// WELCOME

Operations Hub

Your complete guide to running grmscientific.ca. Everything in one place.


Site Live — grmscientific.ca
500+
Products
4
Main Categories
5
Live Pages
2
Languages

Tech Stack

🏗

WordPress

Core CMS. All content, users, and admin dashboard.

🛒

WooCommerce

All products, categories, and the shop system.

⚡

Elementor

Visual builder for homepage and content pages.

🎨

Medicalequipment Theme

Custom WooCommerce theme with widgets.

Live Pages

🏠
Homepage
grmscientific.ca/
📦
Products
grmscientific.ca/products/
👥
About Us
grmscientific.ca/about-us/
🔧
Service
grmscientific.ca/service/
💌
Contact Us
grmscientific.ca/contact-us/
⚙
WP Admin
grmscientific.ca/wp-admin/
ℹ
Use the left sidebar to navigate sections. New to the site? Start with Admin Access.
// 01 — ADMIN

Admin Access

Logging in and navigating the WordPress dashboard.

🔗
Admin URL: grmscientific.ca/wp-admin/ — Bookmark it. Log in with your WordPress credentials.

Key Menu Paths

TaskWhere to GoNotes
Add a productProducts → Add NewOr CSV Import for bulk
Edit a productProducts → All ProductsSearch by name or SKU
Manage categoriesProducts → CategoriesSet parent, image, description
Bulk importProducts → ImportCSV format required
Edit Elementor pagesPages → Edit with ElementorHomepage, About, Service, Contact
Edit footerAppearance → WidgetsFooter 1–4 areas
Custom code snippetsWPCode → Code Snippets⚠ Handle carefully
Purge cacheLiteSpeed → Purge AllAfter major changes
Translate pageAdmin bar → Translate PageFrench Canada
Edit hero sliderSlider RevolutionHomepage only
⚠
After logging in, make sure WooCommerce Site Visibility is set to Live: WooCommerce → Settings → Site Visibility.
// 02 — PRODUCTS

Managing Products

Add, edit, and import products. The backbone of the website.

Adding a Single Product

1

Products → Add New

From the admin sidebar, hover Products and click Add New.

2

Add Title and Description

Product name at the top. Full description in the main editor. Short description (1–2 sentences) in the right panel — this shows on listing pages.

3

Set Product Data

In the Product Data box below the editor, set type to Simple product. Price is optional unless displaying it.

4

Assign Category and Brand

Right panel → Product Categories. Check the most specific subcategory (e.g. "Autoclaves", not "Food & Beverage"). Also assign a Brand if known.

⚠
Always pick the deepest subcategory. This powers sidebar navigation, breadcrumbs, and category pages.

5

Add Product Image

Right panel → Set product image. Minimum 600×600px. White or transparent background preferred.

6

Publish

Blue Publish button top-right. Product appears immediately. If it doesn't show, purge LiteSpeed Cache.

Bulk Import via CSV

1
Prepare CSV
Format manufacturer data
2
Products → Import
Upload the file
3
Map Columns
Match to WooCommerce fields
4
Run Import
Click Run Importer
5
Purge Cache
LiteSpeed → Purge All
📋
Required CSV columns: Name Description Short description Categories Images
Categories format: Food & Beverage > Autoclaves
// 03 — CATEGORIES

Category Structure

The category tree powers sidebar navigation, breadcrumbs, and the products page grid.

🚨
Critical: Any new top-level category automatically appears as a big box on /products/. Always upload a high-quality image before creating one.

Current Category Tree

📁

Food & Beverage

Autoclaves · Baths · Centrifuges · Furnaces, Ovens, Stoves · Gel Timers · Heating Blankets · Industrial Viscometers · Refrigerated Cabinets · Rheometers · Scales · Texture Analyzers · Viscometers & Rheometers + sub-subcategories

📁

Educational Equipment

Fluid Dynamics · Food Processing · Pipettes

📁

Material Testing

Concrete · Hardness Testers (Brinell, Rockwell, Universal, Vickers + Calibration Sets)

📁

Pharmaceutical Lab Equipment

In progress — being built out

Adding a New Category

1

Products → Categories

Add New form on the left. Full list on the right.

2

Set Name, Parent, and Image

Name = display name. Parent = select parent or None for top-level. Image = always required. Landscape 800×500px minimum for top-level.

3

Add New Category

Appears on the site immediately. Top-level = big box on /products/ page. All categories appear in left sidebar when browsing.

💡
The homepage Shop By Categories belt auto-updates when subcategories have images. It shows subcategories only, not top-level categories.
// 04 — PAGES

Pages & Footer

Which pages use Elementor, which don't, and how to edit the footer.

Editable with Elementor

  • ✓
    Homepage (slider, sections, about preview)
  • ✓
    About Us
  • ✓
    Service
  • ✓
    Contact Us

NOT Editable with Elementor

  • ✗
    /products/ — Custom PHP template
  • ✗
    Individual product pages — WooCommerce
  • ✗
    Category archive pages — Custom PHP
  • ✗
    Search results — Custom PHP
✎
Pages → All Pages → hover → Edit with Elementor → make changes → green Update button bottom-left.

Footer Areas

AreaContentEdit Location
Footer 1GRM LogoAppearance → Widgets → Footer 1
Footer 2Pages navigation menuAppearance → Widgets → Footer 2
Footer 3Useful Links menuAppearance → Widgets → Footer 3
Footer 4Contact Info (address, phone, email)Appearance → Widgets → Footer 4 → Medicalequipment Contact Info widget
⚠
The footer address has a custom JS snippet forcing line breaks. If you change the address, also update it in WPCode → "Untitled Snippet" (footer address).
// 05 — MEDIA

Images & Media

Image specs and upload locations for every image type on the site.

📷

Product Images

Square or portrait. Min 600×600px. White/transparent background. JPG or PNG.

📁

Category Images

Landscape. Min 800×500px. Shows on /products/ grid and homepage belt.

🏷

Brand Logos

PNG with transparent background. Upload via Products → Brands.

Upload Locations

Image TypeWhere to Upload
Product imageProduct edit page → right panel → "Set product image"
Product galleryProduct edit page → right panel → "Product gallery"
Category imageProducts → Categories → Edit → scroll to bottom
Brand imageProducts → Brands → Edit Brand
General mediaMedia → Add New
⚠
After uploading many images: LiteSpeed Cache → Purge All to ensure visitors see fresh content.
// 06 — PLUGINS

Installed Plugins

Critical plugins that power the site. Do not deactivate without understanding the impact.

🚨
Never deactivate WooCommerce, Elementor, or WPCode — this immediately breaks large portions of the site.
🛒
WooCommerce Critical
All products, categories, brands, and the shop system.
⚡
Elementor Critical
Visual page builder for homepage, about, service, contact.
📝
WPCode Critical
All custom code snippets. Many features depend on these.
🚀
LiteSpeed Cache Important
Site speed. Purge after major content changes.
🎬
Slider Revolution Important
Homepage hero slider.
🏷
Perfect WooCommerce Brands Important
Brand taxonomy. Powers /brands/[name]/ pages.
💬
Contact Form 7 Important
Contact form. Emails go to Sales@GRMScientific.ca.
🌐
TranslatePress Translation
French Canada. Click "Translate Page" in admin bar.
// 07 — CODE

Custom Code

Where all custom CSS, JS, and PHP lives. Handle with care.

Where Code Lives

TypeLocationRisk
Main CSSAppearance → Customize → Additional CSSLow
JS / PHP / CSS SnippetsWPCode → Code SnippetsMedium
Theme PHP filesAppearance → Theme File EditorHigh

WPCode Snippets Reference

SnippetTypePurpose
Main Category Belt homepagePHPScrolling category carousel on homepage via shortcode [grm_category_belt]
Search Bar JSJSFixes search results page grid layout and width
Search Bar DesignCSSStyles the search result product cards
GRM About usJSAdds G/R/M tagline under About Us hexagon
Arrows For Dropdown on ShopJSCategory sidebar expand/collapse arrows
Untitled Snippet (footer)JSForces line breaks in footer address

Key Theme Files

FileControls
woocommerce/archive-product.phpThe /products/ page category grid
woocommerce/taxonomy-product_cat.phpCategory pages — left sidebar + subcategory grid
woocommerce/medicalequipment-woocommerce-function.phpProduct page breadcrumbs with full category path
vendor/include/medicalequipment-core-library.phpSearch page + breadcrumb functions
🚨
White screen after editing PHP = syntax error. Go back to the file and look for missing ; semicolons or } closing braces.
// 08 — MAINTENANCE

Maintenance

Regular tasks to keep the site healthy, fast, and working.

After Every Major Update

  • □
    Purge LiteSpeed Cache
  • □
    Check homepage loads
  • □
    Check /products/ page loads
  • □
    Check one product page
  • □
    Test the contact form
  • □
    Check on mobile

Monthly Tasks

  • □
    Update WordPress core
  • □
    Update plugins (check for conflicts)
  • □
    Check for broken product images
  • □
    Review contact form submissions
  • □
    Test site on mobile

If Something Breaks

1

Check what you last changed

Plugin update? Theme file edit? WPCode snippet activated? Undo that change first.

2

White screen or 500 error

PHP syntax error in a theme file or WPCode snippet. Check Appearance → Theme File Editor → the last file you edited. Missing semicolons or closing braces.

3

CSS not updating

LiteSpeed Cache → Purge All. Then Ctrl+Shift+R (hard refresh) in browser.

4

Contact Johnny @ JHNY.ME

For complex issues: screenshot + description of what changed before the issue started.

// 09 — RULES

Golden Rules

Non-negotiables for keeping the site stable and professional.

Always Do

✅

Always add a category image

Every category needs a high-quality image. No image = placeholder box on the website. Critical for top-level categories.

✅

Assign products to the most specific subcategory

Don't check "Food & Beverage" — check "Autoclaves" or "Baths". This powers the left sidebar, breadcrumbs, and category pages correctly.

✅

Purge cache after significant changes

LiteSpeed Cache → Purge All after bulk imports, category changes, or theme file edits.

✅

Test on mobile after major changes

The site has specific mobile styling. Always check how changes look on a phone.

Never Do

🚫

Don't edit theme PHP files without a backup

archive-product.php and taxonomy-product_cat.php are custom-built. Copy the original before editing. A typo breaks the whole site.

🚫

Don't deactivate WPCode snippets randomly

Category dropdown, search grid, GRM tagline, and footer address formatting are all WPCode-powered. Turning them off breaks those features.

🚫

Don't delete core plugins

WooCommerce, Elementor, and WPCode are essential. Removing them immediately breaks the site.

🚫

Don't update plugins blindly

Check the site immediately after any plugin update. If something breaks, roll back the update.

Need Help?
This guide was built by Johnny at JHNY.ME. For complex changes or if something breaks beyond this guide — reach out.
Visit JHNY.ME →
// 10 — SITEMAP

Site Map

All important URLs and admin shortcuts in one place.

Frontend URLs

🏠
Homepage
grmscientific.ca/
📦
Products
grmscientific.ca/products/
👥
About Us
grmscientific.ca/about-us/
🔧
Service
grmscientific.ca/service/
💌
Contact Us
grmscientific.ca/contact-us/

Admin Shortcuts

⚙
WP Dashboard
/wp-admin/
📦
All Products
/wp-admin/ Products
🧹
Widgets (Footer)
/wp-admin/widgets.php
💻
WPCode Snippets
/wp-admin/ WPCode
🎨
Customizer (CSS)
/wp-admin/customize.php
🚀
LiteSpeed Cache
/wp-admin/ LiteSpeed