> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.themeupstudio.com/crimson/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.themeupstudio.com/crimson/custom-settings/overview.md).

# Overview

<code class="expression">space.vars.THEME\_NAME</code> gives you **two ways** to control how the theme looks and behaves:

1. **Ghost Admin Custom Settings (Design settings)**\
   Accessible in Ghost Admin under: **Settings → Design & branding → Customize** \
   These are “no-code” settings for your **brand**, **site-wide styling**, **homepage layout**, and **post layout defaults**.
2. **Advanced settings (Multilingual + JavaScript variables)**

* **Multilingual Features** are controlled via dedicated theme settings (and also work together with optional browser-locale redirect behavior).
* **Global JavaScript Variables** can be overridden using **Code Injection → Site Header**, allowing you to control theme behaviors like light-box, auto-hide header, pagination style, contact form endpoint, and social icons. A detailed guide is explained in [Code Injection](/crimson/getting-started/code-injection.md) and [Code Injection Variables](/crimson/getting-started/code-injection-variables.md).

#### Before you start

* Make sure the <code class="expression">space.vars.THEME\_NAME</code> theme is **active**.
* After changing settings, always click **Save** in Ghost Admin (and refresh your site in a new tab).
* If you use caching (CDN/Cloudflare/browser cache), clear cache when changes don’t appear immediately.
* Ensure you have followed the steps to [Upload routes.yaml file](/crimson/getting-started/upload-routes.yaml-file.md) and also have [Code Injection](/crimson/getting-started/code-injection.md) ready as explained under [Getting Started](/crimson/getting-started/quickstart.md).

#### What to configure first (recommended order)

1. **Brand settings** (accent color, logos, typography)
2. **Site-wide Settings** (fonts, dark mode logo/accent, header behavior)
3. **Homepage Settings** (carousel + 3-column hero + tag sections)
4. **Post Settings** (default post template layout)
5. **Multilingual** (if your site is multilingual)
6. **Global JavaScript Variables** (only if you need advanced behavior overrides)

We will go through all these settings in the coming sections.