WebforAuthors Basic
How To Guides: Creating and Managing Your Site
How to Turn Your Website On and Off
How to "View Your Website"
How to Get Started
How to Setup a Forum
How to set up a calendar of events
Composing Your Content
Submitting Your Site to Search Engines
How to Sell on Your Web Site
Mailing Lists and Newsletters
How to Turn Your Website On and Off
Login to the Account Manager and click on "Website Content," "Toggle Site On and Off." If your website is off it will display a page with the message "This website is currently unavailable." Use this feature to prevent your website from being viewed while under construction. By default, your site is "off," be sure to turn it on so it can be viewed.
How to "View Your Website"
The Account Manager has a link to "View Your Website." If your website is toggled off, choose to "Preview Your Site." If your website is toggled on, choose to "View Live Site." Hint: When working on your site, view your site in a separate browser window. As you make changes, switch to that window and refresh the page to see your changes as you make them!
How to Get Started
- Login to the Account Manager and select 'Website Manager.' This will take you to the Content Manager, Biographical Data page.
- Fill in your name and other information on the Biographical Data page.
- You may include a picture by clicking 'Browse' next to the Photo field. Use the Choose File window to locate a picture on your computer and click 'Open.' The system accepts jpeg (jpg) and gif file types and we recommend a size of 100KB or less to make your web site faster to load. If you're not sure about this, contact us! We can resize and convert to the proper file type if you need help.
- Click the 'Save Changes' button at the bottom of the Biographical Data page to save your input.
- To add information about yourself, click 'biographical content' in the left margin.
- On the Biographical Content page, click 'Add a paragraph' and type your text (or copy/paste from a word processing application). Do not put your entire page in a paragraph box! Add just one paragraph at a time!
- Click the 'Add Paragraph' button to save.
- Add additional paragraphs until you are finished. You may edit a paragraph by clicking 'edit' under the paragraph. You may delete the paragraph by clicking 'delete' under the paragraph. You can also change the order of the paragraphs by clicking 'Reorder paragraphs.'
- Now click 'awards content' in the left margin. Add your awards information using the same techniques.
- This finishes the Biographical section. Now you are ready to add information to other pages.
- Click 'Contact Info' and fill in your contact information. Use the check boxes to select the information you want to display on your website. Your email address will not be seen on your website because we present a form for people to fill in.
- Next, click 'Books' and the List of Books page will appear. At the bottom of the page type in your Book Title and click the 'Add Book' button.
- Now, from Your List of Books, click on a book and you will be taken to the Edit Book Info page.
- Fill in all the information about your book. The red asterisks mark the required fields, so be sure to fill these in at the very least.
- Click 'Save Changes' at the bottom of the Edit Book Info page.
- You may add a picture of your book using the same techniques described in step 3.
- In the left hand margin, click 'book sections' and you will be taken to the Book Section page.
- Check the boxes for the book section you want to use with your book. Each section is a separate page.
- Click the 'Save Changes' button near the bottom of the page.
- At the bottom of the page the sections you checked will appear in the "Select section to which to add/modify content" list.
- Click the section you wish to work on.
- Using the same techniques described in step 6, 7 and 8 to add content to these sections.
- Now click 'Select Homepage' and select how you want your home page to appear.
- Once you finish these steps, click 'Toggle Site On and Off' and click the button next to "Your web site is active" and click Save Changes.
- Click 'View Your Website' and then 'View Your Live Site' to open a new browser window with your web site displayed. Close or minimize the window to return to the Account Manager.
- To select another website design, click on 'Website Manager,' 'Content Manager,' 'Select Site Design.' Click to select a new design and then click the 'Change Site Design' button at the bottom of the page to save the change. As soon as you select a template you can view your site.
- Continue adding information, changing or updating these areas until you are satisfied with your website.
- When you get the basics done, you can then add advanced features such as Mailing List, Newsletters, and Forum.
- If you have room on your computer screen, keep one browser window open displaying the Account Manager and a second browser window displaying your web site. As you make changes in the Account Manager, go to the other window to see your changes.
- You may want to compose your paragraphs in a word processor and copy/paste into the paragraph boxes. This will make things go faster and will provide you with a back up copy in case you edit or delete a paragraph in error.
How to Setup a Forum
Login to your Account Manager and choose "Website Manager," "Forums." Check the box to activate your forum and fill in the information requested. Click Save Changes. Then click to "Access Your Forum."
Login to the forum using the name and password you just set up. Click on "Admin" then "New category." Fill in a category name and click send.
Next click "New forum." Fill in the forum name, a brief description in the Info field and select a category from the drop down list. Click send.
Now click on "Index" and you will see the category and forum. Click on the forum to select. You can now add a message by clicking on New Topic.
To check that your forum is accessible from you website, view your website and look for the "View the Author's Messageboard" button in the upper right corner. Click the button to visit the Messageboard.
You can use features under "Admin" to remove and edit messages, remove members (users) and lock topics. You can edit your profile by choosing "Profile" and then "Modify." You can send messages to members by choosing "Private Messages."
When someone wants to post a message on your forum, they are required to enter their email address. The system will then send them an email with a password. This process reduces spamming by confirming that people provide valid email addresses. Anyone can read posted messages.
If you have problems setting up or using the forum, check to see which browser you are using. We tested our system using
Microsoft Internet Explorer and Netscape. Try using one of these and if the problem continues, contact Support.
How to set up a calendar of events
Login to your Account Manager, click Website Manager, Calendar. Follow the instructions on the Calendar page to add an introductory paragraph and to add events.
Also, under Books, Book Sections you can use a page titled Book Updates to list the events related to a book.
Composing Your Content
You will find it much easier to write your site content in your word processor and then copy/paste into your website. This allows you to spell check your work and to save a copy on your computer for a backup and future editing.
Submitting Your Site to Search Engines
See the article under our Resources page by clicking here.
How to Sell on Your Web Site
See this page on how to sell through your web site by clicking here.
Mailing Lists and Newsletters
See this page on how to use the mailing list and newsletter features by clicking here.
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