Aspen
Classic top-nav layout. Works well for traditional day-camp and overnight-camp brands that want a familiar shape.
Themes built by Big Marlin Group. Need marketing or hosting services? Reach out anytime.
Find Out MoreThemes built by Big Marlin Group. Need marketing or hosting services? Reach out anytime.
Find Out MoreInstall guide · 30 minutes
A simple walkthrough for YMCA staff to install a YUSA Camp Theme on a new WordPress site. No developer needed, just WordPress admin access and a few minutes for each step.
Themes built by Big Marlin Group, the team behind digital experiences for YMCAs across the country. From reliable hosting to full-service marketing support, we help camps launch faster, stay secure, and reach more families year-round.
Questions about website management, performance, or growing your camp’s visibility? We’re here to help.
Find Out MoreStart here
Three block themes, one shared system. They install the same way and switch palettes the same way. The difference is the layout style and editorial tone each one is designed for. Pick what matches your camp's voice.
Classic top-nav layout. Works well for traditional day-camp and overnight-camp brands that want a familiar shape.
Same chrome as Aspen but ships with a water-and-sky-inspired default palette. Good fit for waterfront camps and aquatics programs.
Adds a persistent left rail with location nav. Built for camps that publish many sub-pages or run multiple program tracks.
No build step
Each theme ships as a single signed .zip that uploads directly to WordPress. Pick the one you chose in Phase 1. You can always download another later.
Six steps, one upload
Follow the path through wp-admin. Each step lists the menu trail you'll see in the dashboard. Copy the path if it helps you keep your place.
You need the administrator role to upload themes. Editor and Author roles can't install themes. If you only see Posts and Pages in your sidebar, ask your site admin for access.
https://<your-site>.org/wp-admin
From the dashboard sidebar, drill into Appearance and pick Themes. Then click the "Add New" button at the top, then "Upload Theme". The upload pane will slide open.
wp-admin → Appearance → Themes → Add New → Upload Theme
Choose the file from Phase 2 (the unmodified .zip, do not unzip it first). Click "Install Now". WordPress will upload, verify, and unpack the theme in about 10 seconds.
Choose File → aspen.zip → Install Now
Once the upload completes, WordPress shows a success screen with three links. Click "Activate" to make the theme live on your site. You'll be returned to the Themes screen with the new theme marked active.
Theme installed successfully → Activate
After activation, WordPress automatically drops you on the Y-USA Theme Help Setup tab. This screen includes an “Install Theme Pages” button that automatically creates the theme’s prebuilt pages, including the homepage, locations, about, contact, FAQs, careers, donate, and more. It also includes a user guide with recommended plugins and usage instructions.
wp-admin/admin.php?page=yusa-theme-help&tab=setup
The same Theme Help screen also lists recommended plugins for camp use cases (events, donations, forms) and usage instructions walking through how the prebuilt patterns are wired. Worth a slow read before you start customizing.
Open your site in a new tab. You should see the YUSA template hero with the default green palette and the auto-generated pages in your nav. If a banner asks you to re-save permalinks, do it once. That flushes WordPress's rewrite cache and locks in the new theme's URL structure.
Visit Site → verify hero renders → Settings → Permalinks → Save
Two dropdowns, full repaint
All palette and typography choices live in one place: the BMG Theme Options panel. Open it via the Theme item in the wp-admin sidebar, pick from the dropdowns, save. The whole site repaints.
What the Color Palette dropdown shows:
In the wp-admin sidebar, click the Theme item (the leaf icon). The panel has just two controls: Color Palette (dropdown with five named swatches) and Font Family (Cachet is the default and the brand-approved choice).
wp-admin/admin.php?page=bmg-theme-options
Pick what fits the camp's brand, click Save Changes, and the entire site repaints: buttons, headings, accents, filters, and the Y-mark logo all swap to the matched variant. No rebuild, no cache flush.
All five complete
Theme active, palette saved, permalinks flushed. The site is now ready for content. From here, edit pages in the block editor, drop in patterns, and replace placeholder copy with your camp's voice.
Download user guides ↓