Start with Lumina Edu

Lumina Edu is a native WordPress block theme for tutoring centres, language schools, professional skills academies, coaches and continuing-education providers. It helps visitors compare programme fit, see the next session and continue to the provider's real registration or consultation service.

It is not an LMS, booking system, enrollment engine, payment service, student dashboard or certification platform. Those services remain yours to choose and operate.

What is in the buyer package

File Purpose Install in WordPress?
lumina-edu.zip Parent block theme Yes, under Appearance → Themes
lumina-edu-child.zip Optional update-safe child theme Yes, after the parent theme
plugins/lumina-edu-core.zip Optional structured programs, instructors, sessions and Matchboard blocks Yes, under Plugins
documentation/ This beginner guide for offline use No
licensing/ and changelog.txt Credits, licence terms and release history No

Do not upload the outer buyer-package ZIP in Appearance → Themes. WordPress will report that the theme is missing style.css. Open the package and upload the installable ZIP named above.

Your first 30 minutes

  1. Unzip the ThemeForest download on your computer. Do not upload the outer package to WordPress.
  2. In WordPress, open Appearance → Themes → Add New Theme → Upload Theme. Upload lumina-edu.zip, then choose Activate.
  3. Open Plugins → Add New Plugin → Upload Plugin. Upload plugins/lumina-edu-core.zip, then choose Activate Plugin. The parent theme works without it, but Programs, Instructors, Sessions, the Matchboard and demo import depend on it.
  4. You are taken to Appearance → Getting started. Complete Theme and plugin first.
  5. For a starter site, install One Click Demo Import from the Import a demo step, then open Appearance → Import Demo Data → Import Demo Data → Continue & Import. Wait for Import Complete! For an existing content site, skip import and use the starter patterns.
  6. Open the public Programs, Instructors and Sessions pages. Seeing Northline content on all three is the success check.
  7. Return to Appearance → Getting started → Before you go live. Replace every demo destination until it says No program or session still points at example.com.
  8. Open Settings → Permalinks, choose a human-readable structure and Save Changes. Finally, check one program and its external action while logged out.

Choose only if needed: install and activate lumina-edu-child.zip after the parent when you plan PHP or CSS changes. Site Editor changes do not require the child theme.

How the pieces divide responsibility

The theme owns presentation: templates, patterns, header, footer, colours, typography and layout. The companion plugin owns durable structured content and dynamic blocks. Normal pages and posts stay in WordPress. Registration, forms, email, payments, calendars, CRM and learning systems belong to third parties selected by the site owner.

If you switch themes while Lumina Edu Core remains active, programme and instructor records stay in the database and remain available to WordPress. If you deactivate the plugin, its custom public types unregister; imported native pages keep their saved static explanation, while a single programme or instructor address redirects the visitor to your home page. Reactivating the plugin restores those types. Deactivating and exporting says exactly what a theme switch, a deactivation and an uninstall each keep, and how to export your records first.

The rest of this guide

Page What it answers
Install and update Putting the ZIPs on a site, and updating later
Demo import and reset Importing Northline, rerunning it, and removing it
Programs and sessions The program, location and dated-session workflow
Instructors and taxonomies People, subjects, levels and formats
Registration, forms and privacy The services you connect, and what leaves your site
Connecting your own services A recipe per destination type, and the calendar file that needs none
Site Editor and styles Colours, fonts, templates and style variations
Pattern and template reference Every section you can insert
Accessibility, translation and RTL What is built in, and what stays your job
Deactivating and exporting What survives a theme switch, a deactivation and an uninstall
Tested versions What was tested, on which versions, and when
Troubleshooting The things that go wrong, and the fix
Support, changelog and credits Where to ask, what changed, what is licensed

Requirements

Use HTTPS, current WordPress and a maintained PHP version. The release package names only versions that passed the final compatibility matrix; consult its readme.txt and release notes rather than assuming compatibility from this draft. Ensure WordPress can write its uploads directory and has enough execution time for an optional demo-media import.