The Sarai Chinwag theme provides a centralized settings page accessible via Settings → Theme Settings in the WordPress admin. This page configures API integrations and controls core theme functionality.

Settings Location

Navigate to WordPress Admin → Settings → Theme Settings to access all configuration options.

API Configuration Settings

IndexNow API Key

Purpose: Enables automatic search engine indexing when posts are published or updated.

Configuration:

• Field Type: Text input (50 characters)
• Format: 32-character hexadecimal string
• Example: 4ee5f0302df14ea9b2d2f5e9dd919fb0
• Optional: Leave empty to disable IndexNow functionality

How to Get API Key:

1. Visit an IndexNow-compatible search engine (Bing, Yandex)
2. Generate a 32-character hexadecimal key
3. Verify the key with the search engine

Google Fonts API Key

Purpose: Enables dynamic font loading from Google Fonts API in the WordPress Customizer.

Configuration:

• Field Type: Text input (50 characters)
• Required: Must be configured to access Google Fonts
• Get API Key: Visit Google Fonts Developer API

Features Enabled:

• Live font selection in Customizer
• Category-based font filtering (Display, Sans-serif, Serif)
• Real-time preview of font changes
• Consistent fonts between editor and frontend

Pinterest Username

Purpose: Displays Pinterest follow widgets and enables Pinterest save buttons.

Configuration:

• Field Type: Text input (30 characters)
• Format: Username only (without URL)
• Example: If Pinterest URL is pinterest.com/yourname, enter yourname
• Optional: Leave empty to disable Pinterest integration

Features Enabled:

• Pinterest follow widget in sidebar
• Automatic Pinterest save buttons on images
• Enhanced social media connectivity

Contact Form Settings

Cloudflare Turnstile Site Key

Purpose: Enables bot protection for contact forms using Cloudflare Turnstile.

Configuration:

• Field Type: Text input (50 characters)
• Required: Must be configured for contact forms to function
• Get Key: Visit Cloudflare Turnstile Dashboard
• Type: Site key (public key)

Features Enabled:

• Bot protection on contact forms
• Spam prevention
• User verification without CAPTCHA complexity

Cloudflare Turnstile Secret Key

Purpose: Server-side verification of Turnstile tokens.

Configuration:

• Field Type: Password input (50 characters)
• Required: Must be configured for contact forms to function
• Security: Stored securely in database
• Type: Secret key (private key)

Technical Details:

• Used for server-side token verification
• Never exposed to frontend
• Required for form processing

Contact Form Recipient Email

Purpose: Sets the email address where contact form submissions are sent.

Configuration:

• Field Type: Email input
• Default: Site admin email (admin_email option)
• Validation: Must be valid email format
• Required: Must be configured for contact forms

Email Features:

• Receives formatted contact form submissions
• Includes submitter details and message
• Timestamp and IP address for moderation

Send Copy to Submitter

Purpose: Controls whether confirmation emails are sent to form submitters.

Configuration:

• Field Type: Checkbox
• Default: Unchecked (no copy sent)
• Optional: Can be enabled per site preference

Email Content:

• Thank you message from site
• Copy of submitted message
• Professional confirmation format

Theme Functionality Settings

Disable Recipe Functionality

Purpose: Converts the theme from recipe-focused to universal blog theme.

Configuration:

• Field Type: Checkbox
• Default: Unchecked (recipes enabled)
• Effect: When enabled, completely disables all recipe-related features

When Recipes Disabled:

• Recipe post type becomes inaccessible in admin
• Recipe-specific templates and widgets hidden
• Default 5-star rating system disabled
• User rating system disabled
• Embedded Schema.org recipe markup removed
• Recipe filtering removed from archives
• Random recipe functionality redirects to random posts
• Theme operates as standard blog

When Recipes Enabled (Default):

• Full recipe post type functionality
• Recipe ratings and reviews
• Embedded Schema.org structured data
• Recipe-specific templates
• Recipe filtering in archives and search

Settings Validation

The theme includes built-in validation for all settings:

IndexNow API Key Validation

• Must be exactly 32 characters
• Must contain only hexadecimal characters (a-f, 0-9)
• Invalid keys display error message and revert to previous value

Input Sanitization

• All text fields sanitized with sanitize_text_field()
• Checkbox values validated as boolean
• API keys stored securely in database options

Settings Storage

All settings are stored as WordPress options:

• sarai_chinwag_indexnow_key
• sarai_chinwag_google_fonts_api_key
• sarai_chinwag_pinterest_username
• sarai_chinwag_disable_recipes

Helper Functions

Check Recipe Status

sarai_chinwag_recipes_disabled()

Returns true if recipes are disabled, false if enabled. Use this function in custom code to conditionally show recipe-related features.

Settings Impact

Changes to these settings affect:

Google Fonts API Key:

• WordPress Customizer typography options
• Frontend font loading
• Editor font integration

Pinterest Username:

• Sidebar widget display
• Image save button functionality
• Social media integration

Recipe Toggle:

• Post type registration
• Template availability
• Archive filtering options
• Random content routing

Troubleshooting

Google Fonts Not Loading:

1. Verify API key is correctly entered
2. Check API key has proper permissions
3. Ensure WordPress site can make external HTTP requests

IndexNow Not Working:

1. Confirm key format (32 hexadecimal characters)
2. Verify key is registered with search engine
3. Check for plugin conflicts with indexing

Recipe Toggle Issues:

• Changes take effect immediately
• Existing recipe posts remain accessible via direct URL when disabled
• Re-enabling recipes restores full functionality

Contact Form Usage

Embedding Contact Forms

Shortcode: Use [sarai_contact_form] to embed contact forms in any page or post Automatic Loading: Scripts and styles load only when shortcode is present Multiple Forms: Can use multiple contact forms on different pages

Form Configuration Requirements

Turnstile Setup: Both site key and secret key must be configured Email Settings: Recipient email must be set Testing: Test forms after configuration to ensure proper functionality

Troubleshooting Contact Forms

Form Not Loading:

1. Verify Turnstile keys are configured
2. Check that shortcode is properly formatted
3. Ensure page is published and accessible

Emails Not Sending:

1. Verify recipient email is configured
2. Check WordPress email configuration
3. Review server email logs

Turnstile Errors:

1. Confirm both site and secret keys are correct
2. Check Turnstile dashboard for key status
3. Verify domain configuration in Turnstile

AJAX Issues:

1. Check browser console for JavaScript errors
2. Verify nonce generation and validation
3. Test with different browsers