Template Plugin Update: Let Users Choose a Template on Registration

Template Plugin Update: Let Users Choose a Template on Registration

WPMUDev’s New Blog Templates plugin, which allows you to duplicate settings for any blog on a Multisite install, has just been updated to also allow your users to choose a template during registration.

For those who are already familiar with the plugin, you can skip to the very bottom of this post to see info about the update.

For those who aren’t familiar with the plugin, we’ll go through an overview and how to set it up.

What does the Blog Templates Plugin Do?

This plugin allows you to easily set up blog templates that you can assign to any blog. You do this by simply creating a blog as you would like it (theme, plugins, settings, content, etc.), and then making that blog a template via the plugin.

You can also create as many templates as you like.

Take a look at a short video.

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How to Set Up a Blog Template

1. Create a New Blog

(In Network Administrator Section)

Set up a new blog to be a template. Go to the Network Administrator Section > Sites > Add New


2. Go to New Blog

(In Network Administrator Section)

Go to the admin area of the new blog you’ve just created. Sites > All Sites > (Hover over title and choose Dashboard)

 

3. Set Up Your Blog

(In Individual Blog Admin Area)

Set up the new site however you like, adding the theme you’d like, plugins, settings, initial content, etc.

4. Go Back to Network Admin Section

(In Individual Blog Admin Area)

From the individual blog section, go back to the Network Administrator Section.  My Sites > Network Admin.

5. Get the ID for the New Blog

(In Network Administrator Section)

Get the ID for the new blog you’ve just created. You will need this to set the blog as a template. Sites > All Sites > Hover Over Title.

When you hover over the title, you should see a status bar pop up in your browser. You will find the ID to the blog there.

6. Make Your Blog a Template

(In Network Administrator Section)

Go to the Blog Templates section. Settings > Blog Templates.

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Enter the info required and which elements you would like the template to include, such as settings, theme, categories, etc.

Repeat the above steps as many times as you like to get as many templates as you like.

 

Choose a Template for New Sites

Once you have at least one template established, you will see a dropdown box that allows you to assign a template when you add a new site.

NEW UPDATE: Show Template Options on Registration

A new feature to the New Blog Templates plugin is that it allows you to present the option of different templates to your users during the registration process.

To turn this option on or off, go to the Blog Templates section as you did in Step #6 above (Settings > Blog Templates), and you will see a checkbox for it below the button “Create a Blog Template!”


When you turn this option on, your new users will see a dropdown list of all your templates. Therefore, you will want to be as descriptive as possible when giving your templates a name.

For example, you might have templates based on color (such as “Blue Template,” “Orange Template,” etc.), or you might choose to name them according to type (such as “Video Template,” “Photo Template,” etc.).

Also, of course, because this plugin lets you duplicate EVERYTHING, then you could spend some time and set up some very nicely put together templates that an average user probably couldn’t ever dream of (think plugins, customizations, etc.).

Again, you can find the New Blog Templates plugin here.

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