#Why plugins install in stages
Many WordPress themes still bundle a plugin installer library, most often TGM Plugin Activation, whose last release (2.6.1) is dated May 2016 on its GitHub releases page. It offers a list of plugins to install and has no proper flow for updating or reinstalling them later. The list is often long as well: a shop plugin and an events calendar get required even for a small blog.
Our themes split plugin installation into three stages, and each one happens only when it is needed.
| Stage | What it is | When you need it |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Free companion plugin | JKD Theme Companion, from WordPress.org | Only on the free route |
| 2. Pro plugin | The premium layer of the theme | After you activate a license |
| 3. Integrations and supported plugins | Our integrations, and third-party plugins such as Contact Form 7 | When a demo or a feature asks for one |
#Stage 1: the free companion plugin
JKD Theme Companion belongs to the free route: the free edition of a theme installed from WordPress.org, and the free demos that come with it. It adds demo import, the fonts library and the setup screens to a free theme.
If you bought a license, skip this stage. The companion switches itself off once the Pro plugin is on the site, because the Pro plugin already includes what it does.
#Stage 2: the Pro plugin
The Pro plugin holds the premium layer of the theme: the widgets, the premium layouts, the advanced settings and the tools. The theme is the presentation and works on its own, and Pro adds functionality to that same theme.
#From the onboarding in the theme's admin menu
This is the route to prefer. The theme's own menu in the WordPress sidebar walks you through setup, and it fetches the Pro plugin build that matches your theme.
Activate the theme
A banner titled Welcome to followed by the theme name appears in the admin, and the theme dashboard shows a setup checklist.
Activate your license
Click Activate License in the banner. It opens the License page in the theme's menu, where you activate your license. The checklist step Activate theme license is marked done.
Install the Pro plugin
With the license active, the banner and the checklist offer Install followed by the Pro plugin's name, which is the theme name plus "Pro". The install runs from the License page, with nothing to download or unpack. If the plugin is already on disk, the same button reads Activate instead.
Confirm setup is complete
The banner now says "Everything is set up. Open the dashboard to manage your theme." and offers only Open Dashboard.
#From the package
The Pro plugin zip sits next to the theme zip in the premium package, in both the direct download and the Envato one. Use it when the site cannot reach our server, or when you are preparing files for a server by hand. A plugin installed this way still needs an active license to work.
Open the plugin uploader
Open the Plugins screen (Plugins), click the Add Plugin button at the top, then click Upload Plugin.
Choose the plugin zip
Take the Pro plugin archive from the unpacked package. Not the whole package, and not the theme zip.
Install and activate
Click Install Now, then Activate. Until the license is active, the banner offers Activate License next to it.
The "Installable WordPress file only" download on Envato does not contain the Pro plugin.
That option is the theme alone. Take the full package, or activate the license and let the onboarding install the plugin for you.
Both routes end in the same place: one plugin, one version line.
#Stage 3: integrations and supported third-party plugins
If you are building a site from scratch, you do not have to think about this stage. Nothing here is installed up front.
#During a demo import
A demo that depends on other plugins lists them on its card and in the import dialog, under Required Plugins and Required Integrations. Before the import starts, the dialog shows "This demo needs a few things before it can be imported." Each plugin has an Install button (or Activate, if it is already on the site) that fetches it from WordPress.org, and each integration has a Turn on button. A demo built with a page builder such as Elementor lists that builder here.
When everything is ready, click Continue. If a required plugin is still missing the button reads Continue anyway, and the pages that need it will not render as they do in the demo.
#Any time, from the Integrations screen
The Integrations screen in the theme's menu lists the plugins your theme works with, and you turn on the ones you want. Premium integrations need the Pro plugin and an active license. A direct license includes every integration, while an Envato license includes only the ones marked available to Envato.
Integrations are ours and we are responsible for them. A third-party plugin you add yourself is yours to maintain, as the Support Policy sets out and third party plugins and where responsibility sits explains.
#Installed is not the same as unlocked
Installing and activating the Pro plugin does not switch the Pro features on. An active license does.
So the sequence is:
- Install the theme
- Activate the theme
- Activate the license
- Install the Pro plugin
While the license is not active the panel says so directly, and the premium settings stay closed. That state is expected and does not mean the install is broken.
#Terms that apply
Activating a license means accepting the Terms and Conditions, including sending your domain for verification.
Each activation covers one domain. More sites need more activations, and attempts to work around the binding lead to the license being restricted.
#Common questions
Can I install the Pro plugin without the theme?
It extends the theme, so on its own it has nothing to do. Install and activate the theme first.
Do I need to keep the free companion plugin as well?
No. The Pro plugin includes everything the companion provides, and the companion switches itself off once Pro is on the site.
Do I have to install the plugins a theme or demo mentions right away?
No. Integrations and third-party plugins are only needed when a demo you import or a feature you turn on asks for them.
I updated the theme. Do I need to reinstall the plugin?
No. They update separately on their own version lines, and one having an update while the other does not is normal.
The plugin is active but the Pro settings are missing
The license is not active yet. The License page in the theme's menu says so in one line, and activating the license opens the settings without touching the plugin again.
The plugin will not install
A failed plugin upload behaves the way a failed theme upload does: the file is larger than the upload limit, the request timed out, or the plugins folder is not writable. The installation troubleshooting article matches each message to its cause.
#Still stuck
Open a support ticket and say what you tried and where it stopped. Your product, your domain, a screenshot and the exact message you saw are usually enough to settle it in one reply.
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