Installation

Requirements

• Joomla 6.0 or 6.1
• PHP 8.3 or later

Install the Package

1. Download pkg_dctheme.zip from your account at contona.com
2. In Joomla admin, go to System → Install → Extensions
3. Upload the package and click Upload & Install

The confirmation lists the template, the eight modules and the two plugins, with buttons for Add your license key, The plugins and The modules. Every module is listed in Content → Site Modules under a name starting with DC Theme -.

On a fresh install both plugins, System - DC Theme and Sample Data - DC Theme, are enabled for you.

The package also adds a Social image custom field for articles, in a field group named DC Theme. See Branding.

Make DC Theme the Site Template

Go to System → Site Template Styles and set DC Theme - Default as the default style. Every setting in these docs lives on that style: open it to see the tabs Brand, Identity, Features, Social, Layout, Analytics and Reference.

The template is inheritable, so you can create a child template from it in System → Site Templates.

Activate Your License

1. Go to System → Plugins and open System - DC Theme
2. Paste your key into License key
3. Click Save

The key is checked as soon as you save, and the result is shown as a message and in the read-only Status field, for example Active. Valid until 1 October 2027.

Status	Meaning
Active	Updates are on. The expiry date is shown when the license has one
Your DC Theme license has expired, so updates are paused.	Renew to get updates again
This DC Theme license is already in use on the maximum number of sites.	The key has no free activations left
That key belongs to a different product.	You pasted a key for another extension
That DC Theme license key was not recognised, or it is no longer active.	Check the key in your account

The license is activated for the domain in the Live Site URL in Global Configuration, or the domain you reached the admin on when that is empty. A leading www. is ignored.

After that, the key is checked again once a day when an administrator who can manage plugins opens the admin. If the license server cannot be reached, the last known status stays in place.

Until a key is active, administrators see a notice linking to the plugin. If the plugin is disabled or uninstalled, the template style shows a warning that updates cannot be downloaded.

Updates

Updates arrive through Joomla's own updater in System → Update → Extensions. The license key is written to the package's update site for you, so there is no separate Download Key to enter.

When the license lapses, updates pause and the site keeps working exactly as before. The license plugin only runs in the admin, so the front end never depends on a license check.

TIP

Keep your own CSS in user.css and it survives every update – see Extras.

Next Steps

• Sample Data – build the example site in one click
• Branding – logo, icons, site name and copyright line
• Colours – palettes, custom colours and dark mode