Tutorial 101: Get Started with Gutensite

Gutensite is powerful. Unlike other popular blogging services, Gutensite allows you to create an entire professional website with advanced features and functionality. But power is also its achilles heal, because in the past this has created an undesirable learning curve for new clients. But we want Gutensite to gain mass appeal, so one of our highest priorities is to take all that power and wrap it up in a user friendly Control Panel. We plan on hiding the advanced functionality from normal users, and offering much better help options for power users. We have not fully achieved this goal yet, but we are making progress, so hang in there. Fortunately our Professional clients have free customer support, so we are able to offer training and on the spot help as needed. But it is our priority to make Gutensite so easy to use no one needs support anymore.

In the meantime, we highly recommend reading through this quick tutorial, because we know that once you understand the basics of the CMS, you'll be empowered to do great things with your site. If you invest just a little time up front, you'll save a lot of time down the road, and your website will thank you for it.

TIP: It's best if you can open up two browser windows (or tabs) so that you can read the tutorial in one window and be logged into the Gutensite Control Panel in another, that way you can follow along and learn by doing.

Table of Contents

CMS Overview

Using the Control Panel

Important Features

Admin Settings

What is a CMS?

CMS stands for Content Management System. It is the software that runs on the server and powers your website. It provides you with an interface to control your website, add or edit content and pages, upload files, control your menu, determine what is featured on your home page, etc. Then it takes all this information, which is stored in a database, and it creates your website dynamically. So when someone requests a certain page on your site, the CMS assembles everything and displays the page to the world.

How it works

Skip to the next section if you don't care about the technical stuff. But if you can hang in there, this will be useful information.

Traditionally websites were built one individual HTML page at a time, e.g. one file for a Home page, another for the Contact Page, and another for the About Us page. Each would contain code that described the design and the actual content. This required maintaining and editing lots of unique HTML files, not something that most people had the expertise to do.

Gutensite is different because it is powered by our proprietary CMS. Your site is comprised of a presentation layer and a data layer. Basically that means there are design templates that determine what your site looks like, and then there are scripts running behind the scenes that gather the right data from the database and load it into your templates to make a page which your visitors see. In your Gutensite Control Panel you can edit the basic information, and then the CMS takes care of inserting it into the pages.

Basic Pages

The first thing most people want to do on their new site is create a page, e.g. "About Us". This can be achieved by making a "Basic Page". This creates a blank page on your site, then using our HTML Editor you can add whatever text or images that you want. The downside is that if you make a lot of these basic pages they can become more work to maintain, since they are essentially old fashioned, HTML pages with no dynamic content. Plus you are responsible for making sure that the page is designed well, something most people are not qualified to do. So these Basic Pages should be reserved for special cases where pre-built Content Types do not exist, generally when you just want a page that is mostly text.

Pre-Built Content Types

Fortunately, Gutensite has many types of pre-built Pages. In fact, the bulk of your site is made up of lots of different Content Types, e.g. Home, Contact, Testimonials, Profiles, Calendar, Blog, etc. These are all different kinds of pages, with pre-designed templates, which ensure the page is going to look nice. To keep things organized the data is stored in a database, e.g. the content for Calendars is stored in a different database from the content for Testimonials. That makes sense of course, since each page requires different types of information and needs a different interface for adding content and for displaying the content. Whenever possible, it is recommended to use these pre-built Content Types rather than making a Basic Page.

EXAMPLE: If you want to make a page which displays information about yourself or your team, you should use the Profiles Content Type, rather than making a Basic Page, because this will allow you to enter the raw information about the person, e.g. name, position, contact info, bio, image, etc, and then the CMS will create a unique page that is already professionally designed. And if you create multiple profiles, these will all be related to one another through associated categories, and can be displayed on a team page. This sort of approach makes your site much easier to maintain and allows it to grow more efficiently.

So you will want to become familiar with the Content Types that are available to you. You should generally assume that there is already a Content Type for nearly every type of page you need. If you can't find it, just ask us. Sometimes you may use one Content Type in different ways. We try to build the Content Types with enough flexibility to work for most related situations.

EXAMPLE: The FAQ Content Type may be used by software companies to organize a Knowledge Base, or by churches to categorize Prayer Requests (anything that needs a question and answer format).

You can see a list of available Content Types by exploring the Site Content section, the options are available as sublinks under: Site > Content

Site Menu

Your Site Menu serves as a map of your website. It essentially defines the logical structure of how your content relates to itself, e.g. you should have top level links which serve as the main "Sections" of your site, and then additional sub links below each top level link. Unlike some CMS applications, Gutensite does not automatically create your site menu when you create a page or add a record to a particular content type. The menu and the content of your site are completely independent. This has its advantages and disadvantages of course. What we like is that it allows you much greater control over your navigation structure, since often times you don't want a link to every new page, or perhaps you want several links (from different sections) to the same page. The downside is that creating your menu requires an extra step. The pages you create are stored in your Content Library (a list of all the pages on your site), but they are not immediately accessible to your visitors. To make them accessible, via a link in your menu, you have to create a new link, and choose a particular page to link to. At any given time, you will probably have a lot of Pages that you are not linking to, either because you are not using that particular functionality (e.g. Calendar), or because you are not ready for that page to go live yet, or because you want to link to the page from another page (and you don't want the link in the menu).

Layout

The Control Panel has a Header at the top of the page, a Side Bar down the left side, and a Main Content area.

In the Header you will see the name Gutensite, as well as the date, the username logged in, and the main Section links such as: Site, Accounts, Admin, Support, etc. These main links represent the main areas of the Control Panel. Most of the time you will stay in the Site section, but occasionally you may venture into the other sections.

Each section has a unique set of links located in the Side Bar, referred to as the Side Menu. The Side Menu helps you navigate to specific editing or settings pages, and is the quickest way to get directly to a particular page.

When you click on a link the related content will show up in the Main Content area. The Main Content area will usually display a list of records, or an editing form.

Navigating the Control Panel

The menus are named in such a way that they should describe what type of content or activity will be done on the linked page. Don't be afraid to poke around, open up sub menus and see what tools, Content Types, and other options are available to you. The key is to not be intimidated by the options, everything has its place and generally every list and edit page works the same way.

Lists

The list pages shows all the records for a particular type of content, displayed in rows, with different columns of information. On most list pages you are given the option to add a new record for that type of content by clicking the "Add" button located at the top of the list. Alternatively you can edit a record by locating the desired record in the list and clicking the "Edit" button next to it.

EXAMPLE: The Profiles list page (Site > Content > About Us > Profiles) will show a list of profiles that you have created, displaying an overview of information for each profile, e.g. name, bio, category, image, etc. You can edit the profile, or add a new profile if you wish. 

Categories & Filtering

Many types of content allow you to organize your records by categories. Before adding a record it will usually ask you to create a category to associate the record with. This is helpful for organizing your information (especially if you end up creating a lot of content). In addition, each new category creates a unique page on your website which will display only the records in that category (no one sees these pages unless you link to them).

On some List pages there are may be a drop down menu with options at the top of the list, which allows you to filter the list by a particular category. This can be helpful if you have a lot of records to search through. 

Searching & Exporting

Above the List on most pages is an option to "Search". This will expand a search box with advanced options to search all the records for a particular type of content. You can just enter in a keyword, or get more advanced by searching only one field, or sorting by a particular field, etc. At any time, you can also choose to export all the records in standard CSV or Tab Delimited format, which gives you control over your content.

Priority Order

Many List pages will give the option of ordering your records by priority. When this is an option each record in the list will display an up and down arrow, as well as the number of the current priority. The higher the number, the higher priority it will have, e.g. 10 will show up above 5. Some list pages, e.g. any type of category, may allow you to nest the categories under another category (by choosing a parent). When this happens, the priority levels are limited to each level, so a child with priority 99 will still display in a nested position under its parent. 

Creating & Editing Records

From every List page you are given the option to Add a new record or Edit a record for that particular type of content. Both options take you to the same Editing page, one to edit the record, another to create a new record. Every type of content has a unique editing page, which of course makes sense since different types of contents require different fields and different types of data.

EXAMPLE: Profiles will require a name, contact information, bio, image, etc, whereas Calendar events will require a date, description, etc.

The Edit page will have many fields that allow you to enter information that describes this new content. The fields will have a descriptive name that explains what kind of information is expected. Some fields will be required (and marked with an asterisk *), and others will be optional. Often times there will also be a "help" bubble next to a field, when moused over will provide additional helpful instructions relevant to that field. These help bubbles should not be ignored.

Advanced Settings

On some editing pages, you will be given the option to edit "Advanced" settings. Generally these will allow you to control information about the page, i.e. Page Title, Keywords, etc, or other advanced settings related to the content type, which we don't want to confuse normal users with.

Site Information & Settings

The Admin Section of the Control Panel allows you to control your important settings, such as website contact information, and billing information, administrative accounts, subscriptions, billing history, etc. See the Admin part of this tutorial for more information.

Site Menu

Site > Menu & Structure

Currently the site menu allows you to organize your site navigation. It's a simple interface which lists the name of the link, the page it links to, and visually displays the hierarchical order of your site structure. You can add new links by clicking on the "Add" button, which will take you to a details page where you can choose a short name for the link, select which page it points to, and then select choose where it belongs in the hierarchy, e.g. choose the "Parent" and enter the Priority.

Resource Library

The Resource Library consists of several types of resources: Images, Documents, Multimedia (Audio & Video), and Slideshows.

Images Library

Site > Resource Library > Images > Library

In order to incorporate images into your website, i.e. to insert images into a basic page, include an image in a profile, add images to a Blog article, etc, the image must reside online somewhere (so other people can access it). Of course you can link to images on other websites (if you have a direct URL to the image), but the best practice is to upload the image to your own website server. You can do this through your image library, simply click the "Add" button, which will take you to the edit page. You will choose the image file to upload by clicking the browse button, which will open up a window that lets you browse your local computer for the desired image file. Once selected the window will disappear and then you can proceed to fill out the rest of the required fields in the form, then select "Create" and the image will be uploaded to the server and a record will be created in your image library.

When you upload an image, the system will resize the image into several different sizes, so that you can use the image in different ways throughout the website. Once an image is uploaded into your image library, it can be reused unlimited times. And if you use an image in 10 different locations, and decide you want to use a better image, you simply edit this record and upload a different image in its place and the image will change for all those instances where it is used.

If don't need multiple sizes, you have the option of specifying a custom size and it will keep the original size or resize to a size you specify.

Documents Library

Site > Resource Library > Documents > Library

The Documents Library works the same way as the Images Library, except the file is just uploaded directly, without any "resizing" or other interference. When you create the document record, you can select what sort of access level a particular file has, e.g. "public", "private", "members", etc. And if you select a non-public access level, you can additionally restrict the file to specific users only (people who have an account on your site).

However, before you upload documents you should create proper categories to organize your documents (both for your own reference and to organize files for the general public). When you create a category, it will create a related page on your website which will display all the documents in that particular category (if you choose to link to that resources category page). By uploading files to a particular category, you can share a list of files available for download online. But this list of documents can also be used on other pages of the site, as "additional resources" links at the bottom of the page, or linked directly from a hyperlink in an article.

Multimedia Library

Site > Resource Library > Multimedia > Library

The Multimedia Library work much like the Documents Library. You will want to create categories to organize your files, and these categories will be made available as pages on your site (should you choose to link to them) which display the multimedia files in that category. You may upload Audio (MP3) or Video (FLV) as well as Flash Animation (SWF).

Slideshow Library

Site > Resource Library > Slideshow > Library

The Slideshow Library allows you to create slideshows which can be inserted or referenced from various contexts. You can "Add" a new record, select the images you wish to show up in the slideshow, configure additional options like speed, transitions, etc.

Special Elements

Customize Your Design

Site > Special Elements > Customize Your Design

Every website, whether using a custom designed or free design skin, has different options for customizing elements of the design, e.g. modifying your site name or slogan, adding new photos that rotate on the home page, featured articles or other content, welcome text, etc. The Customize Your Design interface allows you to control this dynamic information about your web design. Some designs may have more options than others. All our free design skins are setup in such a way as to limit the options available so that you only see options that are available to you. But at the moment (temporarily) custom designs show all the options available (whether or not they have an affect on the design). Either way, this page is an important place to start customizing the look of your new site.

Mini Modules

Site > Special Elements > Mini Modules

Some designs have areas for dynamic modules on the home page, and/or in the shell of secondary pages. These allow you to features special content such as News, Recent Blogs, Featured Portfolio, Featured Product, Testimonials, Upcoming Events, or other various modules. If your design has a spot for mini modules, you can add a module to the module area and it will display in your design at that location.

Basic Pages

Site > Content > Basic Pages

As we covered earlier in the Logic Overview section Basic Pages allow you to start with a blank page and add whatever text, images (or other things like videos, slideshows, files, etc) you want. These are useful when there isn't an existing pre-built content type to use, but as a rule, you should try to use existing content types whenever possible, because they are already well designed, and they carefully organize a lot of related content so it's easier to add content and maintain your site.

Pre-Built Content Types

Site > Content

As we covered earlier in the Logic Overview section Content Types provide you with many different types of pages that are already designed and which integrate more advanced functionality into the page to display, organize, and communicate your information. You should look through all the options available as Side Menu links in the Site > Content section and play around with adding records to these Content Types. Once you've created records you can link to any of these pre-built content type pages by making a link from your menu to the relevant page.

EXAMPLE: Go to Site > Content > About Us > Profiles: then add a new profile record. Enter your information then hit "Create". Add a second or third profile as well, just for fun. Then go to your Site Menu: Site > Menu & Structure: then add another link to the menu, give it the name "Profiles" and scroll through the list of content available and choose "About: Profiles: Home". Then open up your website and browse to that link so you can see what the profiles page looks like. If you want more control over how that page looks, you should create a Profile Category, and call it "Our Team". Then you can control display settings for this category page. After the category is created, edit the profiles you created and associate them with the category you just created. Then edit your menu link, and link it to that new category page " About: Profiles: Our Team".

Admin Accounts

Admin > Admin Accounts > User List

In the Admin section  you can create additional user accounts, which allows you to distribute tasks of editing your site among several members of your team. Each account can be given access to certain types of tasks, and you can revoke access or delete accounts at any time.

Site Information

Admin > Settings > Site Information

You can control your basic site information from this location, such as: live site contact information, site name, free design skin choice, default meta keywords and site description, etc.

Billing Information

Admin > Billing

In the billing section of the site you can update your billing information (keep your credit card updated), check your existing subscriptions, and view billing history.