Getting Started

This walkthrough takes you from a working WordPress installation to a basic site using HoverCraft. The theme is free, works for content sites and optional WooCommerce stores, and uses WordPress templates and widgets instead of a page builder.

1. Check the requirements

HoverCraft declares WordPress 6.0 and PHP 7.0 as minimums. PHP 7.0 is not a recommended version for a live site; use a currently supported PHP release that also meets your WordPress and plugin requirements. WooCommerce is optional and can be installed separately when you need a store. See Requirements for the theme's compatibility details.

2. Install HoverCraft

  1. Get hovercraft.zip from the Download page.
  2. In WordPress, open Appearance → Themes → Add New → Upload Theme.
  3. Choose the ZIP, install it, and activate HoverCraft.

The ZIP is ready for WordPress; you do not need to extract or rename it. No registration or license key is required. The installation lesson covers the same process in more detail.

3. Choose your branding and appearance

Go to Appearance → Customize. Under Site Identity, set the site title, tagline, and logo. In General Options, choose the overall layout and whether desktop navigation uses an Inline or Stacked Header. The default Floating Islands layout uses padded, rounded content panels; Classic Clean is the alternative.

Use Colors and Fonts to adjust the site's visual style, then preview the changes before publishing. The Customizer Settings page explains where the controls live, while Branding covers logos and site-name display.

4. Create your navigation

In Appearance → Menus, create a menu and assign it to Main Menu. You may also assign a separate Mobile Menu; otherwise, HoverCraft reuses the main menu on mobile. Header and hero call-to-action menus are optional and have their own locations. See Menus for those choices.

5. Set up your homepage and pages

Create a page under Pages → Add New, then select it as your homepage under Settings → Reading → Your homepage displays → A static page. If you want a blog, you can designate a separate Posts page there too.

For each page, choose a HoverCraft Template in the page editor. Basic has no hero; Mini, Half, and Full Hero templates offer different header treatments. Hero pages can use the page's Featured Image as their background. Use the regular WordPress editor for the page's own text and images. See Page Templates and Hero Sections.

6. Add reusable sections with widgets

Open Appearance → Widgets to add content to HoverCraft's shared areas, including the sidebar, footer, topbar, and homepage bands. You can also build repeated Tiles or Columns layouts with widgets. An empty area usually stays hidden, so you only need to populate the sections you want. See Widget Areas and Homepage.

7. Keep the theme updated

You can replace the theme with a newer ZIP or use the optional Git Updater plugin to receive updates from GitHub. Keep significant PHP or template customizations in a child theme, not the parent theme, so updates do not overwrite them. For both update methods, see Theme Updates.

Once the basics are in place, the theme documentation has focused explanations of each setting, layout, and integration.