=== Shopvane Companion ===

Contributors: saifbrand
Tags: woocommerce, starter sites, demo import, elementor, product filters
Requires at least: 6.4
Tested up to: 7.1
Requires PHP: 7.4
Stable tag: 1.0.1
License: GPLv2 or later
License URI: https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.html

The control panel, starter sites, Elementor widgets and inline checkout for the Shopvane WooCommerce theme.

== Description ==

This plugin is the other half of the [Shopvane](https://wordpress.org/themes/shopvane/)
theme. It exists as a separate plugin on purpose: WordPress.org does not allow a
theme to ship a demo importer, page-builder widgets, or its own admin menu, and
those are exactly the things a shop owner wants. Keeping them here also means
your starter-site content and your settings survive if you ever switch theme.

The theme works completely without this plugin. This adds:

= A control panel =

One top-level **Shopvane** menu with the settings people change often: brand
colours and fonts, header layout, product card style, the Order now button, and
the wording of every shop button.

Every control writes the same theme setting the Customizer writes, so the two
can never disagree. The Customizer stays the place to judge a change with a live
preview; this is the place to change six things quickly.

= Three starter sites =

A book shop, a fashion boutique and a general store. Each imports a complete
site in one click: colours, homepage layout, pages with real copy, menus, footer
widgets, blog posts, product categories and twelve products with images.

Nothing is downloaded. Every file ships inside the plugin, so an import works on
a site with no outbound network access, and cannot break because a server
somewhere was retired.

An import only ever **adds**. A page, post or product that already exists is
left exactly as it is, and a menu you have already assigned is never touched.

= Inline checkout, with Quickout =

With [Quickout](https://wordpress.org/plugins/quickout/) installed, Shopvane can
put a real checkout form directly on a product page, so a shopper can order
without ever seeing a cart. That is how most cash-on-delivery shops sell.
Quickout renders and validates the form; this plugin places it and styles it to
match the theme.

Each starter site also arrives with a complete Quickout funnel already built -
a landing page carrying the buy box and the order form together, and the thank
you page it redirects to, attached to two of the demo products. It is the part
of Quickout that is hardest to picture from a settings screen, so the starter
site ships one rather than describing it. Sites without Quickout skip this and
import everything else.

= Two Elementor widgets =

A product row and category tiles, both rendering through the theme's own
templates - so a product card placed in Elementor is identical to one on the
shop page, and changing the card style changes both.

== Installation ==

This plugin extends the free **Shopvane** theme, so install the theme first. It
takes about two minutes from a brand new site.

1. **Install the theme.** Appearance > Themes > Add New Theme, search for
   **Shopvane**, then Install and Activate. (The theme is free in the
   WordPress.org directory: https://wordpress.org/themes/shopvane/)
2. **Install this plugin.** Plugins > Add New Plugin, search for
   **Shopvane Companion**, then Install and Activate.
3. A **Shopvane** menu appears in the admin sidebar, and you land on it
   automatically after activation.
4. Open **Shopvane > Starter sites** and click **Import** on any of the three
   sites. Give it up to a minute; the images are copied into your media
   library. Then visit the front page to see the finished shop.
5. Change anything you like under **Shopvane > Brand colours**,
   **Header & layout** and **Shop & buttons**.

Activating this plugin before the theme is perfectly safe: it changes nothing,
and the Shopvane menu then shows a short setup screen with a button that
installs the theme for you.

Optional, and only if you want those parts:

* **WooCommerce** - needed for the shop: products, the starter sites' products,
  product cards and the shop settings.
* **Elementor** - adds the two Shopvane widgets (product row, category tiles).
* **Quickout** (https://wordpress.org/plugins/quickout/) - adds the inline
  checkout form on single product pages and the demo order funnel.

== Frequently Asked Questions ==

= How do I see this plugin actually do something? =

Activate the Shopvane theme, then open **Shopvane > Starter sites** and import
one. With WooCommerce active you get a complete shop - homepage, menus, pages,
blog posts and twelve products with images - in a single click, and every
Shopvane menu tab then changes that shop live.

= I activated the plugin and nothing happened. =

The Shopvane theme is not active. Open the **Shopvane** menu in the sidebar: it
shows the setup screen, with a button that installs and activates the theme.
This plugin deliberately does nothing while another theme is running, so it can
never interfere with the theme you are using.

= Do I need this plugin? =

No. Shopvane is a complete theme on its own. Add this when you want the control
panel, a starter site, or the Elementor widgets.

= Will importing a starter site delete my products or pages? =

No. The importer only creates things that do not already exist, and it never
touches a menu you have assigned. You can untick "Include the demo products" if
you only want the design and the pages.

= The import is taking a long time. =

Every image is copied into your media library, which is real work on shared
hosting. A full import with products takes up to a minute. Let it finish.

= Can I delete the demo products afterwards? =

Yes. They are ordinary WooCommerce products and ordinary media library images.

= Where did my Shop page go? =

If WooCommerce's Shop, Cart or Checkout page was ever deleted, WooCommerce keeps
pointing at the old page id, which can silently start resolving to an unrelated
page. The importer checks those four pages and rebuilds any that are wrong
before it does anything else.

== Screenshots ==

1. The control panel: a setup checklist, and every Shopvane setting in one place.
2. Starter sites - three complete shops, each one click away.
3. Shop and buttons, including the Order now switches and the inline checkout.
4. The front page five seconds after importing the book shop starter site.

== Copyright ==

Shopvane Companion, Copyright 2026 SaifBrand
Distributed under the terms of the GNU General Public License v2 or later.

Bundled images, all of which are copied into your media library on import:

* Product images and the hero compositions built from them are original artwork
  drawn for these demos by SaifBrand, licensed GPLv2 or later along with this
  plugin.
* One hero photograph (demos/fashion/images/hero.jpg) is a CC0 1.0 public
  domain dedication, which requires no attribution. Its title and source are
  listed in demos/CREDITS.txt.

No other third-party code, fonts or assets are bundled.

== Changelog ==

= 1.0.1 =
* The Shopvane menu is now always present. Without the theme it shows a setup
  screen that installs and activates the theme in one click, instead of the
  plugin appearing to do nothing.
* Step-by-step setup and testing instructions in the readme.

= 1.0.0 =
* Initial release.
