Melissa – Personal Blog/Magazine WordPress Theme

Version 2.2.2 is out! (28 January 2022) Click here to view the changes.

Melissa is a modern, clean and easy to use personal blog/magazine WordPress theme with great attention to details. It is developed on the Bootstrap 3 framework – amazing and beautiful HTML, CSS, and JS framework. It means that Melissa will look great on any mobile device, be it a 17’ laptop screen or an iPad, iPhone.

It comes with 7 custom widgets, 7 areas for widgets, 10 post formats, 7 blog page layouts, 4 pagination types, and tons of theme options.

Melissa WordPress theme is perfect for classic blog and small online magazines. Check out our demo pages to see some amazing features, such as video/image background in the header for the whole site and for each post/page, 5 different layouts for single posts for better presentation of your content, 4 different pagination types, all WordPress post formats, etc. Use it to make something cool!

Feature List

• The theme is compatible with WordPress 6.4.x. Note: In WordPress 5.x/6.x you need to use the Classic Editor. For WordPress 5.8+ you need to install the “Classic Widgets” plugin.
• Built with HTML5 and CSS3
• Responsive design (adapts to mobile devices)
• Retina ready (looks beautiful on mobile devices and tablets)
• Built with Bootstrap 3
• 500+ Google fonts
• Standard fonts (Arial, Verdana, etc)
• 500+ Font Awesome Icons
• Theme options powered by WordPress Customizer
• Customizable header
  • Video background
  • Image background
  • Color background
• Video/Image background in the header for the whole site and for each post/page
• Parallax background for the header (video or image)
• Show/Hide most elements
• Social media icons in footer
• Sticky menu
• Dropdown menu support
• Views counter
• Comments counter
• “I like” counter
• “About the Author” section
• Related posts
• “Back to top” button
• Translation ready
• 7 Layouts for Home/Category/Tag/Archive pages
  • 1 Column
  • 1 Column + Right sidebar
  • 1 Column + Left sidebar
  • 2 Columns
  • 2 Columns + Right sidebar
  • 2 Columns + Left sidebar
  • 3 Columns
• 10 Post formats
  • Standard format
  • Image format
  • Gallery format
  • Video format
  • Audio format
  • Aside format
  • Link format
  • Quote format
  • Status format
  • Chat format
• 4 Pagination types
  • Standard pagination
  • Next/Previous page links
  • Infinite scroll
  • Load More button
• 5 Different layouts for single posts
  • Right sidebar
  • Left sidebar
  • Full width
  • Featured media – Right sidebar
  • Featured media – Left sidebar
• 3 Different layouts for pages
  • Right sidebar
  • Left sidebar
  • Full width
• 7 Custom widgets
  • Melissa: Popular Posts – Displays a list of popular posts
  • Melissa: List Of Posts – Displays a list of posts with a background image
  • Melissa: Random Posts – Displays a list of random posts
  • Melissa: Recent Posts – Displays a list of recent posts
  • Melissa: Slider With Posts – Displays a slider with posts
  • Melissa: Social Links – Displays links to social profiles
  • Melissa: Thumbnail Gallery – Displays a classic gallery with posts
• 7 Areas for widgets
  • Homepage – This area is located on the homepage in the right or left column
  • Archive Pages – This area is located on the archive pages (archive, author, category, tag, etc) in the right or left column
  • Single Post – This area is located on the single post pages in the right or left column
  • Page – This area is located on all single pages in the right or left column
  • Footer (Column 1) – This area is located in the footer in the left column
  • Footer (Column 2) – This area is located in the footer in the central column
  • Footer (Column 3) – This area is located in the footer in the right column
• Social share buttons
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • VK (VKontakte)
  • Pinterest
• Includes XML file with demo data
• Step-by-step documentation

Please Note

Melissa will only work with WordPress.ORG software.

Changelog

Version 2.2.2 – 28 January 2022

Fixed:
- Fixed minor CSS style issues: comment form styles and quote styles

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Full changelog.txt: http://documentation.birdwp.com/wp-melissa/changelog.txt
How to update Melissa: http://documentation.birdwp.com/wp-melissa/#update-section

Version 2.2.1 – 25 November 2021

Fixed:
- Some minor CSS issues
- Fixed problems with displaying posts on mobile devices

Minor improvements:
- Removed unnecessary files from the theme

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Full changelog.txt: http://documentation.birdwp.com/wp-melissa/changelog.txt
How to update Melissa: http://documentation.birdwp.com/wp-melissa/#update-section

Version 2.2 – 18 September 2021

Updated:
- Plugin updated: Melissa Social Media (v1.3)
- Plugin updated: Melissa Widgets (v1.1.1)
- POT translation file (/melissa/languages/melissa.pot)
- Documentation

Fixed:
- Meta boxes sometimes did not appear on the post creation and editing page (Admin side, Block editor)

New:
- Added new words for translation: "Category:", "Tag:", and "Author:" (Thanks bilguun55)
- Added smoother animation for header area, dropdown search form and menu
- The following default settings have been changed (Appearance > Customize; Old value > New value):
  - Colors > Menu > Menu Link Color (#c1c4cc > #dadde5)
  - Font Size & Style > Menu > Submenu: Font Style (Bold > Normal)
  - Colors > Sticky Menu > Sticky Menu Link Color (#c1c4cc > #dadde5)
  - Colors > Dropdown Search Form > Search Icon Color (#c1c4cc > #dadde5)
  - Colors > Header Content > Subtitle Color (#c1c4cc > #dadde5)
  - Colors > Header Content > Subtitle Link Color (#c1c4cc > #dadde5)
  - Colors > Header > Header Background Transparency (9 -> 6)
  - Font Size & Style > Blog Post > Blog Post: Metadata Font Style (Bold > Normal)
  - Font Size & Style > Sidebar & Widgets > Widget: Metadata Font Style (Bold > Normal)
- Added preconnect for Google fonts
- New setting: "Show full images instead of thumbnails" (Appearance > Customize > General Settings > Other Settings > Show full images instead of thumbnails)
- New setting: "Enable hover effect only for posts on archive pages" (Appearance > Customize > General Settings > Other Settings > Enable hover effect only for posts on archive pages)
- Added search form for mobile version
- New views counter
- Several minor improvements

Deleted:
- Deleted the following setting because it is not needed:
  - Appearance > Customize > Colors > Dropdown Search Form > Search Form Border Color

* Thanks to everyone who advised good ideas for this update!
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Full changelog.txt: http://documentation.birdwp.com/wp-melissa/changelog.txt
How to update Melissa: http://documentation.birdwp.com/wp-melissa/#update-section

Version 2.1.2 – 6 January 2021

Updated:
- "Melissa Social Media" Plugin (v1.2)

Fixed:
- Fixed an issue where posts overlap each other

* Thanks to everyone who advised good ideas for this update!
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Full changelog.txt: http://documentation.birdwp.com/wp-melissa/changelog.txt
How to update Melissa: http://documentation.birdwp.com/wp-melissa/#update-section

Version 2.1.1 – 2 October 2020

Fixed:
- Few minor CSS issues.

All other changes:
- Added the wp_body_open function to the theme header file (new requirement for all themes).

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Full changelog.txt: http://documentation.birdwp.com/wp-melissa/changelog.txt
How to update Melissa: http://documentation.birdwp.com/wp-melissa/#update-section

Version 2.1 – 12 December 2019

Updated:
- Documentation
- Translation file
- "Melissa Social Media" Plugin (v1.1):
  - Changelog:
    - New social link: "Stack Overflow" (Users > Your Profile > Contact Info > Stack Overflow URL)
    - New social link: "Slack" (Users > Your Profile > Contact Info > Slack URL)
    - Updated: Translation file (melissa-social-media.pot)
- "Melissa Widgets" Plugin (v1.1):
  - Changelog:
    - New:
      - "Melissa: Social Links": New social link: "Stack Overflow" (Widgets > Melissa: Social Links > Stack Overflow URL)
      - "Melissa: Social Links": New social link: "Slack" (Widgets > Melissa: Social Links > Slack URL)
    - Updated: Translation file (melissa-widgets.pot)

Fixed:
- Some minor CSS issues

New:
- Added ability to skip logo scaling when uploading it to the site
- New option: "Logo Width, px" (Appearance > Customize > Site Identity > Logo Width, px)
- Added 2 new social icons for creating links to user profiles: "Stack Overflow" and "Slack":
  - New option: "Stack Overflow URL" (Appearance > Customize > Footer > Stack Overflow URL)
  - New option: "Slack URL" (Appearance > Customize > Footer > Slack URL)
- New option: "Footer: Top Line Color" (Appearance > Customize > Colors > Footer: Top Line Color)

*P.S. Thanks to everyone who advised good ideas for this update!

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Full changelog.txt: http://documentation.birdwp.com/wp-melissa/changelog.txt
How to update Melissa: http://documentation.birdwp.com/wp-melissa/#update-section

Version 2.0 – 27 May 2019

How to update Melissa: http://documentation.birdwp.com/wp-melissa/#update-section

Melissa 2.0 is now available! This is a big theme update that primarily relates to the new requirements for all WordPress themes on the market. Link: https://help.author.envato.com/hc/en-us/articles/360000472383-WordPress-Theme-Submission-Requirements

Please read the changes before updating the theme.

1. Changes related to new requirements:

- All theme code has been edited to meet WordPress code standards. Links:
  - PHP Coding Standards: https://make.wordpress.org/core/handbook/best-practices/coding-standards/php/
  - HTML Coding Standards: https://make.wordpress.org/core/handbook/best-practices/coding-standards/html/
  - CSS Coding Standards: https://make.wordpress.org/core/handbook/best-practices/coding-standards/css/
  - JavaScript Coding Standards: https://make.wordpress.org/core/handbook/best-practices/coding-standards/javascript/
- Now the theme uses the get_theme_file_path() function to include files. Example: require_once get_theme_file_path( '/assets/class-tgm-plugin-activation.php' ).
- Some sanitization functions in the customizer have been changed.
- All customizer styles have been moved to a separate file (/css/customizer-style.css).
- Now it is not allowed to use some functions in the theme, therefore these functions have been moved to plugins ( link: https://help.author.envato.com/hc/en-us/articles/360000481223-WordPress-Theme-Plugin-Requirements#h_121074620161522301832182 ). These are all widgets, social share buttons, and counters. Now, when updating (or installing) the theme, you will need to install 2 additional plugins (if you need these functions): Melissa Widgets and Melissa Social Media. In addition, all widgets have been rewritten.

2. All other changes:

- Updated: Documentation.
- Updated: Bootstrap v3.4.1.
- Updated: Superfish v1.7.10.
- The rel="noopener" attribute has been added to all links that have the target="_blank" attribute.
- Added permission to use the "rel" attribute in links.
- The show-hide-meta-boxes.js file has been moved from the "assets" folder to the "js" folder.
- Additional classes for posts are added through the "post_class" filter: add_filter( 'post_class', 'melissa_custom_post_classes', 10, 3 ).
- Changed some phrases for settings.
- Removed the following settings:
  - Appearance > Customize > Custom CSS. This setting was outdated. Now WordPress has its own section in the customizer for Additional CSS code;
  - All volume settings for background videos. The reason is very simple - this is a new autoplay policy for browsers. Main change: Video can play automatically, but only if it's silent. In this theme, the background video for the header starts to play automatically, and according to the new policy, browsers block any sound from this video. For this reason, all volume settings have stopped working, and they have been removed from the theme.
- Changed default values for the following options:
  - Appearance > Customize > Font Size & Style > Blog Post > Blog Post: Metadata Font Style > Bold;
  - Appearance > Customize > Font Size & Style > Sidebar & Widgets > Widget: Metadata Font Style > Bold.
- Google+ buttons have been removed from the theme.
- Styles for the classic editor have been rewritten.
- Some theme styles have been changed.
- Some responsive styles have been changed.
- Fixed several minor issues.

Changed files:
- All theme files.

*P.S. Thanks to everyone who advised good ideas for this update!

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Full changelog.txt: http://documentation.birdwp.com/wp-melissa/changelog.txt
How to update Melissa: http://documentation.birdwp.com/wp-melissa/#update-section

Version 1.1.6 – 24 June 2018

Updated:
- Slider Revolution Responsive jQuery Plugin (v5.4.8):
  - Fixed: YouTube BG video not loading sometimes in the latest Chrome

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Full changelog.txt: http://documentation.birdwp.com/wp-melissa/changelog.txt
How to update Melissa: http://documentation.birdwp.com/wp-melissa/#update-section

Version 1.1.5 – 07 June 2018

Updated:
- Slider Revolution Responsive jQuery Plugin (v5.4.7.2)

Fixed:
- Few minor CSS issues:
  - Comments Form: Cookies acceptance checkbox – Added new styles;
  - Changed styles for the video, embed, iframe, and object tags;
- TGM Plugin Activation library: Fixed warning ("Warning: sprintf() [function.sprintf]: Too few arguments in ... on line ...")

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Full changelog.txt: http://documentation.birdwp.com/wp-melissa/changelog.txt
How to update Melissa: http://documentation.birdwp.com/wp-melissa/#update-section

Version 1.1.4 – 23 November 2017

Updated:
- Slider Revolution Responsive jQuery Plugin (v5.4.6.3)

Fixed:
- Fixed an issue with the author biographical info in the "About the author" block and on the archive page with posts by one author
- Few minor CSS issues

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Full changelog.txt: http://documentation.birdwp.com/wp-melissa/changelog.txt
How to update Melissa: http://documentation.birdwp.com/wp-melissa/#update-section

Version 1.1.3 – 16 September 2017

Updated:
- Slider Revolution Responsive jQuery Plugin (v5.4.6)
- Theme screenshot

Fixed:
- Fixed an issue related to the "Preview Changes" mode and the post (and page) title
- Few minor CSS issues

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Full changelog.txt: http://documentation.birdwp.com/wp-melissa/changelog.txt
How to update Melissa: http://documentation.birdwp.com/wp-melissa/#update-section

Version 1.1.2 – 09 June 2017

Updated:
- Slider Revolution Responsive jQuery Plugin (v5.4.4)

Fixed:
- Bug with background YouTube video and SSL
- Widgets: HTML forms styles
- Few minor CSS issues
- Fixed issue with views counter

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Full changelog.txt: http://documentation.birdwp.com/wp-melissa/changelog.txt
How to update Melissa: http://documentation.birdwp.com/wp-melissa/#update-section

Version 1.1.1 – 17 January 2017

Fixed:
- PHP7 Deprecated Warnings: Methods with the same name as their class will not be constructors in a future version of PHP; class_name has a deprecated constructor. Already fixed in the current version

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Full changelog.txt: http://documentation.birdwp.com/wp-melissa/changelog.txt
How to update Melissa: http://documentation.birdwp.com/wp-melissa/#update-section

Version 1.1 – 16 January 2017

Updated:
- Documentation
- Translation file

Fixed:
- Few minor CSS issues
- retina.js 404 errors

New:
- New option: "Show Featured media on the Single page (Show/Hide)" (Posts > Add New/Edit Post page > General Settings > Featured Media > Show Featured media on the Single page)
- New option: "Show Featured image on the Page (Show/Hide)" (Pages > Add New/Edit Page > Page Settings > Featured Image > Show Featured image on the Page)
- New option: "Featured Media: Hover Background Color" (Appearance > Customize > Colors > Content > Featured Media: Hover Background Color)
- New option: "Footer Widgets: Thumbnail Hover Background Color" (Appearance > Customize > Colors > Footer Widgets > Footer Widgets: Thumbnail Hover Background Color)
- Allowed to use the following HTML tags:
  - Customize > General Settings > Header Custom Text > Custom Title:
    - Allowed HTML Tags: span, strong, b, em, i.
    - Allowed Attributes: span: class; i: class.
  - Customize > General Settings > Header Custom Text > Custom Text: 
    - Allowed HTML Tags: a, span, strong, b, em, i, br.
    - Allowed Attributes: a: href, title, target, class; span: class; i: class.
  - Customize > Footer > Copyright > Copyright Text:
    - Allowed HTML Tags: a, span, strong, b, em, i, br.
    - Allowed Attributes: a: href, title, target, class; span: class; i: class.
  - Posts > Add New/Edit Post page > General Settings > HEADER > Subtitle:
    - Allowed HTML Tags: a, span, strong, b, em, i, br.
    - Allowed Attributes: a: href, title, target, class; span: class; i: class.
  - Pages > Add New/Edit Page > Page Settings > HEADER > Subtitle:
    - Allowed HTML Tags: a, span, strong, b, em, i, br.
    - Allowed Attributes: a: href, title, target, class; span: class; i: class.
- New option: "Subtitle Link Color" (Appearance > Customize > Colors > Header Content > Subtitle Link Color)
- New option: "Subtitle Hover Link Color" (Appearance > Customize > Colors > Header Content > Subtitle Hover Link Color)
- Added new social icon: GitHub
- New option: "GitHub URL" 
  - Appearance > Customize > Footer > Social Links & RSS > GitHub URL
  - Users > Your Profile > GitHub URL
- Added RSS icon to the "Melissa: Social Links" widget (Melissa: Social Links widget > RSS URL; please, if you use this widget, then after the update you need to re-activate it)
- New option: "Add data-no-retina attribute to all images" (Appearance > Customize > General Settings > Other Settings > Add "data-no-retina" attribute to all images (fixes retina.js 404 errors))

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Full changelog.txt: http://documentation.birdwp.com/wp-melissa/changelog.txt
How to update Melissa: http://documentation.birdwp.com/wp-melissa/#update-section

Version 1.0.1 – 16 December 2016

Updated:
- Documentation
- Slider Revolution Responsive jQuery Plugin (v5.3.1)

Fixed:
- Few minor CSS issues

Improvements:
- WordPress 4.7 compatibility (The script in this update will automatically migrate your existing custom CSS code to the new Additional CSS field, and then the old “Custom CSS” section will be automatically removed from WordPress Live Customizer)

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Full changelog.txt: http://documentation.birdwp.com/wp-melissa/changelog.txt
How to update Melissa: http://documentation.birdwp.com/wp-melissa/#update-section

Version 1.0 – 29 November 2016

- Release

Want to stay in touch?

Tags: Blog, Clean, Elegant, Masonry, Minimal, Modern, Personal, Responsive, Simple, Video, Video Background, WordPress.

All demo images are from Picjumbo, Unsplash and SplitShire.

Thank you for your interest! Enjoy!