Smart Theme Options

Settings

Defaults are what a brand-new site starts with. Most schools' settings were filled in when their website was set up.

School details

Where to find it: smartOptions → School details

The Address and Contact Info widgets (under Appearance → Widgets) show these details wherever you place them.

Brand & colours

Where to find it: smartOptions → Brand & colours

The Preview shows your header and menu as visitors see them, and changes as you pick colours. In it, Admissions shows the current-page colours and Parents the hovered colours. Smart CSS can still change any of these colours on your site.

Colours that allow it have a None tick box, for no colour at all. A background image has Repeat, Size, Position and Scrolling choices.

Header & menu

Where to find it: smartOptions → Header & menu

The preview at the top is your real homepage with your unsaved settings. Click the desktop or phone icon to change its size. Scroll inside it to see the header that follows you down the page.

Pre Header Widgets and Header Widgets only show something once you have added widgets to those areas under Appearance → Widgets.

Announcement bar

A one-line message above the header on every page, for example an open evening. Turn Show the bar on and the other settings appear.

For an urgent message such as a closure, see also Smart Alert.

Homepage slideshow

Where to find it: smartOptions → Homepage slideshow

The slideshow appears at the top of your homepage only. The preview shows it as visitors will see it, with your site's styles and your unsaved changes. Click the phone icon to check it at phone size. To watch the preview while you change the settings below, click the pin icon at its top right, which keeps it at the top of the window. Click the pin again to turn that off.

Slides

Each slide is a numbered row with its picture and title; the number is its place in the slideshow. The count beside Slides says how many there are — click Slides to fold the whole list away. Drag a slide by its ☰ handle to move it. Click Add a slide for a new one.

Click a slide's row to open it. There you can:

• click Choose image to pick its picture, or Remove slide to delete it;
• fill in its Title, Caption and Link;
• turn on Custom HTML instead of the caption to show your own HTML over the picture. Check it with the phone icon in the preview: fixed sizes that fit a computer screen can overflow a phone.

Click More options for:

• When it shows — From and Until (inclusive) dates, to show a slide only between two dates. Leave them empty to show it always. Dates use the site's time zone.
• Caption — its Position (Bottom left, Bottom centre, Middle left, Middle centre or Top left), the Darkening behind the text (Standard, None, Light, Medium or Strong) and a text colour.
• Background video — click Choose video to play an MP4 from the Media Library silently on a loop behind the caption. The slide image shows while it loads, and instead of it for visitors who ask for less motion. Keep it short and small: under 10 MB.

A folded slide's row shows labels for what is set: Scheduled, Not showing today, Video, Caption styled or Custom HTML.

Posts & news

Where to find it: smartOptions → Posts & news

The Preview shows a recent post for each way the author-and-date line can look on your site, as it shows in news lists, with your unsaved changes. A note under each post says why it looks that way — usually whether Display author details is ticked on that post.

Tracking & code

Where to find it: smartOptions → Tracking & code

Paste just the ID, or the whole code the service gives you: the ID is taken from it. For Google Analytics 4, Microsoft Clarity and Google Tag Manager, if no ID can be found in what you paste, the box is not changed. With Smart Cookies on, tracking only runs for visitors who accept that kind of cookie.

Each code box starts folded, with a label saying how many lines it holds or Empty. Click Code editor or CSS editor to open it.

Search & sharing

Where to find it: smartOptions → Search & sharing

How your site appears in Google, and when a page is shared on social media or in a message.

Advanced

Where to find it: smartOptions → Advanced

Most schools never change these.

Realsmart staff accounts always get the Administrator role, whatever Role for admins is set to.

Troubleshooting

I cannot see smartOptions

Why it happens: smartOptions is only shown to administrators.

How to fix it: Ask an administrator at your school to make the change.

My change is not showing on the website

Why it happens: The change was not saved, the setting depends on another one, or your browser is showing an older copy of the page.

How to fix it:

1. Go back to smartOptions and click Save changes. Check for Settings saved. at the top of the page.
2. Check related settings: the header only shows the parts ticked under Show in the header; Menu bar colour needs Menu in its own bar on; the slideshow needs Show the slideshow on and only appears on the homepage.
3. If you use Smart CSS, it can override colours and fonts set here.
4. Reload the website in a private browser window.

It says "Settings saved, apart from:"

Why it happens: One or more boxes held something that could not be saved, for example an email address that is not one, or a tracking box with no ID in it. Everything else was saved.

How to fix it: Read the list under the message, correct those boxes and click Save changes again.

"Leave without saving?" keeps appearing

Why it happens: You have changed something on the page and not saved it yet. smartOptions asks before you leave so the change is not lost.

How to fix it: Click Save changes to keep your changes, or Leave without saving to throw them away.

The slideshow does not show for me when I am signed in

Why it happens: When logged in is unticked under Also show, so only visitors who are not signed in see it.

How to fix it: Tick When logged in in Homepage slideshow and click Save changes.

A slide is missing from the slideshow

Why it happens: The slide has dates under More options → When it shows, and today is outside them. Its row shows Not showing today.

How to fix it: Open the slide, click More options, and change or clear the From and Until (inclusive) dates. Then click Save changes.

I cannot type in the code boxes

Why it happens: Your account is not allowed to save code, so the code editors (Analytics code, Marketing code, CSS, Overlay HTML and Button CSS) are shown read-only, with the note "Your account cannot save code, so this is shown read-only."

How to fix it: Ask Realsmart support to add the code for you.

Staff cannot publish posts

Why it happens: Staff accounts have the Contributor role, which lets them write posts but not publish them. Contributor is the default Role for mentors.

How to fix it:

1. For staff who have not signed in yet, change Role for mentors in Advanced (for example to Editor) and click Save changes.
2. Role for mentors is only used the first time someone signs in, so for staff who already have an account, change their role under Users instead.