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Kate Documentation

Everything you need to install, configure, and customize the Kate Ghost theme.

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Getting Started

Thank You for Choosing Our Theme!

We’re thrilled that you’ve selected our Kate theme for your Ghost website. If you run into any challenges or have questions, don’t hesitate to reach out via our email (trexthemes@gmail.com) — we’re here to help!

Getting Started with Kate

All the theme’s features, setup instructions, and customization options are thoroughly covered in this documentation. Use the On this page menu on the right to jump straight to any section.

Theme Details

  • 🎨 Name: Kate
  • ✍️ Author: T-Rex Themes
  • 🛠️ Platform: Ghost
  • 🔄 Latest Version: 1.0.0
  • 📅 Last Updated: Aug 05, 2025

Requirements

Since Kate is a Ghost theme, it follows the same system requirements as Ghost. Before getting started, ensure you have:

  • ✅ A working Ghost installation
  • ✅ Basic familiarity with Ghost’s interface

🔍 New to Ghost? We recommend checking out the official Ghost Help Center for beginner-friendly guides and tutorials.

Installing Your Kate Theme

🚀 Welcome to Kate!

Follow these quick steps to install your new Ghost theme:

1. Download Your Theme

After purchase, you’ll receive a Kate.zip file containing your theme.

2. Log Into Ghost Admin

Access your dashboard at:
https://yoursite.com/ghost

3. Upload the Theme

  • Click the ⚙️ Settings icon (bottom left)
  • Select “Theme” from the menu
  • Choose “Change theme” → “Upload theme”
  • Upload the Kate.zip file

4. Activate Kate

Once uploaded, click “Activate now” to apply your new theme.

🎉 That’s it! Kate is now ready to use.

💬 Need help? Contact our support team for assistance at trexthemes@gmail.com.

Setting Up Your Homepage

The homepage of the Kate theme is composed of multiple sections and widgets. This guide walks you through the step-by-step process of creating and customizing the homepage.

1. Adding Social Media Links (Facebook, X/Twitter, Instagram & Pinterest)

Step 1: Facebook & X/Twitter

  1. Go to Ghost Admin → Settings → General

  2. Scroll down to the Social accounts section

  3. Add your profiles:

    • Facebook: Paste your full profile URL
      Example: https://facebook.com/yourpage
    • X (Twitter): Enter your handle (e.g., @yourhandle) or full profile URL
      Example: https://twitter.com/yourhandle

Step 2: Instagram & Pinterest

  1. Navigate to Settings → Design & Branding → Theme → Site-wide
  2. You will find input fields to add your Instagram and Pinterest profile links.

2. Adding Navigation

To add primary navigation:

  1. Go to: Navigation section in Doc

If the menu contains more than 5 items, a dropdown (“More”) menu is automatically created.

To change this number:

  • Go to Settings → Design & Branding → Theme
  • Locate “Number of links before more” and set your preferred value.

3. Subscribe Section

To manage subscription access:

  1. Go to Settings → Membership → Access

  2. Choose one of the following options:

    • Anyone can sign up (default)
    • Only people I invite
    • Only paid-members

  3. Click Save after selecting your desired access level.

  1. Go to Settings → Design & Branding → Brand
  2. Find the “Publication logo” field
  3. Click “Upload logo”, select your file, and click Save

Upload Logo for Dark Mode

  1. Go to Settings → Design & Branding → Theme
  2. Upload your logo under “Primary Logo for Dark Mode”

The homepage slide displays featured posts by default.

  • To feature a post, simply mark it as Featured in the post settings.

To add a link box section:

  1. Create a new page
  2. Name it as you wish
  3. Assign it the internal tag: #links
  4. In the page content:
    • Add a Product Card
    • Upload an image
    • Disable the rating
    • Add Button text and Button link

Repeat the process to add as many links as desired.

7. Posts List

Posts are displayed by most recent by default.

Kate Theme includes three layout options for:

  • Homepage
  • Author pages
  • Tag pages

To change layouts:

  • Go to Settings → Design & Branding → Theme
  • Locate “Homepage layout” or “Taxonomies layout” and select your preferred style

Homepage Widgets

1. About Widget

To display the “About” widget:

  1. Create a page with:

    • A title
    • A featured image
    • The internal tag: #about

  2. Widget displays the following:

    • Profile Image: Set via Settings → Design & Branding → Theme → Profile Image
    • Description: Pulled from the excerpt of the #about page
    • Signature Image: Set via Settings → Design & Branding → Theme → Signature Image

2. Editor’s Choice Widget

  • Displays all posts with the internal tag: #editor-choice

3. Promo Posts Widget

  • Displays all posts with the internal tag: #promo

4. Ghost Recommendations Widget

This widget shows your site’s recommendations by default.

To add or manage recommendations:

Customizing Your Accent Color

Give your Kate theme a personalized touch by updating the accent color — here’s how:

🔧 Quick Steps

  1. Go to Ghost Admin → Settings → Design & Branding
  2. Select the Brand tab
  3. Locate the Accent Color option
  4. Choose your color (use the palette or enter a HEX code)
  5. Click Save to apply the changes

Typography with the Kate Theme

The Kate theme gives you full control over the fonts used across your site. You can select from theme fonts, Ghost fonts, or system fonts, based on your preference for style and site performance.

How to Configure Typography

1. Log in to Ghost Admin

Go to:
https://yoursite.com/ghost

2. Access Design Settings

Navigate to:
Settings > Site > Design & branding
or visit:
https://yoursite.com/ghost/#/settings/design
Click the Customize button to open the theme editor.

3. Open Theme Typography Settings

Find the Typography option under the Site wide section.

4. Choose Your Font Option

  • Theme (default): Uses fonts provided by the Kate theme, we are using Google Fonts for optimal load speed and consistent appearance.
  • Ghost: Enables fonts set in Settings > Site > Design & branding > Brand > Typography. When selected, the theme’s default fonts are disabled to prevent redundant loading.

Logo Upload Guidelines

To ensure your logo looks perfect with the Kate theme, follow these best practices:

✅ Logo Preparation

  • ✔ Minimize empty space – Crop any excess padding around your logo using an image editor
  • ✔ Preferred format – Use SVG for scalability or a transparent PNG for better visual integration

Access Branding Settings

In Ghost Admin, go to:
Settings → Design & Branding → Brand

Upload Primary Logo

  • Find the “Publication logo” field
  • Click “Upload logo” and select your prepared file
  • Click “Save” to apply changes

Customizing Navigation in Kate Theme

Your Kate theme offers flexible navigation options to help you create the perfect menu structure:

📌 Primary Navigation

(Always displayed at the top of your site)

To customize:

  1. Go to Ghost Admin → Settings → Navigation
  2. Click “Customize” next to Primary Navigation

Add/Edit Menu Items:

  • Drag to reorder links
  • Click "+" to add new items
  • Use the trash icon to remove items
  • Click “Save” to apply changes

➕ Secondary Navigation

(Optional additional menu — great for extra links or call-to-actions)

To set up:

  1. In the same Navigation settings
  2. Click “Customize” next to Secondary Navigation
  3. Build your menu following the same steps as above

Announcement Bar with the Kate Theme

The Kate theme fully supports Ghost’s built-in Announcement Bar. This feature lets you showcase a brief message at the top of your site — perfect for updates, promotions, or quick calls-to-action.

How to Set Up the Announcement Bar

1. Log in to Ghost Admin

Visit:
https://yoursite.com/ghost

2. Navigate to Announcement Bar Settings

Go to:
Settings > Site > Announcement Bar
or directly via:
https://yoursite.com/ghost/#/settings/announcement-bar
Click the Customize button to open the editor.

3. Enable and Customize

  • Enter the message you want to display in the text field.
  • Pick a background color for the bar.
  • Choose when the bar should be visible (options include Logged out visitors, Free members, or Paid members).

4. Save Your Changes

Click Save to publish your announcement.

For detailed instructions on the Announcement Bar functionality, refer to the official Ghost documentation.

🔗 Setting Up Footer Navigation

Access Navigation Settings

  1. Go to Ghost Admin → Settings → Navigation
  2. Select the “Secondary Navigation” section

Edit Menu Items

  • Add items: Click "+" and enter both the label and URL
  • Remove items: Click the trash can icon next to any item
  • Reorder items: Drag and drop using the handle (≡) on the left

Save Changes

  • Click “Save” to update your footer navigation

© Updating Copyright Text

  1. Navigate to Settings → Design & Branding → Site-wide
  2. Locate the “Footer copyright text” field
  3. Enter your custom text
    Example: © 2025 Your Brand Name. All rights reserved.
  4. Click “Save” to apply changes

📱 Adding Social Media Links (Facebook & X/Twitter)

Step 1: Access Social Settings

  • Go to Ghost Admin → Settings → General
  • Scroll down to the “Social accounts” section

Step 2: Add Your Profiles

  • Facebook: Paste your full profile URL
    Example: https://facebook.com/yourpage
  • X/Twitter: Enter your handle (e.g., @yourhandle) or full profile URL
    Example: https://twitter.com/yourhandle

Changing the Subscribe Cover Image

In the Split theme, the Subscribe card includes a prominent cover image that enhances the visual appeal of your newsletter call-to-action. Here’s how to customize it for your site:

📍 Step-by-Step Instructions

  1. Prepare Your Image

    • Recommended size: 1600×600px or larger (for wide layout support)
    • Format: JPG or PNG (optimized for web)
    • Optional: Use a background with soft contrast for text readability

  2. Access Design & Branding Settings

    • Go to Ghost Admin → Settings → Design & Branding

  3. Locate the Subscribe Cover Image Option

    • Scroll to the “Site-wide” section
    • Find the “Subscribe cover image” setting

  4. Upload Your Image

    • Click Upload image
    • Select your prepared cover image
    • Wait for the upload to complete

  5. Save Changes

    • Click Save to apply your new subscribe cover image across the site

Route

The Kate theme is fully compatible with Ghost’s standard routing setup. If you have not modified your site’s routes.yaml file, no further steps are necessary.

Resetting Your Routing to Default

If you have previously customized your routing and want to revert to Ghost’s default routes for optimal compatibility with the Kate theme, follow these instructions to upload the original routes.yaml file:

1. Access Ghost Admin

Log in to your Ghost Admin panel at:
https://yoursite.com/ghost

2. Go to Labs

Navigate to:
Settings > Advanced > Labs
or directly via:
https://yoursite.com/ghost/#/settings/labs

3. Upload the Default Routes File

Under the Beta features section, click Upload routes file.
create a file with the following name routes.yaml and edit the file using a text editor and copy the code bellow and save, After that upload the file:

routes:

collections:
  /:
    permalink: /{slug}/
    template: index

taxonomies:
  tag: /tag/{slug}/
  author: /author/{slug}/

Once uploaded, your site will restore the default routing behavior, ensuring the Kate theme functions as intended.

Translation

The Kate theme fully integrates with Ghost’s native translation system, allowing you to easily localize your website for a global audience. It uses simple JSON files stored in the locales/ folder to manage all text strings, making it straightforward to edit existing translations or add new languages.

How to Customize or Add Translations

1. Download and Unzip the Theme

Extract the theme .zip file on your computer.

2. Locate the Translation Files

Open the locales/ folder inside the theme directory. Here you’ll find JSON files named by language code, such as en.json or fr.json.

3. Edit an Existing Translation

Open the JSON file in a code editor (e.g., Visual Studio Code or Sublime Text) and modify the key-value pairs to your desired translations.

Example snippet from a translation file:

{
  "Subscribe": "Inscreva-se",
  "Read More": "Leia Mais"
}

4. Add a New Language (Optional)

  • Duplicate an existing language file, e.g., en.json.
  • Rename the copy with your desired language code, such as fr.json for German.
  • Translate all the key-value pairs inside the file to your target language.

5. Repackage the Theme

Compress the entire theme folder—including your updated locales/ directory—back into a .zip archive.

6. Upload the Updated Theme

  • Log in to your Ghost Admin panel.
  • Navigate to:
    Settings > Site > Theme > Change theme > Upload Theme
  • Upload the newly created .zip file containing your modified theme.

7. Set the Site Language

  • Go to:
    Settings > General > Publication Language
  • Enter the appropriate language code (e.g., es for Spanish, fr for Arabic).

Important Notes

  • Always use a code editor that supports UTF-8 encoding and proper JSON syntax to prevent file corruption.
  • Avoid basic text editors like Notepad or word processors such as Word, as they may insert hidden characters or break formatting.

Additional Resources

For comprehensive details on Ghost’s translation and localization features, see the official Ghost Localization Guide.

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