MagazineBook Documentation
Setup and customization guide for the MagazineBook WordPress theme — installation, header, footer, layout, widgets, and front-page settings.
Installation
From your WordPress dashboard go to Appearance → Themes → Add New, search for "MagazineBook", then click Install and Activate.
To install manually, download the .zip from wordpress.org, then go to Appearance → Themes → Add New → Upload Theme, choose the file, and click Install Now.
Import demo content
MagazineBook does not bundle a demo importer — bundling plugin functionality inside a theme is against the WordPress.org theme guidelines, and any theme that does it is one review away from removal.
To reproduce the demo layout, follow "How to set up your front page like the demo website" below. It takes about ten minutes and leaves you with content you actually own, rather than placeholder posts you have to delete later.
Header settings
All header options live under Appearance → Customize → Header Settings. The header is composed of three independent areas — the top bar, the main header, and the header media — each of which can be enabled or disabled on its own.
Header media
Appearance → Customize → Header Settings → Header Media. Upload a header image or video. The recommended header image size is 1920×400. Anything smaller will be upscaled and look soft.
If your header image looks blurry after upload, the cause is almost always WordPress's `-scaled` behaviour rather than the theme. Our WordPress image sizes tool will show you exactly which derivative is being served.
Header top bar
The top bar sits above the main header and holds the date, a secondary menu, and social links. Toggle it under Appearance → Customize → Header Settings → Header Top Bar.
Main header area
The main header holds your site logo or title, the primary navigation menu, and an optional search toggle. Set the logo under Appearance → Customize → Site Identity.
Design settings
Appearance → Customize → Design Settings holds the site-wide layout controls: container width, sidebar position, and colour scheme.
Site layout
Choose between a full-width or boxed container under Appearance → Customize → Design Settings → Site Layout.
Front page settings
The MagazineBook front page is built from stackable sections, each of which can be turned off. Everything lives under Appearance → Customize → Frontpage Settings.
General options
Appearance → Customize → Frontpage Settings → General Options enables the static front page and sets how many posts each section pulls.
MagazineBook widgets
MagazineBook registers four custom widgets. Find them under Appearance → Widgets, prefixed with "MagazineBook:".
Featured posts widget — style 1
A large lead post with a stacked list beside it. Best in a full-width footer or front-page widget area.
Featured posts widget — style 2
An even grid of post cards. Best in a two- or three-column widget area.
Simple featured posts widget
A minimal text-only featured list, for when you want the emphasis on headlines rather than images.
How to set up your front page like the demo website
Create the categories you want to feature, and assign posts to them.
Go to Settings → Reading and set "Your homepage displays" to a static page.
Go to Appearance → Customize → Frontpage Settings → General Options and enable the front page sections.
Point the Banner Slider and Banner Featured Posts sections at the categories you created.
Add the MagazineBook widgets to the front-page widget areas under Appearance → Widgets.
Still stuck?
If something in MagazineBook isn't behaving the way this page says it should, that's a bug worth hearing about.
Social media links
Social icons are driven by a WordPress menu, not a settings panel. Create a menu under Appearance → Menus, add Custom Links pointing at your profiles, then assign that menu to the "Social" location. MagazineBook matches the icon to the domain automatically.