Introduction

Arun is a modern and elegant Gatsby React personal blog theme designed for bloggers, writers, and content creators. This theme offers a clean, minimalist design that focuses on content, making it perfect for personal and professional blogs, as well as multi-author magazines. Built with Gatsby and integrated with Netlify CMS, Arun provides a seamless writing and publishing experience with markdown support.

Main Features

1. Responsive design, compatible with all device sizes
2. Light and dark mode options
3. Netlify CMS integration for easy content management
4. Featured post functionality
5. Search capability
6. Syntax highlighting for code snippets
7. LaTeX support for mathematical expressions
8. Tag and author archive pages
9. Custom yearly and monthly post archive templates
10. Contact form integration using Formspree
11. Mailchimp subscription form
12. Image lazy loading for improved performance
13. Google Fonts integration
14. SVG icons for crisp display on high DPI screens

Installation Steps

1. Purchase and download the Arun theme from ThemeForest.

2. Ensure you have Node.js and npm (Node Package Manager) installed on your system.

3. Extract the downloaded files to your desired project directory.

4. Open a terminal and navigate to the project directory.

5. Install the required dependencies by running:

   npm install
   

6. Once the installation is complete, start the development server:

   npm start
   

7. Open your browser and visit http://localhost:8000 to see your website.

8. To build the project for production, run:

   npm run build
   

9. Deploy the contents of the public folder to your hosting provider or Netlify.

Usage Instructions

1. Content Management:

   • Use Netlify CMS to manage your posts and pages
   • Create and edit content in Markdown format
   • Access the CMS through the /admin route of your site

2. Customization:

   • Modify theme settings in the gatsby-config.js file
   • Customize styles in the SCSS files located in the src/styles directory
   • Adjust layouts and components in the src/components folder

3. Adding Posts:

   • Create new Markdown files in the content/posts directory
   • Use the provided frontmatter format for post metadata

4. Page Creation:

   • Add new pages by creating React components in the src/pages directory
   • Use the existing page templates as a reference

5. Configuring Forms:

   • Set up the contact form by updating the Formspree endpoint in the contact component
   • Configure the Mailchimp subscription form with your list ID

6. Enabling Dark Mode:

   • The theme comes with built-in dark mode support
   • Users can toggle between light and dark modes using the provided switch

7. Managing Tags and Authors:

   • Create and manage tags and authors through the Netlify CMS interface
   • Customize the appearance of tag and author pages in their respective components

Important Notes

1. Familiarize yourself with Gatsby and React basics for efficient customization.

2. Regularly update dependencies to ensure security and access to new features.

3. Optimize images and use the built-in lazy loading feature for better performance.

4. Utilize the syntax highlighting feature for code snippets in your blog posts.

5. Take advantage of the LaTeX support for writing math-heavy content.

6. The theme is SEO-friendly, but consider additional optimization for specific needs.

7. Customize the color scheme and typography to match your brand identity.

8. Use the provided SVG icons for a crisp appearance on all devices.

9. Test your site thoroughly in both light and dark modes before deployment.

10. For support and updates, refer to the documentation and contact the theme author through ThemeForest.