Getting Started with netAdventist
This video offers a quick overview of the features offered by your netAdventist website.
To work in the dashboard of your netAdventist website, the first thing you will need to do is log in. Sign in to your netAdventist website by scrolling to the bottom of your website and selecting the Login link. After entering your email and password, you are returned to your homepage view. Scroll to the bottom and select the Dashboard link. You are taken to the Site Content tab.
From here next you will select the Settings tab from the horizontal menu at the top of the page. Setup Details appears. Enter your Site Name in the first field. This is the name that will appear at the top of your homepage. There are additional optional fields. The Description allows the information provided to appear just below the name of your site in smaller print. In the Keywords field, provide words to be used by search engines to help people find your site. When done, select Save.
Next, select the URL & Certs link on the left navigation bar. Add any additional URLs (web addresses) that you use to access your site and indicate which one you want to be your primary URL.
Then select Social Networks from the left navigation bar to add social media links for Facebook, Twitter, and others. Fill in the appropriate URLs. When done, select Save.
Next, select the Preferences link on the left navigation bar. Select your Timezone, Language and other options. Select your Division, Union and Local Conference from the dropdowns. When done, select Save.
Choose Contact Information from the left navigation bar. Enter the address and other information. Then select Save.
Next choose System Messages from the left navigation bar. You can edit any of the default messages from the list if you would like. Once finished editing the message select Save.
Selecting Google Features on the left navigation bar allows you to integrate your website with YouTube. When done, select Save.
System Error Page is displayed if the user encounters an internal error on the site. This is a good place to add site contact information. If you leave this area blank, the default error page will be displayed.
The Theme and Templates link on the left navigation bar is likely the one you will use most in this section. This is where you can choose or change your website’s theme or look. Choose from a variety of professionally designed themes or customize your theme or templates for a more personalized look. We recommend that you review the Themes, Templates, and Widgets training videos and/or instructions to make the best use of these features.
The Extensions link on the left navigation bar is where you can choose to activate or deactivate extensions from a list of features and widgets for your website. Be sure to review this list to activate all the features you would like to use.
Now let’s review the tools to actually create content on your website. The majority of these tools are located on the Site Content tab on the horizontal navigation bar at the top of the page. On the left navigation bar there are various features available.
The Main Menu provides the navigation structure for your website with the ability to create sub-menus and link to content outside of your website.
Create your Home page using formatting tools similar to those in most word processing programs with no need to know HTML. For those familiar with HTML, a HTML editor is also provided for fine tuning your content if desired. Create compelling website content by inserting Photos, Video, Audio, Links, Tables, and more. netAdventist integrated editing tools makes it easy. Refer to the TinyMCE Editor training video for further instructions if needed. Once created, Content Pages can be stored in one of three folders in the left navigation bar by creating the status as Published, Drafts, or Archive. This is useful if you have multiple content contributors whose work needs to be approved before placing it on your website.
netAdventist allows you to schedule the posting and removal of Announcements and News within your website. Individual Announcements and News can be shared with all visitors to your website or, if you wish, only to those members who you have given specific login access. The same applies for Content pages and documents.
netAdventist provides a way for you to upload and organize documents to your website into Document groups for easy access.
An online Calendar is provided to keep your visitors and members updated on your activities. Recurring or one-time events can be posted including Maps for directions. If you wish, you can add an external iCal or ICS calendar.
You can easily create online Forms to collect information from the visitors to your website. netAdventist has all the tools you need to create online questionnaires, subscription and registration forms and more with easy steps. When submitted, these forms send the information to an email that you designate.
If you would like to use Live Media Streams on your website, netAdventist has you covered. Choose from a provided list of Seventh-day Adventist programming such as 3ABN and the Hope Channel or you can add your own.
netAdventist’s Podcast feature is a powerful way to enhance your website’s content by allowing you to offer audio or video. Share your church’s services online. netAdventist automatically generates the RSS feed for visitors to subscribe. All you need to do is upload your audio or video files through netAdventist’s easy menu driven process.
netAdventist provides you a way to spiritually support visitors to your website by accepting Prayer Requests. This feature allows you to post prayer requests to your website if the submitter desires and your administrator approves them. You can also forward prayer requests on to your Prayer Chain.
The netAdventist Slideshow is designed so that you can easily display a series of images on your website. You can also add a slideshow to a banner widget container on themes that contain one.
netAdventist also provides a tool to create and manage Email Lists which is useful to send out E-newsletters or any group correspondence.
With netAdventist User Admin you also have the flexibility to provide member-only content for those you choose to give login access. You can even set up custom user access groups.
For additional information on any of the features covered here, as well as others that weren’t mentioned, please see the specific training materials provided for that feature on netAdventist.org in the list under Documentation.
