The WideRange Admin control panel is where you will add and manage all the content of your website. This screencast video here will show you a quick walkthrough of the admin, and below I will include a checklist for getting started adding your content in the admin.
Getting Started in the Admin
Throughout the admin there are instructions and/or help buttons - the instructions are usually important, so please read them! You can click the help buttons to read explanations about the features and how they work.
If, after reading the instructions and help docs, you still aren't sure how a certain feature works, please email me with your questions. I will respond as soon as I can with further guidance.
Anything and everything you enter in the admin can be modified or fixed later on, so don't worry if you're not quite sure if you're doing it right. Just play around with the admin. Try things out. You can always modify them again. The best way to learn the admin is by using it!
A Couple Important Notes
- Only one user may be logged in to the admin at a time.
- Only use the admin in one browser window. Do not open and use the admin in multiple tabs/windows at once - this can lead to saving errors.
- If you are writing a long post or working on a page for a long time, I recommend to save often, just to be safe.
1) Set up your Galleries
Let's dive right in! The first thing you can do in the admin is to start setting up your galleries, at Galleries > Add. To speed things up, you can start by just entering the galleries' Titles and URL addresses; the rest of the info can be modified later on.
Once you've added some galleries, you can rearrange their sequence if you want at Galleries > Rearrange.
2) Upload your Photos
Once you've added some galleries, you can then start uploading photos to those galleries, at Photos > Add.
You will be uploading web-sized JPG image files, not full res images. You can read the recommended specs for preparing and optimizing your web images here.
3) Add your various Info Pages
Most photographers like to have an About or Bio page, as well as a Prints Information page which describes their print options along with some example pictures of prints on the walls. You can add basic pages like these in the Misc Pages section of the admin. (An About page has already been created for you by default, so you can just edit that page).
This is a good time to learn about using the admin text editors and how to insert and position images in the text.
You can also configure your Homepage at Misc Pages > Homepage, and write a personalized greeting for the contact page at Misc Pages > Contact Page.
*** Progress Report ***
After you've added some galleries and uploaded a dozen or so photos and entered their data, feel free to contact me to have me review what you've done so far and I'll let you know if I see anything that can be improved or done differently. It's best to do this somewhat early in the process before you get too deep into it.
4) Add your Print Sizes and Display Options (Optional)
If you aren't going to sell prints, then you can skip this section (and the next). If you intend to sell prints, you can get started adding your print sizes at Prints > Prints Setup. You can add as many print sizes as you need to match all the various possible shapes (aspect ratios) of your photos.
I recommend reading the Setting up your Prints tutorial page which explains the four main steps: adding your print sizes, adding your print display options, entering your pricing, and then assigning available print sizes to the photos.
If this is all too much work for now, you can always add your prints for sale later on. It's better to get your website up and running first rather than getting hung up on the prints and stalling out.
5) Assign the Print Sizes to the Photos
So you've uploaded some photos and added your print sizes, display options, and prices. The next step is to assign print sizes to the photos. There are two ways to do this:
- You can modify each photo one by one at Photos > Modify. Edit each photo and select the print sizes that apply to that photo.
- You can batch assign print sizes to multiple photos at once at Prints > Batch Assign.
6) Tailor your Navigation Menu
In the Navigation section of the admin you can manage the main menu of your website, including adding new menu links, modifying or deleting existing ones, or rearranging their sequence.
7) Review your Website Settings
At some point you should go through the various Settings pages, to configure important aspects of the website, including:
- Your basic info such as name and business at Settings > User.
- Set up and connect your Stripe and/or PayPal payment processing accounts at Settings > Payments.
- Configure various shopping cart options at Settings > Cart.
- Optionally configure sales tax at Settings > Sales Tax.
- Customize your order confirmation emails at Mail > Order Emails.
- Enter basic website metadata at Settings > SEO.
- Optionally connect your Google Analytics (or any other analytics trackers) at Settings > Analytics.
- Change your admin password if you want at Settings > Admin.
The following steps are all optional "extras" that not everybody takes advantage of, but these features are there if you need them:
8) Set up a Blog
If you want to have a blog on your site, you can set that up in the Blog section. You can read all about setting up the blog and adding blog posts here.
9) Add other Product pages
If you intend to sell any other products besides prints (such as workshops, calendars, books, or anything else), you can set up those product pages at Products > Add.
10) Add a Search Index
With your WideRange site you have the option of setting up a "search index", which is like a glossary of suggested search terms for all the photos on your site. You can read about the photo search index and how to set it up here.
Final Review and Launch!
Once you have all your content added and the new website is just about ready for launch, let me know and I can review everything in your admin one more time to see if there's anything that can be improved.
Keep in mind that you don't need to have everything absolutely finished and perfect before launching the website - you can continue to add and modify content on the site after it's launched too. In many ways it's better to get the new site up and running sooner and to continue adding to it over time. That way the site can get started building traffic and search engine indexing/ranking as soon as possible.
If you have any questions, please contact me! I'm happy to help.