FICTBASE Documentation

Installation

Requirements

• WordPress 6.3+
• PHP 8.1+
• MySQL 5.7+ / MariaDB 10.4+

Step 1: Download the plugin

Download the latest fictbase.zip from the WordPress.org plugin directory or from your customer portal.

Step 2: Upload and activate

1. In your WordPress admin, go to Plugins → Add New Plugin
2. Click Upload Plugin and select the zip file
3. Click Install Now, then Activate

FICTBASE creates its database tables automatically on activation.

Step 3: Start writing

After activation, the FICTBASE menu appears in your WordPress admin sidebar. Go to FICTBASE → Stories → Add New to create your first story.

Create a Story

1. Go to FICTBASE → Stories → Add New
2. Enter the Title
3. Write a Description (shown on the story landing page)
4. Upload a Cover Image (optional, but recommended)
5. Choose a Genre and Status (Draft / Ongoing / Completed / Hiatus)
6. Click Create Story

Your story is now accessible at /story/your-story-slug/. Readers can discover it via the [fictbase_list] shortcode.

Add Chapters

1. Open a story and click Manage Chapters
2. Click Add Chapter
3. Enter a Title
4. Write the Content using the full TinyMCE editor
5. Set Status to Published when ready to go live
6. Click Add Chapter

Word count and estimated read time are calculated automatically. Chapters are numbered in order of creation. Drag-and-drop reordering coming in a future update.

Import from .docx Pro

If your story is already written in Microsoft Word or Google Docs, you can import it directly without copy-pasting chapter by chapter.

Requirements

• Active FICTBASE Pro license
• Story exported as .docx (Word format), max 10 MB

How to import

1. Go to FICTBASE → Import Story in your WordPress admin
2. Upload your .docx file
3. FICTBASE detects chapters automatically and shows a preview
4. Review and edit chapter titles if needed
5. Fill in the story title, genre, and status
6. Click Import Story to finish

Chapter detection

FICTBASE uses three strategies, in order:

1. Heading styles: paragraphs styled as Heading 1 or Heading 2 in Word become chapter titles
2. Text markers: lines matching “Chapter 1”, “Part I”, “Prologue”, “Epilogue”, etc. become chapter titles
3. Fallback: if no markers are found, the entire document is imported as a single chapter

Tip: For best results, apply Heading 1 style to each chapter title in Word before exporting.

What gets imported

• All chapter titles and body text
• Word count calculated per chapter
• All chapters published immediately (you can unpublish individually afterward)

Images inside the .docx are not imported in v1. Copy-paste images into each chapter editor after import.

Reader URLs

FICTBASE creates clean URLs automatically, no page setup needed:

If the URLs return 404, go to Settings → Permalinks in WordPress and click Save Changesto flush rewrite rules.

Shortcodes

Use these shortcodes on any WordPress page or post:

Find a story's ID in the URL when editing it: ?page=fictbase&action=edit&id=5.

Settings

Go to FICTBASE → Settings to customize the reading experience:

• Font Size: Small / Medium / Large
• Reading Width: Narrow (600px) / Medium (740px) / Wide (900px)
• Theme: Light / Dark / Auto (follows system preference)
• Custom CSS: Add CSS that applies only to the reader pages

Custom CSS Pro

FICTBASE Pro includes a dedicated CSS editor that lets you style any part of your reader experience without touching theme files. Changes apply instantly — no child theme or custom code plugin needed.

Where to find it

Go to FICTBASE → Custom CSSin your WordPress admin. You'll see four separate editors:

Example: change the chapter font

.fb-chapter-content {
  font-family: 'Georgia', serif;
  font-size: 18px;
  line-height: 1.9;
  color: #1a1a2e;
}

Example: style story cards

.fb-story-card {
  border-radius: 12px;
  box-shadow: 0 4px 20px rgba(0,0,0,0.08);
}
.fb-story-card__title {
  font-size: 1.1rem;
  font-weight: 700;
}

Example: dark chapter background

.fb-chapter-content {
  background: #0f0f11;
  color: #e4e4e7;
  padding: 2rem;
  border-radius: 8px;
}

Key selectors

Tip:Use your browser's DevTools (F12 → Inspector) to inspect elements and find the exact class names before writing your CSS.

CSS is scoped to FICTBASE pages only — it won't affect the rest of your WordPress site.

Pro License

1. Purchase a Pro license at fictbase.com/pricing
2. Check your email for the license key (format: FB-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX)
3. In WordPress, go to FICTBASE → License
4. Paste your license key and click Save License Key
5. Pro features activate automatically

Your license is valid for one WordPress installation for one year. Renew via the customer portal.

Changelog

v1.0.0

• Initial release
• Story and chapter CRUD
• TinyMCE chapter editor
• Clean reader URLs
• Reading progress bar
• Prev/next navigation
• Author bio block
• REST API (5 endpoints)
• Light/dark/auto themes
• Font size, reading width, custom CSS settings
• Shortcodes: fictbase_list, fictbase_story, fictbase_chapters