EXTEND PLATFORM. An Administrator's Guide

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com EXTEND PLATFORM An Administrator's Guide This

better understand the tools and features of Extend.

1 Support: Sales: EXTEND PLATFORM An Administrator's Guide This class is designed to help Extend Administrators better understand the tools and features of Extend. We ll also share tips, tricks, and tools you can use to enhance your Extend Website.

Extend Administrator Extend is a content management system that provides you with the tools to easily produce a wide variety of content on your Website.

2 Extend Administrator Extend is a content management system that provides you with the tools to easily produce a wide variety of content on your Website. As an administrator, you may be responsible for creating, editing, posting, updating, and occasionally cleaning up content... It takes creativity, organizational skills, and of course, writing ability to produce and publish good content. Extend makes it easy, no coding required. A website has a header, a footer, and other elements like menus, sidebars, calendars, and more. With Extend, you can create and update content on the site. Extend produces a nice, pretty page with all of these elements included. This helps you focus on content without having to worry about layout and design. It s our mission to help you create an effective website that will allow you to reach members and guests, while saving you and your staff time and resources. Extend gives you more time to focus on what s important -- like your ministry! Ask about other services we offer! We know that things change constantly in ministry, and your website should keep up with those changes. With our tools and services, you have everything you need at your fingertips. If you have troubles, we re here to help! 2

3 Ideas to Impact THE BASICS Getting Started SECTION 01 3

THE DASHBOARD VISUALLY FIND THE TOOLS TO CREATE, MANAGE, & ENHANCE YOUR WEBSITE ALL IN ONE PLACE: THE DASHBOARD The dashboard helps you nagivate the tools and features that allow you to quickly

4 THE DASHBOARD VISUALLY FIND THE TOOLS TO CREATE, MANAGE, & ENHANCE YOUR WEBSITE ALL IN ONE PLACE: THE DASHBOARD The dashboard helps you nagivate the tools and features that allow you to quickly maintain and manage your website. The features are located in the menu bar across the top of the page as well. Want to view your website? Simply click the name of your website in the top right corner at any time and your website will launch in a new tab. ARTICLE MANAGER MEDIA MANAGER CHANNEL MANAGER Content is king! Articles can be used and resued in various places on your website. We use articles for everything, from images to embedding videos it s all in an article. They can live on their own or on a page. By using the Full Abstract option, some can do both. Don t mistake an article for a page though, pages are made up of articles. And articles contain content on the pages - like images, video, and text. The Media Manager stores all files that are uploaded in Extend. The Media Manager allows you to add, replace, and delete media files that are being used on the site. Use search to view types of files or even part of the name of a file stored in your site. Here you can see the details of files and keep track of how much storage space you re using. Channels (or pages) are comprised of articles, and articles contain the actual content in your website. By default, channels don t display on the menu bar until the channel is published. You can manage the sitemap and main menu from the Channel Manager. This is where you create, edit, organize, and remove channels or menus in your website. (Drop Down = Channel) *Be careful, deleting from the Managers, deletes from the website/system permanently. 4

Ideas to Impact 2017 CHANNEL MANAGER MANAGE THE SITEMAP & MENU ITEMS FROM THE CHANNEL MANAGER. CREATE, EDIT, ORGANIZE, & REMOVE PAGES FROM THE MENU BAR ON YOUR WEBSITE.

5 Ideas to Impact 2017 CHANNEL MANAGER MANAGE THE SITEMAP & MENU ITEMS FROM THE CHANNEL MANAGER. CREATE, EDIT, ORGANIZE, & REMOVE PAGES FROM THE MENU BAR ON YOUR WEBSITE. Your website is organized into Channel Groups and Channels. This is also known as your site map or navigation. Channels are also known as pages and are organized into groups which display as the main navigation items on the menu bar. Channels in each group display as drop-down menus or flyouts (horizontal drop-downs) within each group. If you need additional channels, you can add them to your hosting plan. Visit Account Information under Admin to make changes. TIP: Reduce Menu Items Short-term memory can handle 5 to 7 items. If you have too many menu items and your site isn t well-organized, visitors may scan past something important. When you remove an item, the remaining ones become more prominent. Challenge yourself to consolidate content when possible and keep menu items limited. WHAT ARE CHANNELS? CHANNEL MANAGER RULES It s a little confusing, but channels may also be called pages. Think of channels like the pages in a newspaper. Each page has one or more articles and each page can have different layouts and configurations. When creating a new channel include the Name, Alias and Group that the channel belongs to. By default, a new channel is created unpublished. You ll know if a page is published when you see a green icon. If it s not published, you ll see a red icon. Only published pages display on the menu. Group names display on the main menu bar of your website. Groups don t contain content. For a group to display on the menu bar it should have at least one published channel. If a group contains only one channel, there won t be a drop-down. The group name then becomes linked to the first channel. 5

6 ARTICLE MANAGER ARTICLES & CONTENT ARE STORED IN THE ARTICLE MANAGER. QUICKLY LOCATE AN ARTICLE OR UPDATE CONTENT ON YOUR WEBSITE FROM HERE. It might help to compare the Article Manager to a printer. Once you scan an image into a printer, you can make as many copies as you need. Likewise, when you enter an article into Extend, it is saved to the Article Manager. Here, the article can be re-used on multiple channels now or in the future. It s helpful to preformat each field of the article using the system stylesheet that contains your brand, colors, fonts, and styles. This is the easiest way to create a consistant brand for your ministry across all pages of your website. Stylesheets remember all of the formatting guidelines when adding and editing content for you. TITLES BODY/CONTENT Enter the name of the article. This is the only required field on the Attributes tab. You can choose to display titles on other pages later. Article Titles can be preformatted and styled by the stylesheets. Articles act as a container for all the content, links, and images. Articles convey the most important information and can be configured in numerous ways. You can setup columns on a page and add multible articles. ADDITIONAL ATTRIBUTES EXPIRE OLD CONTENT ARTCLE SETTINGS Want to show a brief summary of a larger article? Use the Full Abstract as the intro then complete the details in the body. On the channel show the Full Abstract under the Custom Display options. Add a thumbnail to complete the setup. When you have an article with time sensitive content, add an expiration date so it s taken down when it s no longer valid. Just go to the Settings Tab and choose to add an Expiration Date when you re editing or adding an article. 6

Ideas to Impact 2017 MEDIA MANAGER STORE MULTIMEDIA FILES IN EXTEND: PHOTOS, CLIP ART, & DOCUMENTS. MEDIA FILES CAN BE SHARED & REUSED THROUGHOUT YOUR WEBSITE.

7 Ideas to Impact 2017 MEDIA MANAGER STORE MULTIMEDIA FILES IN EXTEND: PHOTOS, CLIP ART, & DOCUMENTS. MEDIA FILES CAN BE SHARED & REUSED THROUGHOUT YOUR WEBSITE. When files are uploaded in Extend they are stored and organized in the Media Manager. The Media Manager allows you to add, edit and remove files that can be used on yor website. Uploading files and storing them in Extend makes the files available online. Media files can be shared by all users. It s also possible to link to files outside of Extend by using the Media Item URL located on the Media Properties screen. Storage limits vary depending on the hosting plan you have, additional storage is available on the Account Information page under Admin. TIP: Reducing the file size of your images helps pages load - Most people wait about 5 seconds for a website to load on mobile - If Amazon pages slow down by 1 second, they lose $1.6 billion a year - Google uses page load time as a factor in their ranking algorithm. IMAGE CLASSES MORE INFO When uploading images, the Image Classes option will help reduce the size and dimensions of the image as it uploads into Extend. The system will automatically resize and crop the file into a large, medium, and small size. The original is also uploaded. This functionality will only reduce the size of the image, not increase. Keep in mind, smaller images load faster and uniform sized images look better. - Uploads are limited to 25mb file size - Outside video/sermon hosting is recommended. - Use the Type drop-down to view/search - Sort the grid by clicking on the column name. - Code Files can be hosted here as well. (CSS & JS) - Select the file and choose view/edit properties to find the link or URL to the file. - View/Edit Properties to replace a file - Deleted files are permanently removed. 7

8 ARTICLES & CONTENT WHAT CHURCH STAFF THINK SHOULD ON THE WEBSITE AND WHAT THE PERSON IN THE PEW WANTS TO SEE ARE SOMETIMES VERY DIFFERENT. THINK ABOUT WHY PEOPLE ARE HERE AND WHAT THEY ARE LOOKING FOR? KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE. ENGAGING CONTENT Write about the benefits, not the features. Step back and write for the audience and what they will receive. Don t write about the 28 different ministries- instead talk about how everyone has a purpose and how they will fit in. Features go in the body content, benefits go in the heading. Websites are about first impressions. Within a few seconds, someone visiting your site can start to understand your church and begin to consider if they want to explore your church more. One of the biggest turn-offs for visitors is a site that looks like it hasn t been touched in years. As you think about what first impressions you want your church to make online, here are a few things to keep in mind: - Use images and photos of your churchgoers. - Expire articles that are time sensitive. - Use publications when possible. - Keep content short and simple. - Create content that is engaging. - Include locations and service times. - Keep fonts and styles within your brand - Use lists to breatk up content 8

9 Ideas to Impact 2017 CHANNEL LAYOUT EDITING OR ADDING CONTENT TO A PAGE HAPPENS IN THE LAYOUT MANAGER. THE LAYOUT OR FORMAT OF THE PAGE CAN VARY DEPENDING ON THE DESIGN. (DOUBLE CLICK ON A CHANNEL OR CHOOSE THE LAYOUT MANAGER ICON) 1 CONTENT ROWS All content and articles are contained in content areas/rows on the channel / page. Some pages will have more than one column. The main content area, will typically always include a subheader, and left or right columns. Each section allows you to add content, which can be in the form of an article, slide show, form, or feed. Content rows in the main content area can have 1, 2, or 3 columns. 2 ARTICLES & CONTENT Use arrows to organize rows. Edit row changes columns. Delete row removes articles. Left and right columns can contain 3 areas: top local area, middle global area, and bottom Local area. After the layout is determined, add content to the areas. New articles are saved in the Article Manager and can be resued on other channels. Use the Article Manger to choose an existing article. If you re setting up a slide show or form, choose New and make your selections. Each article on the page may be edited, copied from one location to another, removed, or be displayed in another way. Cut Content moves articles. Copy Content make a copy. Publications are GREAT! Don t use Calendar or Gallery 3 DISPLAY PROPERTIES Cut & Copy between pages. Remove takes the article off the page, but it s still in the Article Manager Reusing articles is very helpful when you re making updates in multiple places throughout your site. Being able to change how the article displays gives you more control. By default, new articles display the Title and Full Abstract, but you can change that by showing the Title and Body, or you can customize the view even more. Customize Display Screen: (the left column) display settings for the channel/page, and (right column) are settings for after the click/read more. Full abstract = Read more Attributes are on in the article Image Options are for images added to the image tab Mostly use Body & Title Defaults can be set in User Acct CSS can be added to control every element/part of an article 4 PUBLISH TO MAKE CHANGES LIVE (RETRACT REMOVES PAGE) 9

ADD/EDIT ARTICLE FORMATTING WIDTHS SOURCE Consistency throughout your website is essential! When copying and pasting content we recommend you remove the formatting.

10 ADD/EDIT ARTICLE FORMATTING WIDTHS SOURCE Consistency throughout your website is essential! When copying and pasting content we recommend you remove the formatting. Use the paste or remove formatting icons to clean up the content. As we move forward into mobile designs and conversions, table, image & iframe widths are a high priority. Before, we would specify a width, now we set the width to 100%. If you want to embed items into your website from YouTube, Facebook, or other platforms, there s an advanced user setting that lets you add code to an article. *advanced user setting All Extend websites use CSS to control the text formatting. We can set the default size, color, and style of your content/articles to match your brand. These styles don t show up until you save the article. Conistancy is good, allowing us to control the defaults using CSS makes writing, publishing and maintenance easier for the administrators. Save vs Save as Draft Save as Draft let s you save your changes, but not make them live. Image Icon vs Images Tab Use the Image Tab for articles that need a thumbnail when using the Full Abstract 10

Ideas to Impact 2017 ADDING IMAGES & MEDIA HOW TO USE IMAGES TO GET THE BEST RESULTS Use the image icon on the toolbar to add images in the Article Body.

11 Ideas to Impact 2017 ADDING IMAGES & MEDIA HOW TO USE IMAGES TO GET THE BEST RESULTS Use the image icon on the toolbar to add images in the Article Body. When you add images you have control over the placement, alignment, padding, and size of the image. Here are some available options: Hspace - Adds padding between the left and right sides of the image and the text. Entering 10 will add 10px of padding. VSpace Adds padding between the top and bottom of the image and the text. Alignment Indicates how the image to will be aligned with the text: right, left, center. Media Manager Stores media files already in Extend. You can also upload new media files here. IMAGE CLASSES When you upload a new image and use image classes, the original image loads in the preview by default. To use a smaller image, use the Media Manager to select another size, then change > apply settings. 11

12 Advanced Features SECTION 02 12

Ideas to Impact 2017 SLIDE SHOWS Sliders are usually placed front and center on the home page to enhance your website. True to their name, they slide through various graphics.

13 Ideas to Impact 2017 SLIDE SHOWS Sliders are usually placed front and center on the home page to enhance your website. True to their name, they slide through various graphics. Not sure what to include? High res images of your people, events, and church. Include upcoming events, special programs. To add a slide show, under Add Content, select New. Then, select the Slide Show icon. Choose the options and upload the files you want to display. You can also change the settings for the slides here too. NOTE: THE SLIDE SHOW TOOL REQUIRES ALL IMAGES TO BE ALL THE SAME SIZE BEFORE YOU UPLOAD THEM. THE DETAILS Use the Image Editing tool or the Title and Description fields in the slide show tool to add text to your images. Reorder the slides by dragging them up and down, using your mouse. Don t overwhelm visitors with too many slides or too much information. SIZE & AUDIENCE Again, slides must be created using the same size and dimensions. Use images that are inviting and welcoming. Include few details on the slide, then link the slide to a page or article for more information. ADD/EDITING The slide show will not display in Admin. But, you can hover over the pencil icon to edit the slide show on a page. If you add a slide show don t forget to publish the page to save it. 13

14 CUSTOM CODE ADDING CODE TO YOUR SITE IS A FEATURE FOR ADVANCED USERS. THIS SETTING CAN BE ADDED TO YOUR USER PROFILE (FROM THE USER MANAGER) Extend allows user or custom code to be added to the entire site (globally) or to one page (locally). Files are often hosted outside of the site or in the Media Manger. Custom code options include Meta Tags, CSS, JavaScript or JQuery Scripting, and favicons. You can use online tools to convert logos to favicons, then upload them to the Media Manager. Adding custom code can override settings in the main stylesheet. Doing this is intended to make it easier for you to customize elements and options within your website. Use with caution! META TAGS Meta tags describe a page's content, but the tags don't actually appear on the page. Meta tags help tell search engines what a web page is about. CSS SNIPPETS Code snippets are perfect for anyone who wants to explore cutting edge CSS techniques. Many coding resources and snippets can be found online. JAVASCRIPT There are many tutorials and references online on how to use JavaScript. One good example of Java Script is the code provided by Google Analytics. Such code can be added in the Global Custom Code. 14

15 Ideas to Impact 2017 EMBEDDED CONTENT CONTENT Tools, Widgets, & Other Services Do you ever visit a website and wonder how it got all of those "widgets" to work? The booking form, the calendar, or maybe the weather display? Many people assume these bells and whistles require help from a web developer. But today it can be as simple as copying and pasting some text. Taking advantage of these tools can engage your visitors, offer valuable insights, and make a simple site much more functional. A block of code might seem intimidating at first, but typlically the widget-builders have already done the hard work for you. A simple copy and paste is all that s necessary. CALENDARS SERMONS SOCIAL MEDIA There are several ways to add calendars to your website. ACS Facility Scheduler and Access ACS are easy to include and Google is very popular too. Simply copy and paste the source code into an article. To keep your site running in top shape we recommend using a third-party sermon hosting provider. Sermon.net is our preferred provider. YouTube or Vimeo are also options. Embedding links and feeds from social media sites is easy. Each service provides their own widgets. Google s Photo Gallery and Forms are simple to add. With responsive, mobile websites it s best to use code that is responsive ready. When you don t have that option, this site is helpful: EmbedResponsively.com generates responsive embed codes so you can embed rich third-party media with one click. Examples: Vimeo, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Google Slides, AddThis, Instagram, Flickr 15

MOBILE CONVERSION UPDATE YOUR OUTDATED SITE SO THAT IT WORKS WELL ON ALL DEVICES. GET READY TO GO MOBILE! WHAT THIS MEANS More than 72% of people are now using mobile devices to access the internet.

16 MOBILE CONVERSION UPDATE YOUR OUTDATED SITE SO THAT IT WORKS WELL ON ALL DEVICES. GET READY TO GO MOBILE! WHAT THIS MEANS More than 72% of people are now using mobile devices to access the internet. The Connected Consumer Survey PC User = 26% Phone User = 72% A responsive website is a specially coded website that automatically adjusts to fit any device being used. Whether you have a desktop computer or a smartphone, both mobile websites and responsive websites are seen as mobile-friendly. UPDATE OR REBUILD EDIT EXISTING WEBSITE A new template on top of existing copy - Clear all current formatting. - Organize menus. - Update design and layout. - Use modern fonts. A NEW WEBSITE Starting over is always an option. It will cost more and take more time, but the results are greater! We can set up a new site so your exisiting one continues to serve your visitors. 16

Ideas to Impact 2017 TOOLS & RESOURCES WE LIKE This is our list of practical tools and resources to help you feel like a pro! Google Chrome is the preferred browser inhouse.

17 Ideas to Impact 2017 TOOLS & RESOURCES WE LIKE This is our list of practical tools and resources to help you feel like a pro! Google Chrome is the preferred browser inhouse. There are many extensions that you may find helpful. Image Editing is the biggest trending need at the moment. Images and slides all need to be created or edited is our favorite! Google has a wide range of tools that you can use throughout the website. From calendars, to slides shows and forms they have many free resources that are easy to use and embed. ONLINE RESOURCES CreationSwap Free graphics & resources creationswap.com Pixel Buddha Free fonts & more pixelbuddha.net Google Fonts Free fonts for websites fonts.google.com Pixie Color Picker - Windows application nattyware.com/pixie.php Canva Create slides & images canva.com Web Developer tool bar for Chrome Chrome Extension Gradients Collection & code uigradients.com Generate responsive embed codes EmbedResponsively.com Colour Lovers Trending colors & palettes colourlovers.com Favicon Generator favicon-generator.org Resource Cards Lots of links & resources resourcecards.com Sermon.net Sermon hosting & streaming Sign up here - sermon.net/register/index/r/72 Dropbox Share & store files online Signup Here - Share This Social buttons for your website sharethis.com 17

18 SUPPORT & TRAINING A SHARED VISION It s a successful day when our team can do something to impact your ministry! We d love to hear about your ministry and see how we can help update, build or maintain your ministry website. Feel free to contact us. Let us help you do what you want to do! Extend Website Consulting starts with your ideas and questions, we ll work together to design a solution that meets your needs. In a few steps our team can build, update, or convert your website to mobile. We ll be sure your staff has the training to successfully update and maintain your website going forward. WEBMASTER SERVICES CONTACT US Let us update your website so you can focus on what s most important...your ministry. The primary job of the webmaster is to maintain and regularly update your website. Our objective is to accurately and quickly ensure a accurate reflection of your church. Our webmasters help busy administrators with regular updates and changes that otherwise may get overlooked. With this service, you can rest assured that your website will stay up-to-date with current and pertinent information for your visitors. Signup Today extendplatform.com/webmastering Find additional tools and resources discussed during this class online - extendplatform.com/conference Go here to schedule a call extendplatform.com/freeconsultation Follow Scott Dixon on Twitter Scott Dixon scott.dixon@acstechnologies.com 18

WEBSITE INSTRUCTIONS. Table of Contents

WEBSITE INSTRUCTIONS. Table of Contents WEBSITE INSTRUCTIONS Table of Contents 1. How to edit your website 2. Kigo Plugin 2.1. Initial Setup 2.2. Data sync 2.3. General 2.4. Property & Search Settings 2.5. Slideshow 2.6. Take me live 2.7. Advanced