How to Install and Customize the Solo Theme in Drupal 10

Ready to build your Drupal 10 site with Solo? Whether you’re creating a blog, portfolio, or corporate website, Solo makes it easy to customize your site’s layout, colors, and menus — all without writing code. This step-by-step guide will show you how to install and customize Solo, so you can go from fresh install to polished design in no time.

Step 1: Install Solo Theme

The recommended way to install Solo is via Composer. This ensures all dependencies are handled correctly. Run this command from your project’s root folder:

composer require drupal/solo

Once installed, visit Appearance in the Drupal admin, and you’ll see Solo listed. Click Install and set as default to activate the theme for your site.

Step 2: Clear Cache

Whenever you install a new theme, clearing cache helps ensure everything displays correctly. Run this:

drush cr

Or clear cache through the Drupal UI at Configuration > Performance.

Step 3: Explore Solo’s Layout and Regions

With Solo active, you can go to Structure > Block Layout to see all 24 available regions. These include flexible areas for headers, footers, sidebars, and content blocks — giving you complete control over your site’s structure.

Step 4: Customize Colors to Match Your Brand

One of Solo’s standout features is its per-region color options. Visit Appearance > Settings > Solo to access these controls. You can set up to 15 color fields per region, including:

• Background color
• Text color
• Link colors (normal & hover)
• Button styles
• Region borders

These settings make it easy to match Solo’s design to your brand colors — no custom CSS required.

Step 5: Set Up Your Navigation Menus

Solo includes both a main menu (for your primary navigation) and an optional sidebar menu, which is useful for larger sites or documentation sections.

1. Go to Structure > Menus and add your links.
2. Visit Structure > Block Layout and place the menus into the Primary Menu or Primary Sidebar Menu regions.
3. Customize the appearance of these menus under Appearance > Settings > Solo.

Step 6: Choose Your Layout Style

Solo gives you flexible layout options for each page. Whether you want a two-column, three-column, or full-width layout, you can set it per content type or even per individual page. This is perfect for creating special landing pages or adjusting layout for long-form content.

Step 7: Fine-Tune Header & Footer Settings

The header and footer areas in Solo are fully customizable. You can:

• Set custom logos and site name styles
• Change the header layout (logo centered, left-aligned, etc.)
• Customize the footer menu and copyright text

Step 8: Add a Predefined Color Scheme (Optional)

If you want to skip manual color picking, Solo includes 50 predefined color schemes you can apply with a single click. You’ll find these under Appearance > Settings > Solo.

Step 9: Test Your Site on All Devices

Before you launch, check how your site looks on desktop, tablet, and phone. Solo’s responsive design handles this automatically, but it’s always a good idea to preview and tweak as needed — especially if you added custom blocks or views.

Solo Makes Theming Easy for Everyone

With Solo, you get the flexibility to create professional designs without coding, and the simplicity to manage your design directly from the Drupal admin. Whether you’re a site builder, content editor, or developer, Solo adapts to your workflow.

Ready to Get Started?

Download Solo now and start building your Drupal 10 site today.