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Getting Started

This guide takes you from a fresh install to live, configured modules. If you haven’t installed the plugin yet, start with the Installation page.

Step 1: Open the Essentials dashboard

Click Essentials in your admin sidebar. The Dashboard greets you with the number of active and available modules, and a Your Modules grid where every module shows whether it’s Active or Inactive.

The Essentials menu has three main screens:

  • Dashboard: an overview with quick links to every module.
  • Modules: the full module list, where you switch modules on and off.
  • Settings: plugin-wide options, plus settings import and export.

Each module you switch on also gets its own settings page under the Essentials menu.

Step 2: Switch on your first module

  1. Go to Essentials → Modules.
  2. Find Scroll to Top and flip its switch on. The change saves instantly, with no Save button to press.
  3. Visit your site and scroll down a long page. Once you pass 300 pixels, a round button appears in the bottom right corner.

Repeat for any other module you want: Progress Bar, Reading Time or Custom Scroll Bar. A module you leave off loads nothing at all on your site. More on this screen in Managing Modules.

Step 3: Configure it

Click Configure on a module card (or the module’s name under the Essentials menu) to open its settings page. For example, on Scroll Top:

  1. Set Display Position to Bottom Left or Bottom Right.
  2. Under Style, pick an Icon and Shape, and set your brand’s Background Color.
  3. Click Save Changes. A "Settings saved" notice confirms it, and the change is live straight away.

Every module page works the same way. Here’s what each one offers:

Step 4: Place reading time where you want it (optional)

With the Reading Time module on, reading time is added before your post content automatically. To place it somewhere else:

  • In the block editor or Site Editor, insert the Reading Time block (found in the Essentials block category). It also works inside a Query Loop.
  • In a widget, page builder or classic editor, use the [esse_reading_time] shortcode.

See Reading Time for every option.

Step 5: Back up your setup

Once everything looks right, go to Essentials → Settings and click Export Settings. You’ll get a JSON file with your enabled modules and all their settings. You can import it on another site, or keep it as a backup. See Settings, Import & Export.

Where to go next

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