---
title: "Installing Visual Portfolio plugin"
date: 2022-08-22
author: "nK"
---

# Installing Visual Portfolio plugin

## From the WordPress plugin directory

1. In your dashboard go to **Plugins → Add New**.
2. Search for **Visual Portfolio**.
3. Click **Install Now**, then **Activate**.

![](https://staging.visualportfolio.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Shot-2024-07-11-at-13.01.38-1024x563.png)![](https://staging.visualportfolio.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Shot-2024-07-11-at-13.01.38-1024x563.png)    ## From a ZIP file

1. Download the plugin from <https://wordpress.org/plugins/visual-portfolio/>.
2. Go to **Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin**.
3. Choose the file, click **Install Now**, then **Activate**.

![](https://staging.visualportfolio.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Shot-2024-07-11-at-13.03.37-1024x477.png)![](https://staging.visualportfolio.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Shot-2024-07-11-at-13.03.37-1024x477.png)    ## After activation

![](https://staging.visualportfolio.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Shot-2024-07-11-at-13.05.58-1024x485.png)![](https://staging.visualportfolio.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Shot-2024-07-11-at-13.05.58-1024x485.png)    The plugin opens a welcome screen once. It also:

- adds the **Visual Portfolio** menu with Projects, Categories, Tags, Saved Layouts, Settings and Documentation;
- registers the **Project** post type with Portfolio Categories and Portfolio Tags;
- creates a page named **Portfolio** (slug `portfolio`) that lists your projects, and sets it as the Archive Page in [Settings → General](https://staging.visualportfolio.com/docs/settings/general/);
- adds two roles, **Portfolio Manager** and **Portfolio Author** (see [Roles and capabilities](https://staging.visualportfolio.com/docs/projects/roles-and-capabilities/));
- uploads a placeholder image to `wp-content/uploads/visual-portfolio/placeholder.png`, used for items without an image;
- flushes the permalink rules so `/portfolio/…` URLs work.

If you only want photo galleries and no Project post type, switch off **Register Portfolio Post Type** in [Settings → General](https://staging.visualportfolio.com/docs/settings/general/). The menu then moves to a top-level Visual Portfolio entry with Saved Layouts and Settings.

## Verify

Open **Visual Portfolio → Settings**. Edit a page, add a block and search for “Visual Portfolio”: the block appears in the Media category, together with one variation per layout.

Next: [Quick Start](https://staging.visualportfolio.com/docs/getting-started/quick-start/).