TABLE OF CONTENTS
Please take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with your web software. Here are the first steps:
1. Login to the admin
- The web address (URL) where you can login to your website is always www.yourwebsite.com/a (note that /a at the end). Replace yourwebsite.com with your actual website’s domain name.
- The initial username is admin and the password is valued, both lower case.
- Once logged in, notice that the page is split into the navigation links at top, and below the navigation is the content area where you’ll do the actual work.
- Wherever you see a question mark symbol
, point at it for popup help. - Wherever you see the
icon, click on it to expand or contract that section.
2. Change the admin password.
- Login to the admin, if you’re not already.
- Click on the My Info link at top right.
- Enter your personal information in every field you see then submit the form. Write down your new password somewhere safe.
3. Contact Information.
Go to Website Pages > Company Info and enter your company’s business address.
4. Set up your site’s look.
VISUAL DESIGN TEMPLATE
If you ordered a custom or third party template, ignore this step. Otherwise go to Website Pages > Template Choices and select a template. You can select a different template at any time, and it will take effect immediately.
LOGO
Upload your logo by going to Website Pages > Logo & Sidebar Image and upload a Main Logo and Admin Logo from your hard drive. The logo image should be in JPG format. If you don’t have a logo, see logo options here.
HEADER IMAGE AND OPTIONAL TAGLINE
The header image consists of one or two big pictures that appear in the front end template of your website (whether there’s one or two depends on the template you chose). The tagline is superimposed over one of the header images. Upload your own image and change the tagline in Website Pages > Header Image & Tagline.
FONTS & COLORS
Select the fonts and colors for the front end of your site within Website Pages > Fonts & Colors – Front. Then go intoWebsite Pages > Fonts & Colors – Back to make selections for the admin/staff/contractor backend area.
5. Add staff/contractors.
If there is only one staff member in your company (you), you should still create a Staff Member (this may be called User) account for yourself separate from your admin account.
- Click on People in the main navigation area, then on Manage Staff Members.
- There will be one or more default users listed. Click the Edit link for each, and update the information in the next page, then submit the form.
- If you want to add more staff/contractor accounts, just click the Add New Staff Member button. Each new user will get an email telling them what their username and password is.
Staff/contractors can also add themselves.
6. Add clients.
You can do this step now or wait until later.
- Click on People in the top navigation area, then on Manage Clients. You can then edit or delete existing clients, and to add a new one just click the Add New Client button.
- Fill in the information and submit the form. The client will be sent an email to tell them their username and password. Be sure the client knows they’ll be getting this email, or else it might go straight to their circular file.
Clients can also add themselves from the front-end of the website.
7. Review your website’s content and site options.
Go through all of the options under the Website Pages, Web Marketing, and Site Settings areas and make sure they’re to your liking.
IMPORTANT: Be sure to review the automated emails at Site Settings > Email Messages.
Click on Website Pages > Manage Pages to see a list of the pages that came with your website. Delete any you don’t need, and edit the rest to put in your own unique content.
To add a new page, click the Add New Page button. Fill out the fields as best you can based on their description and the question mark instructions.
Don’t worry too much if you don’t understand everything, and don’t worry about making everything perfect. When you’re done entering your content, Valued Websites can go through every page and spiff it up for you. Or if you prefer, send Valued Websites the content to be input for you.
- How to write website content for maximum search engine effectiveness.
- How to use the website content editor.
9. Summary
- Click on every link in the main navigation to get a sense of what’s available.
- Create some test orders via Orders > Add New Order or by submitting the website’s order form, and play with these orders.
- When you’re satisfied, delete all the fake orders, fake clients, and fake staff.
- Go through all website front-end pages checking for content errors.
Once all this is set up, you can start telling your clients about your site. If you have friends or colleagues with websites, ask them to link to yours. This helps with search engine rankings.
For more information or if you have any questions please email info@valuedwebsites.com
