Choose Off, Set up once (Seed), or Keep synced when publishing an Elementor project, and understand how flowmo maps resolved tokens and primitives into Elementor Global Colors, Global Fonts, Theme Style, breakpoints, and native controls.
Where: Publish → WordPress/Elementor → content and design-system options
Key ideas
- Off: Do not send the design-system bridge. Use this when WordPress/Elementor must remain the only authority for site styling.
- Set up once (Seed): The default. Write the kit when flowmo has not written one yet, then compare the live site with the snapshot from the previous flowmo write and leave client-edited values alone.
- Keep synced: Make the flowmo canvas authoritative. Each publish replaces the mapped colors, typography, layout, links, buttons, form fields, images, and other supported values, including edits made later in WordPress.
- Native Elementor values: The exporter reads the project’s resolved CSS, resolves token chains, and creates Elementor kit/global values plus widget controls so native Elementor widgets can show and edit those values in their own panels.
Steps
- Set the WordPress project/export mode to Elementor and open the Publish menu.
- Open the content/design-system options even when there are no CMS collections or when content publishing is disabled.
- Choose Off, Set up once, or Keep synced according to which product should own later design changes.
- Review the publish plan: Seed should skip values changed on WordPress, while Sync explicitly warns that it will replace them.
- Publish only to a staging Elementor site first, then verify Global Colors, Global Fonts, Theme Style, native widget controls, responsive breakpoints, and front-end CSS before using the bridge on a live site.
What is mapped
- System and custom colors.
- Named typography globals and fluid clamp() values.
- Theme Style for body, headings, links, buttons, form fields, and images.
- Viewports and container width.
- Primitive properties exposed as native controls where possible; uncommon properties fall back to a raw text control rather than disappearing.
How Seed protects WordPress edits
The exporter stamps a snapshot of only the values flowmo wrote. On the next publish, Seed compares the live kit with that old snapshot—not with the new canvas—so a genuine client edit is distinguishable from a new design-system change in flowmo.
Limitations and important notes
- The exporter currently generates the kit payload, PHP endpoints, and seed/sync decision logic, but the final publish-side GET/POST call that applies the kit is not wired in this source.
- The generated PHP is syntax-tested but has not yet been verified against a real WordPress/Elementor installation; Elementor control keys can change between major versions.
- A parse failure skips the styling bridge rather than failing the whole site export.
Troubleshooting
The design-system controls are not visible
Confirm the export mode is Elementor. The design-system section is intentionally hidden for non-Elementor WordPress exports.
Seed says WordPress changed the design system
Review the named diverged groups. Choose Keep synced only when replacing those client edits is intentional.
The generated theme contains the bridge but the live kit is unchanged
The final remote kit request is not wired yet; treat the current feature as an export/publish contract under integration, not a verified end-to-end write.