## Grafton and Grafton Pro

Product: Grafton - Blog & Magazine WordPress Theme
URL: https://hub.jkdevstudio.com/docs/grafton/getting-started/theme-and-pro
Updated: 2026-11-14
Summary: Where the line falls between the Grafton theme and the Grafton Pro plugin, what each adds to your site, and what changes when Pro is turned off.

Grafton comes in two parts. The theme draws every page and works on its own: the header with its mobile menu, the footer, the blog, single posts, pages, archives, search and the 404 page. Grafton Pro is a plugin that adds the magazine around it: ready-made pages, story blocks, topic and author cards, a newsletter and motion. Nothing the theme draws depends on the plugin being there.

## What each part gives you

<table> <thead> <tr> <th></th> <th>The theme</th> <th>With Grafton Pro</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>Templates</td> <td>Blog, single post, page, page without header, archive, search, 404</td> <td>Three more post headers: cover, split and text only</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Parts</td> <td>Header with mobile menu, footer, page header</td> <td>Footer with newsletter, cover page header, top bar, newsletter popup</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Pages</td> <td>Any page you build from blocks</td> <td>Home, About, Contact, Categories and Authors, ready to fill</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Blocks</td> <td>WordPress core blocks with Grafton's block styles</td> <td>Card stack, Image strip, Category cards, Authors, Mega menu, Search modal</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Posts</td> <td>Cards with category, date and reading time; related posts; previous and next</td> <td>Featured posts, listing layouts, pagination without reload, Load more and infinite scroll</td> </tr> <tr> <td>People and topics</td> <td>Author name and Gravatar</td> <td>A profile photo and a position for each author, a picture for each category</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Design</td> <td>Styles in <code>theme.json</code>, the Ink and Paper variations</td> <td>Parallax covers, the newsletter look</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Motion</td> <td>Hover effects</td> <td>Reveal on scroll, smooth scrolling, page changes without a reload</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Integrations</td> <td>None</td> <td>Mailchimp, Contact Form 7, Cookie consent, LQIP Media, SPA</td> </tr> </tbody> </table>

Grafton Pro unlocks with an active license. See [installing the Pro plugin](https://hub.jkdevstudio.com/knowledge-base/installation/install-pro-plugin) and [what your license covers](https://hub.jkdevstudio.com/knowledge-base/licensing/what-your-license-actually-covers).

## If Grafton Pro is turned off

Your posts, pages, categories and authors stay as they are, and the theme keeps drawing every page it owns. What Pro added stops showing until the plugin is back: the Pro blocks, the Pro patterns in the inserter, the extra post headers, the top bar, the popup, the motion and the integrations.

Sections you already inserted from a Pro pattern are ordinary blocks and stay on the page with their text. Category pictures, author photos and the Featured mark stay in the database too. Turn Pro back on and everything returns as it was.

## Questions

<details><summary>Can I start with the theme and add Pro later?</summary>

Yes. Activate a license, install Grafton Pro on the same site, and the patterns, blocks and settings appear. Nothing in the theme needs rebuilding.

</details>

<details><summary>Does Pro change how the theme looks?</summary>

Only where it adds something. Colors, fonts and spacing still come from Styles, so a change there applies to the Pro parts as well.

</details>

<details><summary>What happens for visitors who ask for less motion?</summary>

Reveal on scroll, smooth scrolling and the image strip respect the reduced motion setting of the visitor's device: the page shows at once and scrolls natively.

</details>