Aurora is a WordPress theme built specifically for bloggers. Multiple header, homepage, archive, single post, footer, author, search, and 404 templates let you shape the blog without writing code. Aurora already looks polished straight out of the box, so nothing below is required to have a great-looking site. Setting it up takes just minutes, and everything from here on is about shaping that result to match your own style, not getting the theme itself working.

Aurora theme installation screen in WordPress
Everything in this walkthrough is optional. Aurora’s default layouts, colors, and typography are already publish-ready. The only things you actually need to set are your logo and your header/footer menus. Everything else here is to fine-tune the look, not a requirement to get a working site.

What Aurora actually is

Aurora is a classic-style WordPress blog theme. It uses the WordPress Customizer, and it is designed specifically for blogs, not landing pages, stores, or portfolios first. If you want a fuller picture before diving into setup, Aurora’s quick start guide covers the same ground in a shorter form.

It ships with:

  • 8 header layouts.
  • 5 homepage layouts.
  • 10 single post layouts.
  • 13 archive layouts.
  • 5 footer layouts.
  • 4 author page layouts.
  • 3 search results layouts.
  • 5 404 page layouts.

Most settings are user-controlled, which means picking the right combination matters more than tweaking individual options.

See Everything about Aurora for a deep dive into all theme features.

Step 1: Install Aurora

From WordPress admin: Appearance, then Themes, then Add New, then upload Aurora’s zip file, or find it via search if you want to install the Lite version.

Activate it, and the site immediately reflects Aurora’s default layout.

Step 2: Open the Customizer

Appearance, then Customize. Aurora’s settings live here, and Aurora’s customizer overview doc maps out exactly what each panel controls if you want the full picture before diving in.

Main sections to know:

  • Site Identity: logo, site title, tagline, favicon.
  • Layouts:
    • Header: pick header design, configure header options.
    • Homepage: pick homepage (or blog home) style.
    • Posts: single post layout choice and options.
    • Archive: post layout in archives. Settings here also influence search and author pages.
    • Socials & Contact: social links and contact info for header and footer.
    • Footer: pick footer layout, configure footer options.
  • Colors: all color settings.
  • Typography: font choices and sizes.

Step 3: Set the foundations (logo and colors)

Logo

Set the site Identity, then upload your logo. Aurora supports both image logos and text-based site titles.

Footer logo can be set separately. Header logo is automatically used in the footer, but you can override this and set a different logo for your footer.

Colors

The Colors panel controls everything site-wide. Aurora has no fixed colors, with two exceptions noted below, so you can style freely. Aurora’s color system doc lists every single setting if you want to plan a full palette before touching the Customizer.

Key color settings to configure:

  • Header background and text.
  • Body background.
  • Body text.
  • Link color and hover.
  • Button colors.
  • Footer colors.

Exceptions: the Overlay header’s bottom bar has a fixed light background (#f5f5f5), and the Swapped archive layout’s text block has a fixed dark background. Everything else follows your color settings.

Typography

Pick a heading font and a body font. Aurora supports per-heading-level font choices, so H1 through H6 can each use a different font if you want that. Aurora’s typography system doc explains how the four font categories interact.

Body font: 18 to 20px on desktop is typical. 16px is the mobile minimum, and our post on how line length and font size interact covers why those specific numbers matter.

Step 4: Pick a header layout

Go to Layouts, then Header Layout. The template choices are:

  • Default: straightforward horizontal header. Logo, menu, search.
  • Overlay: two bars. Top bar with socials/logo/CTAs, bottom bar with menu and hamburger.
  • Apex: two bars. Top bar with socials/menu/search, bottom bar with hamburger/logo/CTA.
  • Elegant: two bars. Contact and socials top bar, pill-shaped main nav.
  • Detailed: dense top bar with multiple elements.
  • Thin: vertical sidebar header.
  • Upright: vertical sidebar header (variant).
  • Vanilla: minimal horizontal header with full-height slide-in menu panel.

Pick based on:

  • How many menu items you have (vertical headers handle long menus differently).
  • Whether you want CTA buttons in the header.
  • Mobile experience preference.
  • Overall aesthetic.

After picking a design, you can adjust the logo width and make the header sticky.

For most blogs: Default, Apex, or Elegant are reliable starting points. Vertical layouts (Thin, Upright) suit more minimalist sites. Aurora’s header layout comparison doc shows all 8 side by side if you’re still deciding.

Aurora Customizer showing the header layout selection panel with multiple options

Step 5: Pick a homepage layout

Go to Layouts, then Homepage Style. Choices for the design are:

  • Default: chronological post feed with featured-post section. 8 sections.
  • Bold: hero-led, magazine-style. 8 sections.
  • Crisp: clean, content-forward. 9 sections.
  • Laid: relaxed, image-heavy. 7 sections.
  • Rich: dense, multi-column. 7 sections.

Each layout uses different section types, including featured, hero slider, dual-column, newspaper, and swap sections.

Pick based on what you publish: news-style content suits Bold or Rich. Essay-style content suits Laid or Crisp. Default works for most. Our broader guide on choosing a homepage layout based on what you publish covers the reasoning behind this in more depth.

You don’t have to set Aurora’s homepage as the main site homepage. You can design a custom homepage and then set a dedicated blog posts page. Aurora will then apply its design to the blog posts page.

Step 6: Pick a single post layout

Go to Layouts, then Single Post Layout. 10 choices are available, including various sidebar positions, full-width options, hero-image variations, and minimal layouts. Aurora’s single post layout comparison doc breaks down all 10 in detail.

For most blogs:

  • Long-form essays: full-width or minimal.
  • How-to / tutorial: with-sidebar (for table of contents or related posts).
  • Photo-heavy: hero-image-led.

After picking a design, you can adjust the dropcap style, show or hide the sidebar, and set which sharing options to enable.

Post and archive sidebar settings are independent. You can choose to show the sidebar in one and hide it in the other, show in both, or hide altogether.

Step 7: Pick an archive layout

Under Layouts, choose Archive Layout. 13 design choices are available, detailed in Aurora’s archive layout comparison doc.

Common picks:

  • Default / Cards: grid of posts with featured images.
  • List: compact list of posts.
  • Magazine / Board: magazine-style with featured posts emphasized.

Many styles (Board, Cards, Default, Detailed, Minimal, Overlay) support masonry mode. You can also show or hide the sidebar, set the post per page count, and choose between pagination and Ajax load more. Post settings and arrangement (including sidebar visibility) set here also affect the search and author pages.

Post and archive sidebar settings are independent. You can choose to show the sidebar in one and hide it in the other, show in both, or hide altogether.

Step 8: Pick a footer layout

Go to Layouts, then Footer Layout. 5 templates, ranging from minimal to multi-column, all covered in Aurora’s footer layout comparison doc, are available to choose from.

Footer columns in Aurora are menu locations (Footer Menu 1, 2, 3), not widget areas. Build menus in Appearance, then Menus, and assign them to footer locations.

Step 9: Configure socials and contact

From the Customizer, select Layouts, then Socials & Contact. Add:

  • Social network URLs (X, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Pinterest, Reddit, and others, all listed in Aurora’s supported social networks doc).
  • Contact info such as phone, email, and address, used by header and footer designs that display contact details.

Author social links, shown on individual posts, come from each user’s WordPress profile rather than the Customizer. Aurora adds 6 social fields to user profiles (X, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Pinterest, Reddit).

Step 10: Build your menus

Appearance, then Menus. Build:

  • Primary menu for the main header.
  • Secondary menu if your header has one (Apex, Overlay).
  • Mobile menu, optional. Useful if you want a dedicated mobile menu. If none is set, the primary nav menu is used.
  • Footer Menu 1, 2, 3 for footer columns.
  • 404 Menu for your 404 navigation.

Assign each menu to its location. Our guide on building navigation that actually works covers what to include and what to leave out.

Step 11: Create essential pages

Our guide on disclosure, privacy, and legal pages every blog needs covers what these pages should actually say. Add each to the primary or footer menu as appropriate.

Step 12: Configure homepage

If using Aurora’s homepage layout, set:

  • Settings, then Reading, choosing either “Your latest posts” or a static front page.
  • For homepage layouts that pull featured posts, configure which posts get featured. Rich details here.

Step 13: Test responsiveness

Open the site on:

  • Desktop.
  • Tablet, using browser responsive mode. Chrome’s own device mode documentation covers how to simulate different screen sizes accurately.
  • Phone, on a real device rather than just a simulator.

Check that:

  • Headers collapse to hamburger correctly.
  • Archive grids look right.
  • Single post layout is comfortable to read.
  • Footer doesn’t break.

Independent logo width and typography settings for tablets and phones are available right in the Customizer, so your logo and fonts look great on every screen size, not just desktop.

Step 14: Install supporting plugins

Aurora doesn’t replace your essential plugin stack. You still need:

  • SEO (Yoast or Rank Math), configured properly using WordPress’s own Customizer documentation as a reference if anything about the settings panel feels unfamiliar.
  • Caching.
  • Backup.
  • Security.
  • Image optimization.
  • Contact form.

See our plugin installation guide for the right way to install and vet any of these.

What the finished setup looks like

Aurora setup: install, configure the Customizer (header, homepage, single post, archive, footer layouts, colors, typography, socials), build menus, create essential pages, install supporting plugins. Just a few minutes in total. Done in the right order, you end up with a polished blog that is styled to your taste and brand.