Advice for clients of Handcrafted Websites
The advice below covers two phases: What to do before the website goes live, and what to do after it goes live.
The aim is to help you get organised and take control of your online business.
If your site is now live, click here to go straight to the steps you should take now.
Contents
Before the site goes live:
a. Get a good browser
b. A good email client
c. Image editing software
d. Sending images to Handcrafted Websites
e. Sign up for the necessary Google services
Once the website goes live:
a. Setting up your email account
b. The control panel for your hosting account
c. Accessing the MODX content management system
d. Accessing a single availability calendar (if you have one)
Promoting your website:
See our detailed advice about how to boost your website's listing with the search engines.
Before your new website goes live
To be ready to do business online you need to get organised (if you aren't already). The first step is to make sure you have the right tools for the job. Let me highlight three absolutely essential tools: a good browser, a good email client and some software to resize and compress images. You also need to sign up with Google to take advantage of some of their free services.
1. A good browser
First off, to do stuff online you need a browser. Okay, you have a browser, but is it a GOOD browser? Older browsers (especially Internet Explorer) are not good because they don't support some of the cute new features that we build into websites these days. If you are using a Mac, Safari is okay. No complaints there. If you are a Windows user you should consider downloading and installing the latest Firefox browser. It doesn't suck and it is free. Get it here:
Get the latest Firefox browser from Mozilla..
Some people would also recommend the Google Chrome browser, but because we are wary of the creeping Google Empire, we won't.
2. A good email client
Your are going to have your own business email address and handle more correspondence by email. For that we need a good email client (i.e. software for reading, writing and organising emails). We recommend Thunderbird. We use it so it will be easier for us to advise you if you run into difficulties. If you insist on using Outlook Express, you are on your own. Choose the version of Thunderbird for your operating system here:
Get the latest Thunderbird email client..
Once your website goes live we will send you the configuration details you need to set up the new email account on your software.
Note: Don't try to set up a business email account on Thunderbird or your other email client before your website is up and working.
3. An image editor
Every website needs photos. You might take some yourself or you might use commercial photos. In either case the chances are that the original photos wil be way, way too big to upload directly to your site. If Handcrafted Websites are going to design your site and you are going to send your chosen photos to them, it would be nice if you cut them down to a reasonable size before trying to send them. How? You need a nice little piece of software to resize your digital images.
Mac users have a tool bundled with their software. See these Mac image editor instructions.
Windows users looking for a good commercial product might consider Corel's reasonably priced Paint Shop Pro Photo. We have used this in the past and recommend it.
Free Windows-compatible solutions include the Faststone Photo Editor.
Another popular alternative is Photoscape.
Alternatively browse the latest alternatives at CNET.co.uk.
To resize images that you are going to send to us, a good rule of thumb is to resize them so that they are 960 pixels wide (the height doesn't matter). When you save the images there will be an option to specify a level of compression. This will determine the size in bytes of the final image file. Be careful! If you apply too much compression, an unacceptable level of detail in the photo will be lost. Try to keep the level of compression low so that we retain the detail. If you are shown an indication of the final final size in bytes, give yourself up to 500kb (0.5mb) per image.
Save the resized image with a new file name. Use only lowercase letters and leave no gaps in the filename. Use a name that describes what the image depicts (e.g. doublebedroom2.jpg, not image0003.jpg).
4. Sending images to Handcrafted Websites
You will need to send us the digital images for your website. To do this you simply attach the image files (that will end with the .jpg extension) to an email.
Don't attach more than about 10mb of data to any one email. If you have lots of photos, or if they are big (in bytes), please send them in batches.
To send a batch of images you can put them into a zip archive so that you only have to attach and send one file. If you don't have any zip software, download the free 7-Zip programme for Windows. Mac users might try MacZip.
Please do NOT send photos embedded in Word documents or PDFs. Just send the original .jpg files.
Please bear in mind that if you have photos for a slideshow or gallery, the photos need to have the same orientation (i.e. landscape or portrait), and they need to have the same proportions. We can crop your photos for you if the proportions vary from photo to photo.
5. Sign up with Google
You need to sign up for at least two Google services before your site goes live: Google Analytics and Google Maps. To do so you first need to have an account with Google (free). Go to the Google.co.uk home page and click the small "Sign In" link in the top right corner of the window. You will then see the form to register with Google.
1. Google Analytics: This will give you detailed statistics about website visitors. Register at the address below.
http://www.google.com/intl/en_uk/analytics/.
You will need to enter the full URL for the website. That looks like this: http://www.mywebsite.co.uk Fill in the other details. Select the country that your website is hosted in (the UK for UK clients). After agreeing to the terms of service, Google will give you the snippet of code we need to insert into your web pages. You should have the "Standard" tab highlighted, and the Single Domain option selected. Then carefully copy the code Google gives you and paste it into a simple text file (e.g. Notepad for Windows users). Save it on your PC then attach a copy to an email and send it to us.
2. Google Map: You need to create a Google map, putting the pin where your property/business is. Go to the following address.
Look for the My Places link and click it to create a map with a pin for your property/business. Set the zoom level to the one you want to appear on the map on your website. Then look for the small link icon (a chain link) to the right above the map. Click it to reveal the code we need to add the map to your website. There will be code to email the map, and code to embed the map in a web page. We need the latter. Carefully copy that snippet of code into a simple text file, save it on your PC and then attach a copy to an email and send it to us.
Advice once your new website goes live
Your business email
By now your PC should have an email client (i.e. software to download, read, write and send emails). As we said above, we recommend Thunderbird, which is distributed free by Mozilla. If you don't already have this (or haven't yet chosen some other client software), download it here:
Get the Thunderbird email client..
Before you set up an account on your email client, you need to decide whether the account is going to be an IMAP account or POP3 account. You have a choice of either when using our servers for your email. Here is some information to help you decide which is better for you.
IMAP or POP?
If you are going to rely on one main device (e.g. a laptop or desktop computer) to access your business emails, you should set up a POP email account. If you want to keep life simple, set up a POP account on a single device.
Use IMAP if you need to access emails from more than one device (e.g. desktop/laptop and handheld devices). The IMAP account lets you - for instance - read an email on one device and later see the same email in your inbox on the second device. With an IMAP account the mail files are left on the server, and there is a system to synchronise certain files and folders displayed across multiple devices. With a POP account mail is downloaded when it is read - copies are not left on the server for you to access from multiple devices.
Below are the most important settings needed to configure POP and IMAP email accounts on Thunderbird, if you need more detailed step-by-step instructions please download the following PDF documents:
Guide to setting up a POP email account
Guide to setting up an IMAP email account
Setting up a POP account
Basically, the configuration details fall into three categories: 1. Your personal details; 2. Details for the incoming server; and 3. Details for the outgoing server.
Your personal details
The name you want to appear in the From box in emails that you send (set this to whatever you like);
Your email address;
Your username: This is your email address but with a + sign in place of the @. E.g. info+mysite.co.uk
Your password (we will let you know what this is).
Those same personal details are used by both the incoming and outgoing mail servers.
Incoming server details
Incoming Mail Server: pluto.uksrv.co.uk
The connection to the incoming mail server uses a secure SSL/TLS connection.
If there is an option to choose secure authentication, do NOT choose it.
The secure SSL/TLS connection uses port 995.
Outgoing server details
The outgoing main server uses the SMTP protocol.
The mail server name is pluto.uksrv.co.uk
It also uses an SSL/TLS connection.
The outgoing connection uses port 465.
When you try to connect and download emails you might be asked whether you trust this server. Click that you always will.
You will also be asked for your password. Handcrafted Websites will tell you what this is when your site goes live.
Setting up an IMAP account
When setting up the account you will be asked for a name (i.e. your name as it will appear in the part of the email that gives information about the sender). Choose what you want for this.
As well as being asked for the email, you will be asked for the password. Handcrafted Websites will tell you what this is when your site goes live.
Your email client may try to locate the correct servers on its own. If servers are located automatically, check that the details EXACTLY match those given below (including details of port numbers). If they don't match, manually enter the correct details (in the Thunderbird account setup wizard you should see a little button marked "Edit" to allow you to manually set the account details) .
Your username: This is your email address but with a + sign in place of the @. E.g. info+mysite.co.uk
Server Type: IMAP Mail Server
Server Name: pluto.uksrv.co.uk
Port: 993
Connection Security: SSL/TLS
Authentication Method: Normal password
Outgoing Server
Description: (enter whatever name you like just to identify this account)
Server Name: pluto.uksrv.co.uk
Port: 465
Connection Security: SSL/TLS
Authentication Method: Normal password
Username: (the same as the one used above with the + sign in place of the @)
If you run into difficulties setting up the account, have a look at the helpful Thunderbird tutorials listed below.
IMPORTANT: Read the warning about your mailbox below to avoid nasty surprises in the future.
Online Thunderbird guidance
If you run into difficulties, you can find initial instructions for creating a new account on Thunderbird here:
http://en.flossmanuals.net/thunderbird/ch014_account-set-up/.
If you need to check or change account settings after the account has been set up the following should be helpful
http://support.mozillamessaging.com/en-US/kb/manual-account-configuration.
For further assistance, see the list of How-To documents on this support page:
http://support.mozillamessaging.com/en-US/kb/category/20.
IMPORTANT!!
Your mailbox has a capacity of 250mb. This will eventually fill up if you don't ensure that old emails that are no longer needed are deleted on the server. If the mailbox does fill up, the email address will cease to work until space is freed up. You are advised to do the following.
1. In the main window of Thunderbird locate the Local Folders on the left. Right click and select the option to create a new sub-folder. You can then use this folder to store emails that you don't want deleted automatically. Incoming emails can be put into the folders by dragging and dropping from the list of emails visible when you are looking at your inbox. You might want to use more than one such folder.
Protect the emails in that new folder. Click Tools -> Account Settings again and find the Disc Space item underneath Local Folders on the left. Click it to see the options. Select the option Don't Delete Any Messages.
2a. With IMAP accounts: Click Tools (in the menu across the top of Thunderbird) and select Account Settings. In the menu on the left of the new pop up box, click Synchronisation & Storage. Select one of the settings to automatically delete emails (either over a certain age or over a certain number).
2b. With POP3 accounts: Click Tools -> Account Settings. Immediately under your account name on the left is the item Server Settings. Click it. Find the option Leave Messages On Server. Make sure this is NOT ticked.
Control panel
You have a control panel for the hosting account. The most common reason for logging into your control panel is to check what is happening to your mailbox. It is a good idea to check from time to time if your mailbox is filling up, because if it does fill up the email address will stop working. To log into your control panel use your domain name with /cpanel/ appended:
http://www.mysite.co.uk/cpanel/
Use the CPanel username and password that we will send you when your website goes live.
After logging in you will see a page full of icons. In the first instance, the most important is the one named "Email Accounts". By clicking that you can see your business email address/es. To the right of the listed addresses are a series of options. The one on the far right says "More". Clicking it brings up the option to access the mailbox and read and write emails on line for that address. You will have to reenter the password for the email address (this is usually the same as the password for the Control Panel), then you will be given a choice of software to read the emails. I suggest you choose Horde. This gives you direct access to your mailbox on the server - useful if you think something has gone wrong and you want to check whether there are emails on the server that haven't been downloaded onto your PC, or whether the mailbox might be getting too full.
Tip: If you are concerned that the mail system might not be working correctly, to get the most accurate picture of how full your mailboxes are go to the main control panel and click the icon marked Disk Space Usage (in the section entitled Files). You will see there an accurate indication of how much of the disk space allowed for emails has been used up.
If your mailbox has a huge number of emails that you need to delete, first make sure that you have downloaded and saved on your PC the emails that you need, then contact us. We can quickly empty your mailbox for you.
Autoresponders and email forwarding
Click the Home link at the bottom of the Control Panel window to get back to the original window full of icons. Then look for the icons giving you access to the autoresponders and email forwarding systems. The first is useful if you are going on holiday and need to send a message to this effect to enquirers. The second is useful if, for some reason, you want to use a non-business email address as your main address. (Note: We recommend NOT using email forwarding because this can lead to the mailbox filling up and ceasing to work without you realising it.)
Accessing the MODX content management system
To change the content of a website built with the MODX content management system (CMS) add /manager/ to your site's URL, like so:
http://www.mysite.co.uk/manager/
Use the CMS username and password that we gave you when the site went live.
Make sure that you read and digest all of the information and advice about the CMS before you begin updating the content of the site.
Availability calendar (single version)
Unless told otherwise, the address to log in to your calendar admin area will be:
http://www.mysite.co.uk/calendar/admin.php
The username and password will probably be the same as those for the control panel. If not, we will tell you about this.
Once logged in, the option on the left marked "Availability" is the one to click when you want to add or delete a booking. Save your changes on that page, and then log out. Finally, check the appearance of the calendar on your site.