Install DJIA Builder and DJIA Theme

What this does

Activating DJIA Builder creates its wp_djb_* tables, the folder wp-content/djia-builder/ (runtime, releases, state and public files), the runtime handoff file and, when no wp-content/advanced-cache.php exists yet, a minimal drop-in that hands requests to the runtime. A first projection of your content (posts, pages, terms, media, routes) starts in the background. Until you publish something, WordPress keeps rendering the public site exactly as before: the builder owns only routes with a published page or template.

The DJIA Theme is part of the plugin package. It gives the pages WordPress still renders (plugin pages, account areas, anything not built yet) the same header, footer, fonts and global styles as your builder pages. You install it from the Get started screen; it does not come from wordpress.org.

Before you start

• Check the system requirements: WordPress 6.5 or later, PHP 8.1 or later, pretty permalinks, a writable wp-content.
• Make a backup. The plugin changes wp-config.php only when you click "Turn on fast mode" later, but a backup before any new plugin is good practice.
• If another cache plugin owns wp-content/advanced-cache.php, decide now whether to keep it. DJIA Builder never overwrites another plugin's drop-in; with it in place the builder runs in compatibility mode (see Limits).

Steps

1. Upload and activate the plugin.

   In the WordPress admin open Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin, choose the djia-builder ZIP from your account and click Activate. On a server with an old PHP or WordPress the plugin shows a notice ("DJIA Builder requires PHP 8.1 or newer…") and does nothing else; raise the version and reload.

2. Open the Get started screen.

   After a normal activation from the Plugins screen you are redirected to DJIA Builder → Get started once. It stays in the menu until you finish it, and the Plugins row keeps a "Get started" link. The screen has four steps and a 0/4 progress ring.

3. Step 1, "Check the server": make every item green.

   The five checks are the PHP version, WP_CACHE (fast mode), the runtime handoff, pretty permalinks and a writable wp-content/djia-builder. A red item shows its fix under the label. Two of them are the usual blockers:

   • Pretty permalinks: choose any setting except "Plain" under Settings → Permalinks.
   • wp-content/djia-builder is writable: let the web server user write to wp-content, then reload the screen.

   WP_CACHE off is not a blocker

   Without WP_CACHE the runtime answers builder pages from inside WordPress (compatibility mode). The Dashboard card "WP_CACHE" has a button that adds the line for you and checks the site still answers. See Turn on fast mode or keep compatibility mode.

4. Step 2, "Set up starter styles".

   Click Set up starter styles. This writes a starter design system (colours, a fluid type and spacing scale, radii, containers, button styles) into the global styles and publishes them when the runtime can compile. If the site already has global styles, the screen warns that they are replaced; breakpoints are kept.

5. Step 3, "Install the DJIA Theme".

   Click Install and activate (or Activate the DJIA Theme if a copy is already installed). The plugin copies its bundled theme into wp-content/themes/djia-theme with the WordPress filesystem API and activates it; the previous theme stays installed, and the screen names it so you can switch back under Appearance → Themes. You need the switch_themes capability (administrators have it).

6. Step 4, "Pick a starter site" (optional).

   Each pack (Studio, Esenca, Journal) opens an import screen that shows a dry run first; Undo removes an import again. Skip this step for an existing site with content.

7. Finish.

   Click Go to the dashboard, or Create your first page to land directly on a new WordPress page. The license note at the bottom is informational: activate your key under Settings → License for automatic updates and support; the editor, the runtime and every feature work without it.

What you should see

Open DJIA Builder → Dashboard. The cards describe a healthy install:

• Runtime handoffinstalled: handoff.php exists, runtime code runtime/bootstrap.php, compiler available
• Drop-inhands off, owner DJIA Builder (or DJIA Cache 1.3.0.10+ with its handoff switch on)
• WP_CACHEon (fast mode) or off with the line "Compatibility mode answers meanwhile"
• Active releasenothing published until your first publish
• Modetransitional: routes without a published template stay with WordPress

Click Check handoff. The Dashboard requests your home page anonymously and reports the answer: before any publish it says "WordPress answered (HTTP 200)", which is correct in transitional mode. After the first publish of a home page the line reads "X-Djia-Runtime: MISS" (plus "compatibility mode" when WP_CACHE is off). Under Appearance → Themes the DJIA Theme is active.

Limits

• DJIA Builder 1.0 supports single sites. Network activation on a multisite runs the installer on up to 50 sites, but there is one runtime configuration per wp-content, so multisite is not supported.
• Another plugin's advanced-cache.php (for example a page cache you already use) is never overwritten. The builder then runs in compatibility mode until that plugin adds a call to runtime/handoff.php (DJIA Cache 1.3.0.10 and later do) or the drop-in is removed.
• On Nginx the runtime folders need one location … deny all; rule; the Dashboard shows it when its self-test finds the folders readable. See Server notes.
• Deactivating the plugin removes the handoff file and its own drop-in; WordPress renders the site with the active theme again. Data stays until you delete the plugin with "Remove all data when the plugin is deleted" enabled under Settings → Tools.
• Condition Automatic updates from the WordPress admin: publish this sentence when the four-part version check is fixed (Updates.php:76)

If it doesn't work

• "The runtime handoff is installed" stays red. Open the Dashboard: the hero text names the cause (WP_CACHE off, no drop-in, another plugin's drop-in, or missing files). Click Repair installation; it rewrites the runtime files, the folders and the drop-in when it can.
• The drop-in belongs to another plugin. Switch that plugin's page cache off so it removes advanced-cache.php, then click Repair installation. Or keep it and work in compatibility mode.
• "Install and activate" fails with "WordPress cannot write to the themes folder". Give the web server write access to wp-content/themes and try again, or use Download ZIP on the Dashboard's "DJIA Theme" card and add the theme with your deployment (also the way to go when DISALLOW_FILE_MODS is set).
• The editor opens but publishing says the runtime is not available. The compiler or release writer is missing from wp-content/djia-builder/runtime/; Repair installation copies them again from the plugin.

Last verified 2026-10-19 · tested with DJIA Builder 1.0.18.5, DJIA Theme 1.0.2
To confirm Verified against the plugin code; run the steps on a test site before launch