometimes seems to skip one element.
- Color palette The one setting that colors your entire site, and where to start on a new build.
- Light and dark mode Turn on the visitor toggle, choose the default mode, and know where the dark colors themselves actually live.
- Typography Set every font on your site with one preset, then fine-tune body, headings, menu and blockquote separately if you need to.
- Forms Set the resting and focus colors of input fields, textareas and selects, and why the focus colors matter for accessibility.
- Footer Set the widget area's typography and spacing, then the copyright bar's text, alignment and colors.
- Every colour setting A plain list of every per-element colour control in Individual Colors and Dark Mode Colors, grouped by area of your site.
- Reign widgets, shortcodes and widget areas Every widget, shortcode and widget area Reign adds: what each shows, its settings and defaults, the plugin it needs, and where each widget area appears.
- Icons on menu items Add an icon to any menu item in Appearance > Menus, choose the icon type, and set its position, size and label.
Content layouts
How posts, pages, search and custom post types are laid out.
- Blog single post layout Set the layout, sidebar and sub header for a single blog post, and the post-only controls for meta, author info, social sharing and related posts.
- Blog archive layout Set the blog listing layout, grid columns, excerpt length and pagination, including the order you must pick them in for the grid options to appear.
- Page, search and custom post type layouts Set the layout for a single page and for search results, plus how to find and use the matching pair of sections Reign generates for your own custom post types.
Branded login
Put your brand on the WordPress login and register screens.
- Branded login screen Turn on the custom login screen and style its logo, background, form and button as one workflow, worth doing on any site where members see wp-login.php often.
- Login screen themes Turn on Set New Theme and pick one of four ready-made login layouts, with Modern the only one that adds its own content panel controls.
Community setup
Wire Reign to BuddyNext, BuddyPress, BuddyBoss or PeepSo.
- Set up BuddyNext Activate BuddyNext, run its setup, then the header and auth behaviour Reign wires up once it detects the plugin.
- Set up BuddyPress Install BuddyPress, choose components, assign its pages, then the directory and profile settings Reign adds once it detects the plugin.
- Set up BuddyBoss Platform Install BuddyBoss Platform instead of BuddyPress, and what Reign changes automatically because of it.
- Set up PeepSo Install PeepSo, the defaults Reign applies on activation, and the settings you control from Reign Settings > Community.
- Member and group directories The real choices behind the members, groups and activity directories, and the single member and group screens, on BuddyPress and BuddyBoss.
Integrations
WooCommerce, LMS platforms, marketplaces and page builders.
- Wbcom plugins What each Wbcom plugin does, how to set it up with Reign, where its demo content and menu items are, what visitors see when they sign in, and where to find its website, documentation, download and live demo.
- Wbcom Essential, Reign's page-building blocks and widgets Wbcom Essential is part of Reign. It adds 30+ blocks and 40+ Elementor widgets for heroes, pricing tables, sliders, member and group grids, product displays and more. How to install it and where to find everything.
- WooCommerce and Easy Digital Downloads What Reign styles for WooCommerce and Easy Digital Downloads, and where the WooCommerce controls live in the Customizer.
- LMS platforms - LearnDash, LifterLMS, Sensei and Tutor LMS How much of each LMS Reign styles out of the box, from full template overrides down to CSS only.
- Marketplace plugins - Dokan, WCFM and WC Vendors How Reign styles multi-vendor marketplace plugins, and which ones get full template overrides versus CSS only.
- Page builders - Elementor and the block editor How Reign works with Elementor and with the native WordPress block editor.
Troubleshooting
Start here when something looks wrong: styles not applying, a white screen, BuddyPress 404s, or licence problems.
- Changes are not showing on the site You saved a setting and the front end looks the same. The usual causes, in the order worth checking them.
- White screen after activating A blank page after switching to Reign is almost always PHP version or memory. How to see the real error and fix it.
- Licence problems after activating Updates not appearing, a licence that deactivates itself, or one-click installs staying off after a successful activation.
- Member or group pages return 404 Community URLs that should work are throwing 404s. Permalinks, page assignment, disabled components, and Reign's own 404 redirect.
Developer guide
Child themes, template overrides, hooks and the REST API.
- Build on Reign with a child theme Why direct edits to Reign are lost on update, how to get the official child theme, and what to put in it versus in Custom Code.
- Override Reign templates from a child theme The directory structure Reign ships for WordPress core templates and for each supported plugin, and the precedence rule for overriding any of them.
- Hooks reference The Reign action and filter hooks most useful for site builders, grouped by area, plus what changed for hooks carried over from the Reign add-ons era.
- REST API The real routes Reign registers under reign/v1, what each one does, and why sign-in deliberately is not one of them.
Add-ons
One guide per Reign add-on: what each one requires, the settings it adds, and the plugin versions it works with.
- Reign add-ons What each add-on adds on top of the theme's built-in styling, which third-party plugin it needs, and when a fresh site does not need one at all.
- Reign LearnDash Addon Adds a modern course and group catalog, reviews, related courses, and a BuddyPress bridge on top of LearnDash, and requires LearnDash to be active.
- Reign LifterLMS Addon Adds course and instructor shortcodes, seven widgets, reviews, template overrides, and a BuddyPress activity bridge on top of LifterLMS, and requires LifterLMS to be active.
- Reign Sensei Addon Adds a redesigned course page, reviews, archive display options, and a BuddyPress or BuddyBoss activity bridge on top of Sensei LMS, and requires Sensei LMS to be active.
- Reign Tutor LMS Addon Adds a styled course shortcode, a course category grid, and a community profile tab on top of Tutor LMS, and requires Tutor LMS to be active.
- Reign Dokan Addon Adds favorite products, a vendor info panel, activity-stream and profile tabs, and vendor-listing widgets and shortcodes on top of Dokan, plus BuddyPress store and activity integration.
- Reign WCFM Addon Adds favorite products, a Store tab and Favourite tab on BuddyPress profiles, activity-stream entries, and a second store layout on top of WCFM Marketplace and WooCommerce.
- Reign WC Vendors Addon Adds a four-layout store header, vendor widgets, favorite products, and BuddyPress or PeepSo profile tabs and activity on top of WC Vendors.
- Reign WP Job Manager Addon Adds job and resume layouts, a Google Maps header, custom taxonomies, search shortcodes and BuddyPress-aware assets on top of WP Job Manager, and needs that plugin installed to do anything.
- Reign GeoDirectory Addon Bridges GeoDirectory listings into BuddyPress and PeepSo member profiles with a Places tab, activity and notifications, and needs GeoDirectory installed to do anything.
FAQ
Short answers to the questions new Reign owners ask most.
Cannot find it? Ask us directly. We reply to every ticket, and a question that is missing from these pages usually means the page needs writing.