A subscription from Elegant Themes has consistently offered excellent value. However, in the beginning, the majority of their designs were quite simple, and some people felt that they based their business strategy on quantity rather than quality. For this reason, they received some criticism.
Elegant Themes made the Divi theme available at the end of 2013. By acting in this manner, they brought about an irreversible shift in the course of the firm.
All-in-one WordPress themes had been available for a number of years before to the release of Divi, which elevated the platform by providing a superior design, an increased number of features, and improved usability. It became the benchmark almost immediately, and other WordPress startups attempted to imitate its success.
The drag-and-drop page builder is at the core of the Divi theme. This feature was subsequently made available as a stand-alone WordPress plugin and given the name Divi Builder. It is still widely considered to be among the most effective drag-and-drop page builders that WordPress users have access to.
Extra is the second WordPress theme developed by Elegant Themes that is constructed on the Divi Builder. This chic magazine layout works well for a variety of online publications, including blogs, online magazines, and online stores. It comes with a number of outstanding blog layouts, individualised widgets, and an integrated rating system.
I’ll explain why Elegant Themes considers this to be “The Ultimate Magazine WordPress Theme” in the next section.
Let’s dig in…
Extra Theme Tutorial : Features & Design
The theme is included with more than 20 different pre-made theme layouts, and the Elegant Themes blog features a big variety of extra layouts that can be downloaded there as well. Nevertheless, the great majority of these designs are most appropriate for use on business websites, such as websites for companies, portfolios, and landing pages.
Extra differentiates itself from Divi by being optimised exclusively for online magazines and blogs, and every new feature of Extra is built with the needs of bloggers in mind. Divi is a multipurpose theme that can be used for almost anything.
A nice illustration of this is the way Extra enhances Divi Builder to add post categories. These new modules allow you to design distinctive magazine-style and blog-style layouts, and the final layouts can then be allocated to certain article categories.
There are numerous new category modules, including a tabbed posts module that breaks content into post categories, a highlighted post slider and a masonry blog module that can be used to show article listings in boxes.
There’s also an adverts module that may be used to add banner ads into your layout.
As you’d expect, all modules are customisable.
You can build stunning content in a matter of minutes with the assistance of Divi Builder’s collection of over 40 different content modules. Simply dragging and dropping content modules into your layout is all that is required to build even the most complex of layouts.
You have complete control over the look and feel of every facet of your material.
In addition to that, there is a brand new custom post type that can be used to display portfolios and projects.
You may quickly alter the look of the header and footer by utilising the WordPress theme customizer, which enables you to modify the layout of your website’s layout in a variety of ways.
The navigation menu may be expanded to include columns and media with the use of advanced dropdown mega menus. They have a wonderful appearance and are quite simple to set up.
Extra provides support for seven different post formats for WordPress, giving you the ability to publish a wide variety of material on your website. These post types include videos, maps, quotations, and audio.
Extra also has a user-tailored rating and review system. You have the ability to contribute a review to any topic or product using the parameters of your choosing, and other users will be able to rate it utilising a star rating system.
Extra Theme Tutorial : Installing Extra
Extra may be obtained by accessing the downloads section of your Elegant Themes account.
This section also provides a selection of helpful tutorials that will assist you in getting set up:
- Installing Extra
- An Overview of Extra
- Using the Visual Builder
- Configuring Theme Options
You may add Extra to your website by uploading the theme zip file straight through the WordPress appearance section that is located in the administrative portion of your website. You also have the option to download the theme file, extract its contents, and then upload the files to the themes directory of your WordPress installation using an FTP client such as FileZilla.
Before activating Extra on a live website, it is highly recommended that you install it on a test WordPress installation first. This will allow you the opportunity to try out its features and functioning before activating it on a production website.
When I attempted to enter the appearance area of WordPress after installing Extra on my test WordPress website, I received an error message stating that a 500 Internal Server Error had been created by WordPress.
This perplexed me because I had not added any other plugins, and because I had just reset my database, eliminating any possibility of a conflict with a WordPress plugin that had been installed in the past.
I was able to fix the issue by increasing the amount of RAM that was allocated to WordPress from 64 MB to 128 MB.
You can do this by adding the following line to your wp-config.php file:
- define(‘WP MEMORY LIMIT’, ‘128M’);
- I was unsure as to why the RAM limit needed to be raised in order to utilise Extra, so I contacted Elegant Themes in an effort to get some insight into the matter.
- They validated that the Extra programme requires 128 MB of RAM to work properly.
- After additional investigation, I found out that although having 128 MB of RAM was enough to prevent internal issues, I needed to have 256 MB of memory in order to import layouts into my website. This was a need.
- You may fix the problem by increasing the amount of RAM to 128MB or 256MB if you discover that Divi or Extra are causing an internal server error or aren’t importing layouts correctly.
- If you are unsure how to accomplish this task, you should consult with the firm that is hosting your website.
Extra theme Tutorial : Divi Builder
Control over the primary design and layout of Extra may be exercised using the WordPress theme customizer as well as the Extra theme settings panel. You will need to utilise the Divi Builder in order to alter the appearance of the content area.
Because of this, whenever you go into a post, page, or other post type, you have the option of using either the default editor, Gutenberg, or the Divi Builder.
When you select Divi Builder as the tool to use for editing your content, you will be prompted to decide whether you want to keep the material you have already written, select a pre-built layout, or clone a page that you have previously made.
When you select the pre-made layout option, the layout library is loaded. Here you’ll have access to hundreds of pre-made layouts, in addition to the pages you’ve already created and any layouts you’ve already saved.
There are over a dozen distinct categories for the layouts, and a search box is provided to assist you in locating the particular one that meets your requirements.
There are more than a hundred different layout packs that come with this product, and before you import a layout into your website, you may watch a demo of that layout.
Layout packs are collections that contain many variations of the same design for use on various sections of your website. For instance, a layout pack can have different layouts for your home page, about page, blog page, portfolio page, and possibly much more.
The Divi Builder provides a layout approach that I just adore using. There is a large amount of pre-made layouts available, each of which is thoughtfully crafted. It gives you amazing layouts for your website, or if you want, it gives you a terrific starting point for creating a layout that is completely unique to you.
Testing out the many layouts that are available is another helpful technique to learn how to get the most out of the Divi builder.
As was indicated previously, the Divi Builder might not function properly if you haven’t adjusted the amount of RAM that your website is allocated, so make sure that the settings are accurate; otherwise, layout imports can become stuck.
When it was initially released, the Divi Builder allowed layouts to be modified from within the back end.
Now that the Divi Builder has been activated on the front end of your website, you will be able to observe changes occurring in real time. You have the option to view your page in “Wireframe View” on the front end of your website if you prefer the older method of building your page, and you can continue to modify layouts in the back end by selecting a layout from the Divi Library page. If you prefer to build your page using the newer method, you have the option to view your page using the older method.
It is possible that it will take you fifteen to thirty minutes to properly familiarise yourself with the interface of the Divi Builder; however, once you have done so, you will recognise just how powerful the plugin is. The Divi Builder works in a manner similar to that of drag-and-drop building solutions.
You have complete control over the appearance and operation of everything, including individual content modules, rows, columns, and layouts. You even have the option to modify the view to check out how your layout appears on various mobile platforms.
Each content module offers a distinct set of customising possibilities. Less complex modules, such as dividers, have a limited number of customization possibilities, in contrast to more complex modules, such as portfolio, which have thousands of options.
Each content module, column, and row features a design tab that gives you the ability to modify the colours, fonts, spacing, and borders, among other aspects of the display. Everything is managed with pull-down menus and buttons, making the interface extremely simple and straightforward to use.
Users with more technical expertise may assign unique IDs to items and create custom CSS using the advanced tab. You also have the option to deactivate modules on particular devices, such as desktop computers, mobile phones, and tablet computers.
Extra’s adaptability may be attributed, in large part, to the inclusion of Divi Builder, which is a core component of Extra. This WordPress plugin allows you to drag and drop content, but I’ve just scratched the surface of what you can do with it.
Visit the Elegant Themes Divi Builder website and be sure to read our comprehensive review of Divi Builder for further information on this page builder. You can learn more about Divi Builder by visiting this page.
Extra Theme Tutorial : Modifying Extra
Extra is a highly customizable WordPress theme, which means you have a lot of leeway in determining how the appearance of your website will turn out.
The primary configuration settings may be accessed through the Extra options menu, which includes the following submenus: Theme options, Theme Customizer, Module Customizer, Role Editor, Divi Library, and Category Builder.
On the main settings page for the theme, you’ll find a button that allows you enable or disable features with a single click.
This part is broken up into eight different subsections, which are as follows: General, navigation, builder, layout, advertisements, SEO, integration, and updates. The majority of the choices available in these areas are further divided into further categories. For instance, the five advertising zones are separated into their respective portions, which are as follows: the header, the section below the header, the footer, the section above the post, and the section below the post.
You’ll find the buttons for importing and exporting settings, as well as the one for returning the parameters to their factory defaults, on the right-hand side of the green navigation menu.
The general settings page is where you will submit your site’s logo and favicon, as well as determine where your sidebars will be located. In this section, you will also specify the URLs for your various social media profiles.
Other settings include the maximum amount of posts that will be displayed on each of your archive pages, as well as whether or not minification of CSS and Javascript will be enabled. In addition, there is a space for you to input your own personalised CSS.
You have the ability to alter how your pages and categories are displayed in your navigation menu by clicking on the navigation settings tab. You have the option to deactivate dropdown menus, and you can select whether or not you want a link to the homepage included in your menu. You may also choose the order in which things appear on the menu.
In the builder tab, you have the ability to select which post types should have the Divi Builder enabled or disabled. You also have the option of activating the traditional editor and disabling features such as the Divi Builder product tour.
Using the layout tab, you may alter the way that the layout of posts and pages appear.
Within this part, the only action required of you is to click on the post meta information that you wish to show. You also have the option to alter archive pages from their default layout to a masonry layout.
The space for theme choices allows for the addition of advertisements. You have the option, for each advertising zone, to either display a banner with a target URL or insert your Google Adsense code. Both options are available to you. Banners served by Google Adsense may be made responsive as well.
Extra gives you the ability to optimise the SEO parameters of your website as well. You have the ability to adjust the SEO settings for your home page, individual articles and pages, and the index page. These options include your titles, meta descriptions, and keywords.
These SEO settings are not intended to take the place of a specialised WordPress plugin for SEO, such as Yoast SEO or All in One SEO Pack; rather, they are a welcome addition.
Through the integration tab, you are able to add code not only to the head and body of your pages, but also to the space above and below the posts on those pages. Displaying adverts is made significantly easier as a result of this feature.
The updates tab is the very last tab in the window. If you want to get theme updates and have the option to import layouts into Divi Builder, you will need to make sure that you submit your login and API key for Elegant Themes here.
Extra Theme Tutorial : Customizing Extra
The WordPress theme customizer may be utilised with Extra. This enables you to make adjustments to any and all areas of your design while simultaneously observing the effects of those adjustments in real time across desktop browsers as well as mobile devices.
The layout of Extra consists of a wide variety of categories and sub-categories, some of which include the header, the footer, widgets, and others.
For years, WordPress has made a concerted effort to promote support for the WordPress theme customizer. In spite of this, the administration section of many themes continues to provide design choices that do not include a previewing option.
I am aware that the customizer has certain flaws; but, as someone who has trouble seeing how particular customizations would appear, I have always found it helpful to utilise the customizer.
You have a lot of flexibility over the typeface, size, and colour of the fonts, which makes the typography options really useful.
Extra Theme Tutorial : Options and Settings
You have complete control over the font of any content modules you create in Divi Builder thanks to the module customizer.
You may be able to adjust the width of some modules, as well as other aspects of the module, such as the size of images or the sort of animation that is being utilised. The majority of the time, though, the module customiser will allow you to alter the size, type, and colour of the font.
Just like Divi, Extra supports a role editor.
It is possible to utilise it to allow or disable rights for the Divi Builder and Extra features for a variety of user groups. For instance, you have the ability to determine which users may access the theme settings section, who is allowed to make use of the Divi library, and which content modules are made available to users.
Unfortunately, user groups are the only thing that can have permissions. You are unable to exercise control over permissions on an individual user basis.
This role editor should not be regarded a replacement for a feature-rich solution for altering roles, such as User Role Editor, which provides you with many more choices for personalising the user experience throughout your website. The Divi role editor, on the other hand, is exclusive to the Divi Builder and Extra functionality.
Excellent work has been done on the library system in Divi Builder. Your layouts will be saved automatically, and you will always have access to them.
On the Divi Library page, all of the stored layouts will be shown, and you will be able to access any and all of those layouts from this page.
It is interesting to note that when you update a layout using this page, the interface of the Divi Builder is displayed in the backend of the administration area. For those who would rather view changes in real time, there is a button that says “Build on the Front End” located just above your layout.
A category builder may be found on the Extra admin menu’s very last settings page; this is a function that bloggers will find useful.
After Extra has been installed, you will be presented with layout options for your home page as well as your category page. From this section, you are able to add additional one-of-a-kind layouts and attach them to particular article categories. It’s a terrific method to set your website out from the competition.
You could, for instance, design a one-of-a-kind blog template for the “news” category of your website and another for the “tutorials” category, which would assist you in differentiating between the two categories and optimising the former for the information that is being published in the latter.
Extra, as you can see, provides you with complete control over the appearance of the design of your website and the various content modules. It is possible for anybody, regardless of their level of technical expertise, to develop a website that seems like it was designed by a professional.
Elegant Themes Extra Theme : Pricing
A subscription with Elegant Themes comes with additional features. A subscription grants you access to 86 other WordPress themes in addition to Extra, as well as the Divi Builder, the email opt-in plugin Bloom, and the social media sharing plugin Monarch.
Elegant Themes has instead implemented a straightforward price structure in contrast to the majority of other WordPress businesses, which provide between three and five different licence choices.
They have two options, and both of them grant you unrestricted website usage, complete access to all available themes and plugins, and premium support.
The annual access subscription may be purchased for a price of $89 each year. A subscription with lifetime access makes sense to purchase from Elegant Themes if you anticipate utilising their products for a number of years. After the first two years, the one-time price of $249 is more than covered by the increased revenue.
Every Elegant Theme subscription comes with a hassle-free, thirty-day money-back guarantee that may be cancelled at any time.
The documentation for Extra and the other items offered by Elegant Themes may be found in the administration area of WordPress. If, despite everything, you are still confused about how anything operates, there are a variety of different methods in which you may receive assistance.
You may obtain rapid assistance through a ticket support system, or you can ask questions in the discussion area that Elegant Themes provides. In addition to that, there is a substantial documentation section that contains hundreds of in-depth tutorials. These tutorials are detailed and even contain video walkthroughs of the game.
It is important to remember that Elegant Themes is always improving core products like Divi, Divi Builder, Extra, and Monarch. They continually add new features and functionalities to the platform.
If you become a customer of Elegant Themes, you can consequently anticipate receiving updates on a regular basis.
Extra Theme Tutorial : Final thoughts & Coclusion
The Extra WordPress Theme is being marketed by Elegant Themes as “The Ultimate Magazine WordPress Theme.” Extra has undeniably proven that it deserves to be included among the very best WordPress magazine themes available, yet the question of whether or not it is the very finest theme for online publications might be debated given the availability of other excellent options.
Elegant Themes has made modifications to Divi that help it work better for online magazines and blogs by including all of the features that contribute to Divi’s success.
They have also introduced the capability to build individual blog layouts for each article category in addition to adding new blog templates. They have also included a number of other unique features, such as a system for rating products and various custom widgets that will assist you in integrating social network accounts, author ratings, and product ratings.
The majority of website owners will continue to use Divi as their theme of choice because it is Elegant Themes’ flagship product. If, on the other hand, you operate a blog or an online magazine, the Extra theme is the one you should go with.
Because both themes are included in the Elegant Themes membership and are powered by the Divi Builder, there is no real need to compare them in depth. Thankfully, there is no actual need to do so.
