Read this before you open a file.
A change to the source code moves responsibility for the consequences to whoever made it.
If something stops working after your own edits, that is not a support case: we do not diagnose or repair third party code inside our theme. That is not a punishment, it is the boundary that lets us stand behind the product in the form we released it.
#What to expect from the product
The theme was not designed around one particular developer, one stack of habits or one approach. It offers broad customization in code: filters, hooks, external facades, and a structure with extension points built in.
If something you specifically need is missing, that is not a defect. At most it becomes a feature request. The absence of an extension point you wanted does not fall under refunds or under a claim against the item.
The reason is worth stating plainly: this is a mass market product. It was built to suit as many people as possible, and first of all people who never open the code at all. At every compromise, convenience for that reader was the priority.
That said, practically anything in the theme can be changed from outside and from within, through settings, filters and template overrides.
#How to change things correctly
Through a child theme, only. Editing the theme files, the Pro plugin or an integration will be overwritten by the first update, along with all of the work you did.
Through filters and hooks as the main way to change logic without copying templates at all.
Those two cover almost everything, and both survive updates by design.
#Licensing
Modifying the theme does not grant rights to resell or redistribute it. Before reworking the item with the intention of selling it, make sure you understand the license terms.
#Common questions
Can I edit the theme files just once, for something small?
You can, and the next update removes it, because there is no size of edit that survives a folder being replaced, which is exactly why the child theme route exists.
Will you help me write custom code?
Not as part of support, though we do take custom work on through a separate channel with its own terms.
I need a hook that does not exist
Send it as a feature request, because we do add extension points on request and that is a better outcome for you than owning a copied template forever.
Does using a child theme affect support?
No, a child theme is the supported way to customise, and what affects support is editing our files directly.
My site broke after custom work
Deactivate the child theme and check against the parent, because that takes a minute and tells you which side the problem is on, which is the same first question we would ask you anyway.
#Still stuck
Open a support ticket with what you changed and whether the symptom survives switching to the parent theme.
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