{"id":1046,"date":"2022-11-17T08:37:31","date_gmt":"2022-11-17T08:37:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/loftocean.com\/doc\/patiotime\/?post_type=ptkb&#038;p=1046"},"modified":"2025-08-03T11:39:15","modified_gmt":"2025-08-03T11:39:15","slug":"required-recommended-plugins","status":"publish","type":"ptkb","link":"https:\/\/loftocean.com\/doc\/patiotime\/ptkb\/required-recommended-plugins\/","title":{"rendered":"Required &amp; Recommended Plugins"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"1046\" class=\"elementor elementor-1046\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-ca2940a elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"ca2940a\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-no\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-470e1fd\" data-id=\"470e1fd\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0444611 elementor-widget elementor-widget-pt_title\" data-id=\"0444611\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"pt_title.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\n        <div class=\"pt-title-wrap\">\t            <div class=\"pt-subtitle-wrap\"><span class=\"pt-subtitle\">This is a new feature added since v2.0.0<\/span><\/div>\t            <h6 class=\"pt-title\">\n\t                Manage plugins for this theme\t            <\/h6>        <\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-65f0b02 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"65f0b02\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>When you visit your site&#8217;s dashboard &gt; <strong>PatioTime<\/strong> Theme Dashboard &gt; <strong>Plugins<\/strong>, you can manage commonly used plugins plugins for this theme.<\/p><p><a href=\"https:\/\/loftocean.com\/doc\/patiotime\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/08\/pt-dashboard-plugins-1.jpg\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1044\" src=\"https:\/\/loftocean.com\/doc\/patiotime\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/08\/pt-dashboard-plugins-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1369\" srcset=\"https:\/\/loftocean.com\/doc\/patiotime\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/08\/pt-dashboard-plugins-1.jpg 2000w, https:\/\/loftocean.com\/doc\/patiotime\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/08\/pt-dashboard-plugins-1-300x205.jpg 300w, https:\/\/loftocean.com\/doc\/patiotime\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/08\/pt-dashboard-plugins-1-1024x701.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/loftocean.com\/doc\/patiotime\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/08\/pt-dashboard-plugins-1-768x526.jpg 768w, https:\/\/loftocean.com\/doc\/patiotime\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/08\/pt-dashboard-plugins-1-1536x1051.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/loftocean.com\/doc\/patiotime\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/08\/pt-dashboard-plugins-1-1920x1314.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" \/><\/a><\/p><p>These include two required plugins and several recommended plugins for various additional features.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-45fd8b6 elementor-widget-divider--view-line elementor-widget elementor-widget-divider\" data-id=\"45fd8b6\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"divider.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-divider\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-divider-separator\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-aa7d716 elementor-widget elementor-widget-pt_title\" data-id=\"aa7d716\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"pt_title.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\n        <div class=\"pt-title-wrap\">\t            <h6 class=\"pt-title\">\n\t                Required Plugins\t            <\/h6>        <\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-877132c elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"877132c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>There are two required plugins when using this theme:<\/p><ul><li><strong>PatioTime Core<\/strong> &#8211; Built-in core plugin (developed by our team). It extends the functionality of the PatioTime theme and includes features such as custom Elementor widgets, post likes and sharing, gallery slider, Instagram feed, and more.<\/li><li><strong>Elementor<\/strong> &#8211; The 3rd-party page builder plugin used for creating content &amp; pages. This is one of the most popular and leading WordPress builder plugins currently available.<\/li><\/ul><p><a href=\"https:\/\/loftocean.com\/doc\/patiotime\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/08\/pt-dashboard-plugins-3.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1049\" src=\"https:\/\/loftocean.com\/doc\/patiotime\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/08\/pt-dashboard-plugins-3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1655\" height=\"912\" srcset=\"https:\/\/loftocean.com\/doc\/patiotime\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/08\/pt-dashboard-plugins-3.jpg 1655w, https:\/\/loftocean.com\/doc\/patiotime\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/08\/pt-dashboard-plugins-3-300x165.jpg 300w, https:\/\/loftocean.com\/doc\/patiotime\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/08\/pt-dashboard-plugins-3-1024x564.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/loftocean.com\/doc\/patiotime\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/08\/pt-dashboard-plugins-3-768x423.jpg 768w, https:\/\/loftocean.com\/doc\/patiotime\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/08\/pt-dashboard-plugins-3-1536x846.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/loftocean.com\/doc\/patiotime\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/08\/pt-dashboard-plugins-3-1440x794.jpg 1440w, https:\/\/loftocean.com\/doc\/patiotime\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/08\/pt-dashboard-plugins-3-1200x661.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/loftocean.com\/doc\/patiotime\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/08\/pt-dashboard-plugins-3-780x430.jpg 780w, https:\/\/loftocean.com\/doc\/patiotime\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/08\/pt-dashboard-plugins-3-600x331.jpg 600w, https:\/\/loftocean.com\/doc\/patiotime\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/08\/pt-dashboard-plugins-3-550x303.jpg 550w, https:\/\/loftocean.com\/doc\/patiotime\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/08\/pt-dashboard-plugins-3-370x204.jpg 370w, https:\/\/loftocean.com\/doc\/patiotime\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/08\/pt-dashboard-plugins-3-255x141.jpg 255w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1655px) 100vw, 1655px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-64747bd elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"64747bd\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>Why do you need to install the required plugins?<\/strong><\/p><p>Because of\u00a0<strong>WordPress code standards<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0<strong>ThemeForest requirements<\/strong>: \u201cThemes execute the presentation and styling of content, while plugins handle content creation and functionality.\u201d Therefore, some features must be included in the required plugin but not included in the theme itself.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9313d94 elementor-widget-divider--view-line elementor-widget elementor-widget-divider\" data-id=\"9313d94\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"divider.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-divider\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-divider-separator\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-28bbd4d elementor-widget elementor-widget-pt_title\" data-id=\"28bbd4d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"pt_title.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\n        <div class=\"pt-title-wrap\">\t            <h6 class=\"pt-title\">\n\t                Recommended Plugins\t            <\/h6>        <\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4a0c274 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"4a0c274\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>The plugins shown on this page, aside from the two required plugins mentioned above, are <strong>recommended<\/strong> plugins.<\/p><p>These plugins are not required to use the theme, but they can extend its basic functionality. All of these plugins are hosted in the official WordPress repository and developed by other developers. You don&#8217;t need to install and activate every plugin; just select the ones you want to use on your website.<\/p><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/plugins\/woocommerce\/\">WooCommerce<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 To build your own online shop.<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/plugins\/contact-form-7\/\">Contact Form 7<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 To create a contact form and add it to your page.<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/plugins\/mailchimp-for-wp\/\">MailChimp for WordPress<\/a> \u2013 To create a subsribe form and can add it to content area, widget areas and site footer (<a href=\"https:\/\/loftocean.com\/doc\/patiotime\/ptkb\/newsletter-signup-form\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Learn More<\/a>).<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/plugins\/advanced-product-fields-for-woocommerce\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Advanced Product Fields (Product Addons) for WooCommerce<\/a> \u2013 To create food addons \/ extra product fields (<a href=\"https:\/\/loftocean.com\/doc\/patiotime\/ptkb\/how-to-create-food-addons-extra-product-fields\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Learn More<\/a>).<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/plugins\/instagram-feed\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Smash Balloon Instagram Feed<\/a> \u2013 To display your Instagram feed (<a href=\"https:\/\/loftocean.com\/doc\/patiotime\/ptkb\/instagram\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Learn More<\/a>).<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/plugins\/wordpress-seo\/\">Yoast SEO<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 To optimize your website SEO.<\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4b5ca86 elementor-widget-divider--view-line elementor-widget elementor-widget-divider\" data-id=\"4b5ca86\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"divider.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-divider\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-divider-separator\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-504a582 elementor-widget elementor-widget-pt_title\" data-id=\"504a582\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"pt_title.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\n        <div class=\"pt-title-wrap\">\t            <h6 class=\"pt-title\">\n\t                PatioTime Core Settings\t            <\/h6>        <\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6225cf3 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"6225cf3\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>On this page, scroll down and you will find the following settings:<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/loftocean.com\/doc\/patiotime\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/08\/pt-dashboard-plugins-2.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-1045\" src=\"https:\/\/loftocean.com\/doc\/patiotime\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/08\/pt-dashboard-plugins-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"311\" srcset=\"https:\/\/loftocean.com\/doc\/patiotime\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/08\/pt-dashboard-plugins-2.png 1204w, https:\/\/loftocean.com\/doc\/patiotime\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/08\/pt-dashboard-plugins-2-300x155.png 300w, https:\/\/loftocean.com\/doc\/patiotime\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/08\/pt-dashboard-plugins-2-1024x531.png 1024w, https:\/\/loftocean.com\/doc\/patiotime\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/08\/pt-dashboard-plugins-2-768x398.png 768w, https:\/\/loftocean.com\/doc\/patiotime\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/08\/pt-dashboard-plugins-2-1200x622.png 1200w, https:\/\/loftocean.com\/doc\/patiotime\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/08\/pt-dashboard-plugins-2-780x404.png 780w, https:\/\/loftocean.com\/doc\/patiotime\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/08\/pt-dashboard-plugins-2-600x311.png 600w, https:\/\/loftocean.com\/doc\/patiotime\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/08\/pt-dashboard-plugins-2-550x285.png 550w, https:\/\/loftocean.com\/doc\/patiotime\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/08\/pt-dashboard-plugins-2-370x192.png 370w, https:\/\/loftocean.com\/doc\/patiotime\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/08\/pt-dashboard-plugins-2-255x132.png 255w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/p><ul><li>Auto update the plugin when updating the theme<\/li><li>Auto activate the plugin when activating the theme<\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1f59d7c elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"1f59d7c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>When should you activate these two options?<\/strong><\/p><p>When there is a newer version of the theme, after updating the theme itself, you usually need to update the required plugins to ensure maximum compatibility with the theme. However, in rare cases, some users may forget to update the plugin after updating the theme, and then some problems will occur.<\/p><p>In addition, some users may switch themes, they may forget to activate the required plugin after switching back to PatioTime theme, and then they will find that some features no longer work.<\/p><p>In order to avoid the above situations, we recommend checking both options.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"menu_order":0,"template":"","ptkb_category":[3],"class_list":["post-1046","ptkb","type-ptkb","status-publish","hentry","ptkb_category-installation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/loftocean.com\/doc\/patiotime\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ptkb\/1046","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/loftocean.com\/doc\/patiotime\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ptkb"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/loftocean.com\/doc\/patiotime\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/ptkb"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/loftocean.com\/doc\/patiotime\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ptkb\/1046\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1051,"href":"https:\/\/loftocean.com\/doc\/patiotime\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ptkb\/1046\/revisions\/1051"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/loftocean.com\/doc\/patiotime\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1046"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"ptkb_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loftocean.com\/doc\/patiotime\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ptkb_category?post=1046"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}