Marketers Delight Legacy Installation Guide

Note: This is a legacy article that only applies to versions of MD4.4 and lower. Please read the full documentation for up to date instructions.

[toc]

I appreciate you checking out Marketers Delight. Before we get started, you should know what MD is all about.

Marketers Delight is a WordPress theme. You can show off large post images and create beautiful typography-driven layouts. You can even enhance MD with email forms and create custom post layouts, amongst other things.

As a product, MD has gone through many iterations and has been used by thousands of people. The ideas and features have been battle-tested through time and made easier to use as its advanced.

What you see under-the-hood is code that has been meticulously written to be as fast and as reusable as possible.

What you see on the inside is a simple interface that not only stays out of your way but makes crucial layout decisions for you while you write.

…and finally, what you see on the outside is a simple but beautiful website that displays your writing in a very readable way on all kinds of devices (laptops, tablets, phones…).

But who was this all built for? How does MD help you? If you like what you learn below and can see practical uses for the features on your own site, then Marketers Delight was built for you.

Explore below:

1. Installing Marketers Delight

If you know how to install a WordPress theme then you’re already familiar with this process.

Important: As of Marketers Delight 4.5, you only need to install the MD Theme. No plugins!

How to install the Theme

Luckily it’s not rocket science and your WordPress dashboard makes it pretty easy to figure out.

1. From your Downloads area on MDNET, download the file named marketers-delight-theme.zip. Do not unzip.
2. Now, login to your self-hosted WordPress site and browse to Appearance > Themes on the side menu.
3. Now that you’re on the Themes page, click the Add New button at the top and then again click the Upload Theme at the top of the page as well.
4. Click the upload button in the middle of the screen to search your computer for that marketers-delight-theme.zip file. Find it and select it to be uploaded.
5. Follow the installation instructions and then click the Activate link located below the Theme successfully installed message.
6. You’re done. Go check out your website’s homepage

Important: The following Plugin instructions are for versions of MD4.4.2 and below.

How to install the Plugin

This process is largely the same as above, except its through the Plugins interface and you need to upload the plugin file.

1. From your Downloads area on Kolakube, download the file named marketers-delight-plugin.zip. Do not unzip.
2. Now, login to your self-hosted WordPress site and browse to Plugins > Add New on the side menu.
3. Now that you’re on the Plugins page, click the Upload Plugin at the top of the page as well.
4. Click the upload button in the middle of the screen to search your computer for that marketers-delight-plugin.zip file. Find it and select it to be uploaded.
5. Follow the installation instructions and then click the Activate Plugin link located below the Plugin successfully installed message.
6. You’re done. Go setup an email service.

Activating License Keys (and Enable Auto-Updates)

With your purchase of MD comes a year of auto-updates (which you can renew for a fee once expired). To turn those on for your site, you must enter a license key for the theme (if you choose to keep MD updated).

To do this, you must:

1. Get the license key from your MD account (use the same key for each site you plug your license into)
2. Input and activate license key by going to Appearance > Markters Delight

Once the license key widget is green like this, your site is ready for auto-updates:

Need to update the MD theme manually? Read this tutorial for step-by-step instructions.

2. Using Marketers Delight

With Marketers Delight installed, you can go right to adding posts and pages to your site. As you create more of each you may start to run in to the need for things like a menu in the header or a sidebar to the right of your content box to make it easier for people to navigate your site.

Using Featured Images + Creating Custom Header Photos

In your post editor, after uploading your Featured Image, pick a position to place your featured image to. You can move it all over your blog’s layout in just one click from your post editor:

You an also add a small text caption to the bottom left corner of your image.

Add a Menu to the Header

Through WordPress’ Menu interface (Appearance > Menus) you can create a list of pages at the top right of your site. The Header Menu supports one menu, the free MD Main Menu addon supports unlimited sub-menus (and more!).

Make Menu Items a Button

You can turn the menu links you add to the Header Menu into buttons (see screenshot)!

To do this, go to the Menus page and click to open the Screen Options tab at the top of the screen (see screenshot) then enable CSS Classes.

Now, edit any menu item and add the button class name into it to turn that menu link into a green button. Or, if you’d rather use an orange button, use orange button for the class name.

Add a Sidebar to your Blog, Custom Sidebars to Posts

If you want to add a sidebar to your blog homepage (the page that lists your blog posts), go to Appearance > Widgets and drag Widgets into the Main Sidebar area.

You also have the ability to create custom sidebars for each individual post/page. To create a custom sidebar, edit any post or page and find the Layout Options to the right of your post editor (it looks like this).

First enable the Main Sidebar by clicking the checkbox, then click the Create Custom Sidebar checkbox directly underneath it.

Save, then head to your Widgets panel and drag Widgets into the new sidebar area that matches the title of your post/page. Too easy!

How to Upload a Custom Logo Image

If you have your own graphic logo you’d like to show in the header of your site instead of plain text, you may upload it by going to Appearance > Customizer > Site Title & Tagline. Once uploaded, you’ll be able to see a live preview of it on your site.

How to Make Note + Alert Boxes, and Buttons

This is what an alert box looks like in MD. You can use it in posts to highlight an important message.

Alert Box Code: <p class="alert">Alert Text Here...</p>

This is a note box. You can use it to highlight aside text, such as instructional messages or any side thoughts you have.

Note Box Code: <p class="note">Note Text Here...</p>

This is a blockquote. You should put a quote in this to designate to your readers that what they’re reading is a quote.

Blockquote Code: <blockquote>Quoted Text Here...</blockquote>

Here’s a button. If you click this, it will bring you to the top of this page:

This is a button

Button Code: <a href="#" class="button">This is a button</a>

…so will the orange button:

This is an orange button

Button Code: <a href="#" class="orange button">This is an orange button</a>

How Widget Areas Work

By default, Marketers Delight adds 5 new Widget areas to the Widgets interface: Main Sidebar, Footer 1, Footer 2, Footer 3, Footer Copyright

Of course, if you create custom sidebars, you’ll see those alongside the defaults. A simple way to look at these areas is this:

If you haven’t dragged any Widgets into the Widget area, that area simply won’t show up on your site and your layout will adjust without it.

For example, if you want a 2 column footer area, then drag Widgets into Footer 1 and Footer 2. Know that if you ever need a 3rd column, dragging a Widget into Footer 3 will adjust the footer seamlessly to fit 3 columns.

This is also how the Main Sidebar, all Custom Sidebars, and the Footer Copy Widgets work. If these areas on your website ever disappear unexpectedly, it’s most likely because they’re empty in your Widgets panel. Read this for a more technical understanding of this process.

3. Setting up an Email Service

If you want an example of what an email form in Marketers Delight can look like, check out the design of this website. Check out the bottom of this post, and check out the footer on the bottom of the homepage and most posts.

Here’s how I got them there:

Step 1: Connect to an Email Service

Once you’ve installed and activated the Marketers Delight theme, your site is ready to go.

In your WordPress dashboard, navigate to Appearance > Marketers Delight > Email Forms. Once on the screen, you have the choice to connect to an email service (or use custom HTML form code).

MD currently connects with:

• MailChimp
• AWeber
• ActiveCampaign
• ConvertKit
• …more coming soon!

NOTE: As more integrations are added, you can use the custom HTML form code from your current email service provider and still reap the added benefits of MD Email Forms (upload background photos, create custom forms on pages/Widgets, etc.).

If you have either of these services, begin the installation process by choosing one from the select field. You will be asked to login and grab a simple verification code (don’t worry—your login details are not saved to your server).

Once your account has connected, you will be brought to the next screen.

Step 2: Create a Default Email Form

On this page you can fill out fields for your default email form. Add a catchy title, concise descriptive text, select which list you want to collect subscribers for and even personalize your form by asking for their name and choosing a background photo for the form.

By default, this email form will be used anywhere you drag the Email Signup Form Widget and after every post on your blog if you enable that setting. You may also create custom email forms with the Widget (see next step ↓).

Step 3: Place Your Email Forms

Once you save your default email form and enable them to display after each post, you can check out any published post on your site (or scroll to the bottom of this one) to see it. By going to Appearance > Widgets in your admin panel, you can drag an email form into your sidebar, footer, or any other Widget area available.

How to Add Email Forms After All Posts

On the Tools > Email Forms page, scroll to the bottom under the Email Form Display section to find the After Post Display setting. Click the checkbox, save, and your default email form will be immediately added below each post.

How to Create Custom Email Forms After a Post

To make your email signup form seem more enticing and related to the content of your post/page, you may create a custom email form on a post/page basis.

To do this, edit any post and search for the After Post Display meta box beneath your post editor (it looks like this).

Select “Email Form” from the list and you’ll be given the exact same fields as you did on the Default Email Screen. Fill these in and save your post to show your custom email form.

Create an Action Box After a Post

An Action Box works similar to creating custom email forms; find the After Post Display meta box and select “Action Box” to begin filling in your content.

An Action Box is a simple box that holds a headline, description text, and button for readers to click through to a different page.

Action Boxes are great for affiliate marketing posts, and can even be used to direct readers to the next part in your post series. You can paste any link in there for a beautifully designed call-to-action.

4. How to Make Any Post or Page a Landing Page

Landing Pages are popular for creating more focused pages with less distractions. Typically, a landing page will only have a centered logo in the header, a full-width content box, and maybe a copyright notice or disclaimer in the footer.

With Marketers Delight, you can make any post or page a landing page with just a few clicks.

First, open up the page you wish to convert to a landing page then find the Layout Options meta box (it looks like this).

Check the boxes that are applicable to your page:

1. Remove Menu
2. Remove Sidebar
3. Remove Footer Columns

Save, and your page will be adjusted to show only your most important content. Be sure to throw in a Featured Image for even more personalization.

If you’ll notice, I removed the Footer Columns from the bottom of this page by following the same steps even though they appear on other pages of Kolakube. Cool, huh? 😀