=== ShopMarkaz Lite ===
Contributors: shopmarkaz
Requires at least: 6.4
Tested up to: 7.1
Requires PHP: 7.4
Stable tag: 1.9.6
License: GNU General Public License v2 or later
License URI: https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.html

A responsive WooCommerce-ready theme for online stores, blogs, and business websites.

== Description ==

ShopMarkaz Lite is a classic WordPress theme focused on presentation, responsive layouts, accessible navigation, and WooCommerce compatibility. It includes Customizer controls for colors, header presentation, front-page text, blog layout, and footer presentation.

The theme works without WooCommerce. When WooCommerce is active, ShopMarkaz Lite styles product archives, single products, cart, checkout, customer account screens, and product search. A dedicated Shop Sidebar widget area can be used for WooCommerce navigation and filter widgets.

ShopMarkaz Lite does not import demo content, install plugins automatically, track users, or contact external services.

== Installation ==

1. Upload the ShopMarkaz Lite theme ZIP from Appearance > Themes > Add New > Upload Theme.
2. Activate the theme.
3. Open Appearance > Customize to configure the theme presentation.
4. Assign a Primary Menu from Appearance > Menus.
5. Add widgets to Sidebar, Shop Sidebar, or Footer widget areas as needed.

== Frequently Asked Questions ==

= Does ShopMarkaz Lite require WooCommerce? =

No. The theme works as a standard WordPress blog or business theme. WooCommerce is optional.

= How do I add shop filters? =

When WooCommerce is active, add compatible WooCommerce navigation or filter widgets to the Shop Sidebar widget area from Appearance > Widgets.

= Is there a commercial edition? =

Yes. The theme author offers a commercial edition with additional design options and support. ShopMarkaz Lite remains usable on its own. The commercial edition is distributed under GPL-compatible terms.

== Changelog ==

= 1.9.6 =
* Added a ShopMarkaz Lite dashboard under Appearance with setup shortcuts and a clear Lite versus commercial-edition comparison.
* Added a lightweight admin-only stylesheet for the theme information screen.
* Luxury storefront presentation with refined hero, category showcase, product cards, and updated theme screenshot.
* Refined the front page into a premium marketplace-style WooCommerce presentation.
* Added a category-led hero, storefront highlights, responsive product showcase, and polished catalog cards.
* Updated the default navy-and-gold visual system while preserving Customizer color controls.
* Preserved the approved mobile keyboard-navigation behavior from version 1.9.5.
* Updated the WordPress.org screenshot to better represent the theme's storefront capabilities.

= 1.9.5 =
* Removed hidden mobile navigation controls and links from the keyboard tab order while the menu is closed.
* Restored each menu item's original tabindex only when the mobile navigation is opened.
* Preserved the mobile menu focus loop, Escape-key closing, and focus return to the menu toggle.

= 1.9.4 =
* Improved mobile keyboard navigation so hidden menu links cannot receive focus while the menu is closed.
* Moved the mobile menu toggle directly after site branding in keyboard order.
* Added a continuous focus loop between the menu toggle and visible menu links while the mobile menu is open.
* Added Escape-key closing with focus returned to the menu toggle.

= 1.9.3 =
* Reformatted style.css into readable, unminified source form for WordPress.org review requirements.
* Added Calendar widget table styling for sidebar and footer widget areas.
* Improved muted text contrast to meet WCAG AA for normal-size text.
* Removed the duplicate front-page H1 by using an H2 for the latest-posts heading.
* Added missing translator comments for placeholder strings.
* Prefixed remaining front-page template variables with the theme slug.
* Updated WordPress tested-up-to metadata to 7.1.

= 1.9.2 =
* Escaped site-title and dynamic layout-class output.
* Hid WooCommerce-specific Customizer controls and Shop Sidebar when WooCommerce is inactive.
* Added broader Theme Unit Test styling for core content, galleries, captions, forms, comments, alignments, tables, and navigation.
* Prefixed theme-owned structural CSS classes to reduce collisions.
* Replaced legacy JavaScript var declarations with const.
* Added a blog post-meta visibility option and prevented empty sidebar layout gaps.
* Moved Customizer CSS to wp_add_inline_style().
* Added this Upgrade Notice section and updated release metadata.

= 1.9.1 =
* Added threaded-comment reply script support when WordPress threaded comments are enabled.
* Added post tag output on single blog posts.
* Added a lightweight core Group block style and a simple core-block pattern.
* Removed the optional front-end theme credit link and unused Theme URI to reduce submission ambiguity.
* Re-audited translation, escaping, WooCommerce presentation hooks, admin onboarding, and bundled resources.

= 1.9.0 =
* Prepared a WordPress.org-focused release candidate.
* Removed contact-form and shortcode functionality from the theme.
* Removed private companion-plugin recommendations and integrations.
* Replaced the custom top-level admin dashboard with a simple Appearance sub-page.
* Removed demo imports, remote calls, AJAX catalog loading, and unverified bundled catalog photographs.
* Updated the front page to respect Settings > Reading and display user/site content.
* Added a dedicated Shop Sidebar widget area for WooCommerce archive presentation.
* Set WooCommerce catalog defaults to five columns and 30 products per page on desktop.
* Simplified activation onboarding and commercial-edition information.
* Updated metadata for WordPress 7.0 compatibility.

= 1.8.0 =
* Previous development release.

== Resources ==

ShopMarkaz Lite theme code and design, Copyright 2026 ShopMarkaz Digital.
License: GNU General Public License v2 or later.
https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.html

screenshot.png is an original representation of the ShopMarkaz Lite theme created for this project by ShopMarkaz Digital.
License: GNU General Public License v2 or later.

No third-party fonts, image libraries, JavaScript libraries, or remote assets are bundled with this release.

== Upgrade Notice ==

= 1.9.3 =
This update provides readable CSS source, Calendar widget styling, improved text contrast, heading-structure refinements, translator context, and namespace cleanup.

= 1.9.2 =
This update improves output escaping, WooCommerce-aware settings, layout reliability, JavaScript declarations, CSS namespacing, and WordPress Theme Unit Test presentation.
