GridPadel — Documentation and User Guide

Getting Started

Turn GridPadel into your club’s digital front door

This theme pairs a high-impact marketing layer with GridPadel Core — the plugin that powers bookings, coaches, memberships, tournaments, and WooCommerce revenue. Follow the sections below to install, import the demo, and start customizing with confidence.

What You Can Do

Installation

How to install the theme on your WordPress site

Your responsibility: you (or your agency/host) install WordPress on hosting, upload the theme/plugin files, and configure DNS and SSL. Envato and ThemeForest do not log in to your server to perform installation. The author support channel covers product defects and documented setup questions during the support period — not hands-on server work.

Requirements & System Status

After you activate the theme, the Setup Wizard and the GridPadel area in the admin include a System Status / Requirements check. Each row shows two values: Current (what your server reports — yours will differ) and Required (the minimum you must meet to continue). Only the second value is what we document below.

Minimum required (Setup Wizard)

Installation Steps

If the ZIP upload fails

Large theme packages need adequate PHP limits (see the table above). If WordPress shows a generic error (for example “The link you followed has expired”) after uploading, ask your host to raise upload_max_filesize and post_max_size, or install manually: unzip GridPadel.zip on your computer and upload the GridPadel folder via SFTP/FTP into wp-content/themes/, then activate the theme under Appearance → Themes.

Compatibility

Tested stack for the bundled demo and templates

Versions below reflect what the theme declares in style.css, what GridPadel Core declares in its plugin header, and what we test against before each release. The Setup Wizard System Status screen enforces the same minimums.

Not included

• Elementor Pro, WooCommerce Subscriptions, and other premium plugins are not bundled. Purchase separately if you need those features.

Setup Wizard

Automatic configuration in 6 simple steps

The Setup Wizard helps you get started quickly by installing required plugins and importing sample content. You can run it again anytime if needed.

Step 1 — System check

Review the System Status / Requirements list (PHP version, memory, upload limits, and similar). Fix any Fail rows with your host before continuing so the wizard and demo import do not stop halfway.

Step 2 — Choose builder

• Elementor (recommended) — full template library, drag-and-drop editing, all Studio header/footer templates.
• Gutenberg (beta) — native block editor without Elementor. Template coverage is growing; choose this only if you prefer blocks over Elementor.

Step 3 — Install plugins

Review and confirm installation of:

• GridPadel Core — always required (booking system and core club features)
• WooCommerce — always required (checkout, memberships, and payments)
• Elementor — required when you choose the Elementor builder path

Step 4 — Choose template

Pick one of six home layouts. The wizard imports the full page set and sets your selection as the front page:

• Elite — full-screen hero
• Instant — booking-first layout
• Showcase — facility showcase
• Minimal — clean, content-focused
• Community — social and events emphasis
• Trainers — coach-led presentation

Demo business data (courts, coaches, events, tournaments, memberships, menus, and WooCommerce products) imports with the selected template.

Step 5 — License

Enter your ThemeForest purchase code to link your licence for ThemeForest item updates and author support. Updates are downloaded from your Envato account, not through the WordPress dashboard. Demo import and all features work without a code. You may skip this on local or staging sites.

Step 6 — All done

Links to the front page, Customizer, and GridPadel dashboard. Replace demo text, logos, and club contact details next.

Page Templates

Pre-built pages imported with your chosen home layout

Home variants

The demo import creates all six home pages; only the layout you pick in the Setup Wizard becomes the site front page. Switch later under Settings → Reading, or duplicate another home page in Elementor.

• Elite — full-screen hero
• Instant — booking-first layout
• Showcase — facility showcase
• Minimal — clean, content-focused
• Community — social and events emphasis
• Trainers — coach-led presentation

Club pages

• About Us, Club, Contact
• Courts, Coaches, Events, Tournaments
• Blog, Archive, Search, 404

System pages

• /profile — member hub (bookings, membership, WooCommerce account)
• /signin and /signup — branded auth pages
• Single templates for courts, coaches, memberships, events, tournaments, and blog posts

Header and footer

Elementor path: The demo imports an adaptive header and full footer as Elementor library templates. To customize them, go to Elementor → Templates → Saved Templates, open the Header or Footer item, and click Edit with Elementor. To reset those templates from the theme bundle (this overwrites your edits), use GridPadel → Template Reimport and select Header and/or Footer.

Gutenberg path: Header and footer are not Elementor templates. They are rendered with [gp_studio_header] and [gp_studio_footer] on block pages — edit the pages that contain those shortcodes in the block editor.

Homepage only: GridPadel → Templates switches which of the six home layouts is active. It does not edit header, footer, or other pages.

Court Bookings

How to manage court bookings

Adding Courts

To add a new court:

1. Go to Courts → Add New
2. Enter court name, description, and featured image
3. Assign a court category (e.g. Indoor, Outdoor, Premium) from the sidebar taxonomy
4. Set the base hourly rate or add pricing windows for time bands and date overrides
5. Choose surface, max players, and optional equipment shown on the single court page
6. Under Court structure, pick Individual court (one physical court) or Court category (multiple instances of the same type, with a court count)
7. Click Publish

Club schedules (required for court booking)

Court booking slots are generated from club hours. Use Blocked slots or per-court One-off court closures in the court editor to remove specific periods.

How Booking Works

When a member wants to book a court:

1. They select a court and date
2. Available time slots are shown
3. They choose a time and add to cart
4. Complete payment through checkout
5. Receive confirmation email
6. Booking appears in their dashboard

Viewing Bookings

See all bookings at GridPadel → Bookings. You can filter by date, court, or customer name. Export bookings to CSV for your records.

Cancellations and Refunds

When a booking is cancelled:

• The time slot becomes available again
• Customer can request refund through WooCommerce
• Both customer and admin receive notification emails

Memberships

Creating and managing membership tiers

Creating Membership Tiers

Go to Memberships → Add New to create a membership tier. Common examples:

Basic Membership

• Price: Free or low cost
• Basic court access
• Standard booking rates

Premium Membership

• Price: Monthly or annual fee
• Discounted booking rates (10-20% off)
• Priority booking access
• Exclusive member benefits

VIP Membership

• Price: Higher tier pricing
• Maximum discounts (20-30% off)
• First access to new courts
• Free lesson credits included

Membership Benefits

You can offer members special perks like:

• Discount percentages on bookings
• Priority booking before non-members
• Free or discounted lessons
• Access to members-only events
• No booking fees

How Members Join

Customers purchase memberships like any product in your store. WooCommerce handles the payment, and their membership status is updated automatically.

Coaches

Managing coach profiles and lessons

Adding a Coach

To create a coach profile:

1. Go to Coaches → Add New
2. Enter coach name and biography
3. Upload profile photo
4. Set hourly lesson rate
5. Add years of experience
6. List specialties (Padel, Pickleball, etc.)
7. Add certifications if applicable
8. Click Publish

Coach schedules (required for lesson booking)

Club hours still apply to courts; coach schedules control when lessons can start and end.

Lesson Bookings

Members can book lessons directly from a coach's profile page. The system:

• Shows coach availability
• Calculates lesson cost
• Processes payment
• Sends confirmation to both coach and student

Coach Specialties

You can assign specialties to help members find the right coach:

• Beginner instruction
• Advanced technique
• Strategy and tactics
• Junior coaching
• Tournament preparation

Events

Club events, registrations, venues, and organizers

Creating an event

Go to Events → Add New and configure:

• Title, cover image, and description
• Date, time, and registration deadline
• Capacity and entry fee (linked WooCommerce product when the event is paid)
• Linked Venue and Organizer (separate post types in the admin menu)
• Included items and FAQ fields on the event editor

Registrations

Visitors register from the event page or via [gp_studio_registration_form]. Review signups under GridPadel → Registrations alongside tournament entries.

Online registration closes when the effective registration cutoff passes. If you leave Registration deadline empty, the cutoff defaults to the start date, then the end date when no start is set. With no dates at all, only capacity and external-registration settings apply.

Frontend

• Events List Elementor widget or [ppc_events] shortcode
• Single-event Studio layout with Elementor widgets in the Events category (cover, schedule, organizers, FAQ, register button, and related fields)

Tournaments

Organizing and managing tournaments

Creating a Tournament

Go to Tournaments → Add New and set up:

• Tournament name and description
• Start and end dates
• Registration deadline
• Entry fee (if charging)
• Optional details in Custom fields — for example maximum participants, prize pool, sport, or format

Tournament status

Tournament status defaults to Open for Registration when you publish. Choose Draft in the tournament editor if the event should stay hidden from open/ongoing lists and registration until you are ready.

Registration

Participants register on the tournament page. Manage entries under GridPadel → Registrations. Online registration is open when tournament status is Open for Registration and the effective registration cutoff has not passed. If Registration deadline is empty, the cutoff defaults to the tournament start date, then the end date; with no dates set, only status limits registration.

You can:

• View all registered participants
• Update registration status (pending, confirmed, completed, or cancelled)
• Cancel a registration when needed
• Export the participant list to CSV

Public tournament pages

Display tournaments with the Tournaments List or Tournament Table Elementor widgets, or the [ppc_tournaments] shortcode. Each tournament has a Studio single page with schedule, registration, and event details.

WooCommerce Integration

How GridPadel connects bookings, memberships, and club sales to WooCommerce

GridPadel does not replace WooCommerce — it extends it. GridPadel Core creates and maintains the product links your club content needs; WooCommerce still handles cart, checkout, taxes, and payment gateways.

This version: WooCommerce is required for member-facing court and lesson booking checkout, membership purchases, and the shop. Planned: a future release will add an internal checkout path so clubs can offer on-site booking without WooCommerce (admin manual bookings and contact forms remain available today).

What GridPadel syncs automatically

When you publish or update club content, GridPadel Core keeps WooCommerce in sync:

• Courts — booking slots add configured court booking products to the cart
• Coaches — lesson bookings use coach-linked virtual products
• Memberships — each plan links to a WooCommerce product; payment assigns the member record
• Events & tournaments — paid entries use entry-fee products created from the event or tournament editor
• Shop catalog — standard merchandise and passes remain regular WooCommerce products

Checkout and member account

• Bookings, lessons, memberships, and event entries can share one cart with shop items
• On successful payment, GridPadel confirms bookings, registrations, and membership assignments
• Demo import points WooCommerce My Account to /profile, where the Studio profile hub embeds order history and account details
• Cancelled or refunded orders trigger GridPadel booking lifecycle rules according to your WooCommerce refund policy

Theme styling

GridPadel overrides WooCommerce templates for cart, checkout, and account views to match Studio UI. Adjust commerce accent colors under Appearance → Customize → Theme colors → WooCommerce colors.

Recurring memberships

What you still configure in WooCommerce

GridPadel handles club-specific product links and checkout styling. You still set currency, payment gateways, SSL, and shipping rules in WooCommerce itself before going live.

Gutenberg (Beta)

Native block editor path without Elementor

In the Setup Wizard Step 2 — Choose builder, select Gutenberg (beta) if you prefer the WordPress block editor over Elementor. Elementor remains the recommended path for the fullest template library and drag-and-drop editing.

What is included

• Block-based page HTML equivalents ship in theme/gutenberg/pages/ inside the parent theme
• System pages use Studio shortcodes — for example [gp_studio_profile_hub], [gp_studio_signin], and [gp_studio_signup]
• Shell blocks [gp_studio_header] and [gp_studio_footer] wrap Gutenberg page content
• Listing and booking shortcodes ([ppc_courts], [ppc_booking_picker], and others) work on block pages the same way as in Elementor layouts

Coverage compared to Elementor

Gutenberg coverage is beta: core club pages and shortcodes are supported, but fewer pre-built block layouts ship than on the Elementor path. Choose Gutenberg only if your team standardizes on blocks and accepts a thinner out-of-the-box layout set and a system that is being stabilized.

Customization

Making the site your own

Changing Colors and Logo

Go to Appearance → Customize to change:

• Site logos — primary (dark backgrounds) and secondary (light header) marks
• Theme colors — brand, accent, titles, links, forms, WooCommerce, footer, and navigation
• Club information — phone, email, and address used in footer and contact blocks
• Social networks — footer and mega-menu icon URLs
• Policies — link Privacy, Terms, and Cookie pages

Editing Pages with Elementor

1. Open any page → Edit with Elementor
2. Use widgets from Padel/Pickleball Club (plugin) and Theme Elements, Events, or Tournaments (theme)
3. Click Update when finished

GridPadel Core widgets (Elementor)

• Booking Picker, 24h Schedule
• Coaches List, Coach Profile
• Events List, Tournaments List, Tournament Table
• Membership Card, Membership CTA
• Blog Posts, Archive Posts, Search Posts
• Newsletter, Nav Menu

Shortcodes

Use these on Elementor shortcode widgets, Gutenberg shortcode blocks, or classic page content. GridPadel Core must be active.

Club listings and booking

Auth, profile, and contact

Layout shell (Gutenberg and hybrid pages)

Blog, archive, and search

Single court, coach, membership, event, and tournament blocks

These compose Studio single templates — use inside Elementor or Gutenberg single layouts:

Navigation menus

Registered locations: Primary Menu, Top Bar Menu, Play (footer), and Club (footer resources). Edit under Appearance → Menus.

Child theme

Use GridPadel Child for custom CSS, template overrides, or small PHP hooks. Install GridPadel-Child.zip from your package if needed. Do not edit the parent theme — updates will overwrite direct changes.

Translations

Multilingual clubs and translatable strings

GridPadel is translation-ready. String catalogs ship with the product:

• Theme: languages/ppclub.pot inside the GridPadel theme folder
• Plugin: languages/gridpadel-core.pot inside GridPadel Core

Translating strings

Use Loco Translate, Poedit, or WP-CLI (wp i18n make-json) to create .po / .mo files for your language. Place theme translations in wp-content/languages/themes/ or the theme languages/ folder; plugin translations in wp-content/languages/plugins/ or the plugin languages/ folder.

WPML and Polylang

GridPadel custom post types (courts, coaches, events, tournaments, memberships, venues, organizers) work with WPML and Polylang. Duplicate pages and menus per language, and translate CPT entries individually. Keep WooCommerce currency and tax settings aligned with each market you serve.

RTL and admin language

Studio UI supports RTL front-end styling where WordPress loads an RTL locale. WordPress admin language is independent — set it per user under Users → Profile if your staff prefers a different admin language than the public site.

Troubleshooting

Solutions to common issues

Booking Form Not Appearing

If the booking form doesn't show up:

• Check that WooCommerce plugin is installed and active
• Verify GridPadel Core is activated
• Make sure at least one court is published with a base hourly rate and appears in GridPadel → Bookings test flow
• Clear your browser cache and reload the page

Custom Widgets Missing in Elementor

If you don't see the custom widgets:

• Confirm GridPadel Core is activated
• Go to Elementor → Tools → Regenerate CSS
• Clear all caches (site cache, browser cache)
• Reload the Elementor editor

404 Page Not Found Errors

If pages show "404 Not Found" errors:

• Go to Settings → Permalinks
• Click Save Changes (don't change any settings)
• This refreshes your site's URL structure

Demo Import Failed

If demo content import doesn't complete:

• Check that your server meets minimum requirements
• Contact your hosting provider to increase memory limit to 512MB
• Increase max execution time to 300 seconds
• Try importing again

Payment Not Working

If customers can't complete checkout:

• Verify WooCommerce payment methods are configured
• Check that SSL certificate is installed (required for payments)
• Test with WooCommerce test mode first
• Review WooCommerce status at WooCommerce → Status

FAQ

Answers to common questions

Do I need the paid version of Elementor?

No, the free version of Elementor works perfectly with this theme. All features and widgets are compatible with Elementor Free.

Can I use this for tennis or squash clubs?

Absolutely! While designed for Padel and Pickleball, it works great for any racquet sport club or sports facility.

Is WooCommerce required?

WooCommerce is required in this version for online court and lesson booking with checkout, paid memberships, and shop sales. Without it, staff can still manage bookings under GridPadel → Bookings, and visitors can use contact forms or external links you configure. A built-in checkout path that does not depend on WooCommerce is planned for a future release.

Can I translate the theme to my language?

Yes, the theme is fully translation-ready. You can use plugins like Loco Translate to translate all text into any language.

How many courts can I add?

There's no limit. You can add as many courts, coaches, and memberships as you need.

Can members get discounts on bookings?

Yes, you can set up membership tiers with different discount levels. For example, VIP members could get 20% off all bookings.

What happens if someone cancels a booking?

The time slot becomes available again automatically. Refunds are handled through WooCommerce based on your refund policy.

Can I customize the email templates?

Yes, email templates can be edited by creating copies in your child theme folder.

Will this work on mobile devices?

Yes, the entire theme is fully responsive and optimized for phones and tablets.

Can I add more payment methods?

Yes, you can use any WooCommerce-compatible payment gateway like Stripe, PayPal, Square, etc.

Data, third parties & license

What leaves your site when you use certain features

Envato and WordPress best practice is to tell end users when data is sent elsewhere. On your club website (not this documentation site), the theme and bundled plugins may interact with third parties as follows:

• Envato (license verification): When you optionally enter your ThemeForest purchase code, the site contacts Envato’s API to verify the code. Only what is needed for that check is transmitted. Demo import and core features do not require a purchase code. See Envato’s privacy terms for how they process data.
• Google Fonts (Elementor and documentation): If you use Elementor or similar builders, they may load fonts from Google’s servers, which can see visitor IPs like any web request. The GridPadel theme bundles the Kanit typeface locally and does not load it from Google CDN. This documentation site loads Inter from Google Fonts. Use a blocking or consent plugin if your jurisdiction requires it.
• Elementor, WooCommerce, payment gateways: Those plugins have their own privacy policies and data flows (e.g. payment processors). Configure them according to your club’s legal obligations (GDPR, etc.).
• GridPadel marketing site (gridpadel.com and related hosts): Theme pre-order (Stripe), quote forms and optional installation checkout send data to Handoff Labs’ servers and subprocessors (e.g. email delivery, Stripe) as described in the public Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy — separate from your self-hosted WordPress. Cookie / consent choices are also logged via POST /api/cookie-consent for accountability.

For the marketing and documentation site (the HTML you are reading), see the Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy.

Credits & licenses

Open-source components used in the theme and package

• TGM Plugin Activation — plugin dependency installer (GPL-2.0-or-later).
• WordPress, WooCommerce, Elementor — installed from wordpress.org under their respective GPL-compatible licenses.
• Kanit (theme typography, bundled in theme) — SIL Open Font License 1.1. See assets/fonts/kanit/OFL.txt in the theme folder.
• Inter (this documentation site) — SIL OFL 1.1, loaded from Google Fonts in these HTML files.
• Flatpickr (date picker, via GridPadel Core) — MIT.
• FullCalendar (calendar UI, via GridPadel Core) — MIT.
• GridPadel Core — GPL v2 or later.

A machine-readable list is in the ThemeForest package: Licensing/THIRD-PARTY-LICENSES.txt. Buyer licensing (Regular/Extended) is governed by Envato Market licenses.

Support

Get help when you need it

We're here to help you get the most out of the product you purchased. Important: neither Envato nor ThemeForest installs the theme on your server. You install WordPress, upload the ZIP (or use FTP), and follow this guide. During your ThemeForest support period, the author (Handoff Labs) can help with bugs, conflicts, and guidance on the documented steps — not with full server administration, custom development, or third-party hosting issues.

How to Get Support

Paid professional services (Handoff Labs)

Your ThemeForest item support covers bugs, conflicts, and guidance on the documented product — not hands-on hosting or custom builds. On the main GridPadel site you can pre-order a direct Handoff Labs license (License only or License + All-In-One Service) via Stripe, or request a customization quote — all from Services.

These options live under Services on the marketing homepage. You complete payment or the quote form there — not inside this documentation viewer.

Before Contacting Support

To help us help you faster, please:

• Review this documentation
• Check the troubleshooting section
• Note your WordPress and PHP versions
• Take screenshots of any error messages
• List any other plugins you have active

What's Included in Support

• Guidance and troubleshooting for the official installation path (this documentation + files in your ThemeForest download)
• Bug reports and fixes in the theme or GridPadel Core when reproducible on a clean install
• Configuration questions covered in this guide
• Compatibility issues between the theme/plugin and supported WordPress, Elementor, or WooCommerce versions as declared in the Compatibility section

Not Included in Support

• Logging into your hosting or installing WordPress for you
• Custom development or modifications
• Third-party plugin or hosting problems
• General WordPress training unrelated to GridPadel
• Content creation or design services