Skip to content
English
Contact us
  • There are no suggestions because the search field is empty.

What should I know about site setup?

Considerations to Remember in Site Setup

Also searched as: website builder tips, Site Setup best practices, staging sites, page templates

Keep these best practices in mind when working in Site Setup.

Save and Publish

(also: saving changes, publishing your site)

Always click Save and Publish before you leave Site Setup. Otherwise, any revisions you made will not be preserved and will not appear on your public website.

 Make Site Setup a Solo Activity

(also: simultaneous editing conflicts, one editor at a time)

  • Don't allow or invite others to edit in Site Setup at the same time you are making changes. Because each person's Site Setup window reflects only their own edits, some changes will be lost when everyone tries to Save and Publish.
  • If you ask your Onboarding Specialist to make a change for you in Site Setup, or if they are performing an audit in your site, stay out of Site Setup until they've finished and notified you.

 Build Photo Gallery Pages from the Bottom Up

(also: photo gallery widget order, newest gallery on top)

If you want the newest photo gallery to appear at the top of the page:

  1. Deactivate all individual gallery widgets on the page except the bottommost one.
  2. Begin adding content to that bottommost widget.
  3. As you add galleries for new seasons or sections, activate the next widget up, working your way toward the top of the page.

 Formatting from Word Processing Applications

(also: pasting from Word, removing formatting, plain text paste)

When you copy formatted content from Microsoft Word (or another word processor) and paste it into a text-based widget in Site Setup, the formatting comes along with it.

To strip the formatting and paste plain text only:

  1. Paste your content into a plain-text application first (e.g., Notepad on Windows, or TextEdit/BBEdit on Mac).
  2. Cut it from that application.
  3. Paste it into Site Setup.

You can also override styling on already-pasted content: select the text in the widget's editing window and change the Font dropdown to a different option.

  • Note: In TextEdit on Mac, go to Format > Make Plain Text if your text window shows a ruler at the top edge.


 Staging Sites

(also: staging vs. public site, theme testing, website theme changes)

  • A Staging Site is not visible anywhere except in Site Setup — until you click Save Changes and then Publish, at which point it becomes your Public Site (and your former Public Site becomes the new Staging Site).
  • You do not need a Staging Site unless you want to experiment with a different website theme — this feature is completely optional.
  • If you tell your Onboarding Specialist during Onboarding that you want to switch themes, they will build the new version in a Staging Site, then Save and Publish it to make it your Public Site.
  • You cannot change themes on a Public Site. If you change themes on a Staging Site, any pages you already created in that Staging Site will be removed.
  • Reason: page templates are structured differently for each theme. Each template provides the same functionality, but the underlying setup differs by design. This protects your Public Site from disappearing due to a theme change.
  • Important: A Staging Site is not a backup for your Public Site. It's a separate site creation that can become your Public Site, but only becomes visible to the public once you Publish it.

 Placeholder Content on Some Page Templates

(also: preview placeholders, page template quirks)

Some page templates show special placeholders for all or part of their content while you're in Site Setup, including:

  • Amenities
  • Events
  • Forms
  • Payments
  • Committees
  • Member Directory
  • Newsfeed
  • One-Time Charges

The FAQ template looks different in Site Setup than on your public site, but it does not include placeholder content.

To see the actual content on a page using one of these templates, go to Manage Site > Public Site and review the page there.

 Page Previews Are Not Fully Functional

(also: preview limitations, non-clickable links in preview)

  • In page previews, menu items and links are non-functional, except links you add to text-based widgets via the Link tool above the edit window.
  • Content in previews may show slight variances from what appears on your public site.
  • To confirm actual content and formatting, go to Manage Site > Public Site and review the page there.