GeneratePress Free Tutorial – Build a Simple Blog [Design 2]

In this video tutorial, I will show you, how to build a simple blog using GeneratePress free theme. You can download the latest version of theme from WordPress repository or from the GeneratePress website directly.

It’s a quick and short video, so please watch the video without skipping.

Table of Contents

• Recommended Hosting
• Required Theme
• Required Plugins
• Color Palette
• Custom CSS Code
• Custom PHP Code
• Typography Manager
• Copyright Section PHP Code
• Welcome Banner PHP Code

Recommended Hosting

• Hostinger
• CloudWays
• FastComet

Required Theme

• GeneratePress (Free Version)

Required Plugins

• Code Snippets
• Recent Posts Widget With Thumbnails
• WPForms Lite

Color Palette

CSS Variable Name	Hexa Code	Actual Color
contrast	#222222
contrast-2	#575760
contrast-3	#b2b2be
base	#f0f0f0
base-2	#f7f8f9
base-3	#ffffff
accent	#03c4eb
highlight-color	#fde9e5

Custom CSS Code

html {
  scroll-behavior: smooth;
}
.rpwwt-widget .rpwwt-post-date {
	font-size: 14px;
	border-bottom: 1px solid #dddddd;
  padding-bottom: 15px;
}
button.wpforms-submit {
	background-color: #03c4eb !important;
    color: #ffffff !important;
    font-weight: bold !important;
    text-transform: uppercase !important;
    padding: 15px 20px !important;
    text-transform: uppercase !important;
    display: inline-flex !important;
    align-items: center !important;
	border-width: 0 !important;
}
.main-navigation .main-nav ul li a {
    color: #222222 !important;
}
.main-navigation .main-nav ul li a:hover {
    color: #03c4eb !important;
}
.widget {
	border: 1px solid #dddddd;
}
.widget-title {
  border-bottom: 2px solid #dddddd;
  padding-bottom: 15px;
}
.widget-title::after {
  content: '';
  display: block;
  position: relative;
  width: 50px;
  height: 2px;
  background: #333;
	bottom: -17px
}
.main-navigation {
  border-top: 1px solid #ddd;
	border-bottom: 1px solid #ddd;
}
.main-navigation .main-nav ul li a::after {
  content: "";
  width: 1px;
  position: absolute;
  top: 18px;
  right: 0;
  height: 23px;
  background: #dddddd;
}
.top-bar {
  background-color: #fff;
  color: #ffffff;
	border-bottom: 1px solid #f1f1f1;
}
.top-bar .widget {
	border-width: 0px;
}
.footer-widgets .widget,
.footer-bar .widget {
	border-width: 0px;
}
.rpwwt-widget a {
	text-decoration: none;
}
.rpwwt-post-date {
	color: #aaaaaa;
	padding-top: 5px;
}
ul.wp-block-categories li {
  list-style-type: disc;
  margin-left: 20px;
	border-bottom: 1px solid #dddddd;
}
ul.wp-block-categories li a {
	display: inline-block;
  width: 80%;
  float: none;
	text-decoration: none;
	padding-bottom: 13px;
  margin-bottom: 13px;
}
.wp-block-tag-cloud a {
	font-size: 14px !important;
	text-decoration: none;
  border: 1px solid #ddd;
  padding: 5px 12px;
  margin-bottom: 10px;
}
#comments {
	border: 1px solid #ddd;
  padding: 20px;
}
.separate-containers .page-header {
	background-color: var(--highlight-color);
}
a.read-more {
	display: block;
	margin-top: 15px;
  text-align: right;
  text-transform: uppercase;
  text-decoration: none;
  letter-spacing: 1px;
}
a.read-more::after {
	content: '→';
}
.separate-containers .inside-article {
	padding-top: 0px;
}
.read-more-section {
	text-align: center;
	margin-top: 40px;
}
.gp-post-date-author {
	text-align: center;
}
.gp-post-date-author {
    padding: 7px;
	  letter-spacing: 0.5px;
    text-transform: uppercase;
    font-size: 14px;
	  margin-top: -10px; 
}
.blog-page-header-wrapper {
	  background: var(--highlight-color);
	  padding: 15px;
}
.blog-page-header {
	padding: 20px 40px;
}
.gp-custom-category-section {
	text-align: center;
	padding-bottom: 10px;
	letter-spacing: 0.5px;
  text-transform: uppercase;
  font-size: 14px;
}
.single-featured-image {
	margin-top: 15px;
}
.gp-custom-tag-section a {
	padding: 5px 10px;
  margin-right: 5px;
  border-radius: 5px;
	-moz-border-radius: 5px;
	-webkit-border-radius: 5px;
  font-size: 13px;
}
.gp-custom-tag-section {
	margin-top: 15px;
}
.separate-containers .page-header {
	padding: 0px;
	margin: 40px;
}
.separate-containers .page-header .page-title {
	padding: 40px 40px 0px 40px;
}
.separate-containers .page-header .taxonomy-description {
	padding: 0px 40px 40px 40px;
}
.highlight {
	background: var(--highlight-color);
	padding: 40px;
  text-align: center;
  font-size: 20px;
	margin-top: 20px;
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.highlight-wrapper {
	  max-width: 1300px;
    margin: 0 auto;
}
.archive.author .page-title {
	padding: 40px !important;
}

Custom PHP Code

add_action( 'generate_after_content','gp_custom_display_tags' );  
function gp_custom_display_tags() {  
    if(is_single()) {
		$post_tags = get_the_tags( get_the_ID() );
		$tags_content = '<div class="gp-custom-tag-section">';
		if( $post_tags ) { 
			foreach($post_tags as $tag) {
				$tag_link = get_tag_link( $tag->term_id );
				$tags_content = $tags_content . '<a class="button" href="'. $tag_link .'">' . $tag->name . '</a>';
			}
		}
		$tags_content = $tags_content . '</div>';
	echo $tags_content;
	}
}
add_action( 'generate_after_entry_header','gp_custom_thumbnail_image' );  
function gp_custom_thumbnail_image() {  
    if(is_single()) {
		$feat_image = wp_get_attachment_url( get_post_thumbnail_id(get_the_ID()) );
		echo '<img class="single-featured-image" src="'.$feat_image.'"></img>';	
	}
}

//add_action( 'generate_before_main_content','gp_custom_blog_title_section' );  
function gp_custom_blog_title_section() {  
    if(is_home()) {
		echo '<div class="blog-page-header"><div class="blog-page-header-wrapper"><h2 class="entry-title">// Latest Blog Post</h2><p>urabitur lorem dui, mollis eu quam quis, lacinia aliquam libero. Fusce eu leo lectus. Donec neque felis, mattis ac facilisis porta, semper at eros. In hac habitasse platea dictumst.</p></div></div>';
	}
}

add_action( 'generate_before_entry_title','gp_custom_before_title' );  
function gp_custom_before_title() {  
	$post_categories = wp_get_post_categories(get_the_ID(), [ 'fields' => 'all' ]);
	$category_content = '<div class="gp-custom-category-section">';
	if( $post_categories ) { 
		foreach($post_categories as $c) {
			$category_link = get_category_link( $c->term_id );
			$category_content = $category_content . '<a href="'. $category_link .'">' . $c->name . '</a>' . ' / ';
		}
		$category_content = rtrim($category_content, ' / ');
	}
	$category_content = $category_content . '</div>';
	echo $category_content;
}

add_filter( 'generate_post_date_output','gp_custom_add_to_post_date' );
function gp_custom_add_to_post_date( $output ) {
    return '<div class="gp-post-date-author">' . $output;
}
add_filter( 'generate_post_author_output','gp_custom_add_to_post_author' );
function gp_custom_add_to_post_author( $output ) {
    return $output . '</div>';
}
add_filter( 'generate_leave_comment','gp_custom_remove_comment_link' );
function gp_custom_remove_comment_link() {
    return false;
}

add_filter( 'generate_show_comments', '__return_false' );
add_filter( 'generate_show_tags', '__return_false' ); 
add_filter( 'generate_show_categories', '__return_false' );

add_filter( 'generate_excerpt_more_output', 'gp_custom_read_more' );
function gp_custom_read_more() { 
    return '<div class="read-more-section"><a class="button" href="'.get_permalink(get_the_ID()).'">Continue Reading &rarr;</a></div>';
}
add_action( 'after_setup_theme', function() {
    remove_action( 'generate_before_content', 'generate_featured_page_header_inside_single', 10 );
} );

Typography Manager

Copyright Section PHP Code

add_filter( 'generate_copyright','gp_custom_copyright' );
function gp_custom_copyright() {
    ?>
    © 2022 WordPress Site Development• All Rights Reserved!
    <?php
}

Welcome Banner PHP Code

Banner Without Image

add_action( 'generate_after_header','gp_custom_banner' );  
function gp_custom_banner() {  
    if(is_home()) {
		echo "<div class='highlight'><div class='highlight-wrapper'>
	Hi, I'm Kelley Jenner. I’m the blogger behind this wonderful blog. <br>I’m here to help you stop feeling overwhelmed and burned out so you can enjoy a more intentional and well-balanced life.
</div></div>";	
	}
}

Banner With Image

add_action( 'generate_after_header','gp_custom_banner_with_img' );  
function gp_custom_banner_with_img() {  
    if(is_home()) {
		echo "<div class='highlight'><div class='highlight-wrapper'>
<img src='https://dummyimage.com/300x300/5c4c5c/fff' alt='header-image'/><br>
	Hi, I'm Kelley Jenner. I’m the blogger behind this wonderful blog. <br>I’m here to help you stop feeling overwhelmed and burned out so you can enjoy a more intentional and well-balanced life.
</div></div>";	
	}
}

In the above code, replace the “src” value with your own image URL (which you already uploaded via Media Library).