Customizing Portal Branding and Shell

Change colors, type, radii, shell layout, sidebar CTA content, and menu item labels so the portal actually feels like yours.

The portal has its own shell settings. That is a good thing. Your site theme and your client portal are not trying to fight each other.

Client dashboard example — Branding decisions matter because this is the screen your client actually returns to throughout the project.

Where Branding Lives

Portal Foundation stores theme colors, typography, shell sizing, radius values, and menu items. Those values are sanitized and saved as the plugin’s portal foundation settings.

What You Can Control

Theme colors
Status pill colors
Heading, body, and button font stacks
Base font size and font weights
Sidebar width and topbar height
Global, card, input, and pill radius
Brand text and logo URL
Sidebar CTA text and link
Support CTA heading, body, button text, and image
Menu item labels, icons, order, and visibility

Best Practice Setup

Use one strong primary color for buttons and active states.
Keep status colors readable. Green, yellow, red, and blue work well.
Do not over-round everything if your main brand is sharp and editorial.
Keep the sidebar CTA focused on one action only.
Use real brand text, not placeholder slogans.

Menu Items

Mankai stores shell menu items as a structured list. You can reorder them, rename them, hide unused entries, and keep the ones your clients actually need. This is one of the fastest ways to make the portal feel calmer.

Support CTA and Sidebar CTA

If you use these blocks, keep them practical:

Support CTA: direct people to email, support form, or a help page
Sidebar CTA: direct people to your next action, such as booking or billing

What Not to Do

Do not use six accent colors.
Do not rename every menu item into clever brand language that clients will not understand.
Do not hide billing, documents, or support if clients still need those areas.

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