Introducing the Business Catalyst Admin Console

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Firefox browser

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Adobe Business Catalyst Platform

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This article provides an overview of the Admin Console and introduces the features of the online editor that is included with Business Catalyst. You'll learn how to sign up for a free 30-day trial, get an overview of the online interface, and discover how to create and edit web pages. You'll also get a first look at how to upload site files to integrate images, SWF files and other site assets into your site.

This article is dvided into the following sections:

• Signing up as a free partner
• Logging in to the Admin Console
• Discovering the online editing tools
• Uploading files with the File Manager

Signing up as a free partner

In this section, you'll learn how to register your first trial site with the Business Catalyst Platform. You'll choose a domain name and password to set up your account using the Online Business Builder. You'll also get to choose from a set of prebuilt templates to get started, so that your online business will be up and running in a few minutes. When you sign up, you'll get a Partner Account and access to the Partner Portal, which enables you to create online businesses and manage your web clients.

Before completing the registration process, here's a quick overview of some of the benefits of working with this hosted solution. Using the Business Catalyst Platform, you can create online businesses for your clients that address their most common requests:

• Updating their site content easily, without any software or coding
• Selling their products online with payment gateways and integrated shipping options
• Managing their inventory and marketing services via their online store
• Tracking each contact and each sale in a fully customizable reporting system
• Gathering customer data with web forms that are specific to their business models
• Up-selling services by sending newsletters that include analytics to measure success
• Providing customer service and managing customer incidents with the CRM

Follow these steps to sign up as a free partner and register your site:

1. Launch the Firefox browser and visit the Business Catalyst home page.
2. Click the Free Sign Up button (see Figure 1).

3. Complete the registration form to create your free Business Catalyst account (see Figure 2).

4. Check your e-mail to get the confirmation e-mail that contains links to the Partner Portal and the connection information for your free trial site.
5. Click the Go to Partner Portal link in the confirmation e-mail you receive from Business Catalyst. In the Partner Portal, click the Create Site button to launch the Online Business Builder (see Figure 3).

The Online Business Builder appears (see Figure 4).

The fastest way to use the Online Business Builder is to use the default selection: Use an Online Business Template. Click Finish and you're done. This option allows you to evaluate all of the core functionality with the default template, using a default template.

6. If you prefer to choose which template to use and which features to enable, click Next. The Online Business Builder will take you through a series of screens that correspond to each of the options listed in the left column. Choose the desired template design (see Figure 5).

Note: Click the template's thumbnail to see a larger version of the design displayed in a new browser window.

7. Once you select a template, the window expands to display the available color schemes and home page images. Choose the desired options, and then click Next.

   The remaining screens of the Online Business Builder take you through the following optional features. On each screen, you can choose to enable or disable the following functionality:

   • Online store catalogs
   • e-mail campaigns
   • Lead tracking
   • Blogs
   • Forums
   • Secure areas (password-protected area for sensitive content)
   • Site search

   After choosing to enable or disable each feature, click next to proceed through each section.

8. After finalizing your selections, the Online Business Builder displays a screen with your Login Details (see Figure 6).

Note: It is important that you keep track of the e-mail address and password entered in the Login Details screen. You'll need your user name (your e-mail address) and your password to log in to your site.

9. Scroll down and enter the settings for your new site in the provided fields (see Figure 7).

10. The name you choose for your site will become the beginning of the site's address:

    http://my-site.businesscatalyst.com

11. After entering your site details and accepting the end-user license agreement, click Finish (see Figure 8).

Your new site is already live and published online. Click the Preview option to see it displayed in a new browser window.

Note: Most users prefer to use the prebuilt templates when testing a trial site. If you'd prefer to use your own template or duplicate a design from one of your existing sites, you can choose to either Start your site from scratch or Import an existing HTML template in the options presented on the first screen of the Online Business Builder. These options allow you to either upload an HTML page (start from scratch) or enter the URL of one of your live sites (import) to use these designs as the basis of your trial site's appearance.

One of the great benefits of this system is that you are completely free to use any HTML and CSS code you prefer when creating online businesses. The Business Catalyst Platform separates the look and feel of a site from the site's functionality.

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Logging in to the Admin Console

The Admin Console is the name of the online interface that enables you to update your account settings, maintain your site and review site analytics. To access the Admin Console and begin editing your online business, use a browser to visit the Admin page for your website. For example, enter the following URL into the address field:

http://my-site.businesscatalyst.com/admin

Note: Replace my-site in the URL above with the name you entered in the site settings of the Online Business Builder.

Enter your name and password into the registration window that appears (see Figure 9).

When you first log in to the Admin Console, visit Home > My Details. This is your personal account area, where you can update your contact information and password. The option to receive a weekly site report is enabled by default. If you prefer not to receive these weekly messages, deselect the option and click Save (see Figure 10).

Note: The Admin Console is browser-based; no additional software is required to use it. However, remember to click Save after making your selections. If you click Back or close the browser window before saving your changes, your changes will be discarded.

If you need to change your password, use one of the two following methods:

Method 1: Enter the new password in the My Details page

1. After logging in to the Admin Console for your site, choose Home > My Details.
2. Scroll down to the Change password option.
3. Enter the new password and confirm it, then click the Save button.

Method 2: Use the Lost password feature to reset your password

1. Visit the Admin page for your site:

   http://www.my-site.businesscatalyst.com/admin

2. Select the Lost Password tab.
3. Enter the e-mail address that you use to access your site's Admin Console.
4. The system will send you a message with the steps to follow.
5. Check your e-mail and follow the instructions to reset your password.

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Discovering the online editing tools

In this section, you'll learn how to use InContext Editing, an editing tool integrated with the Admin Console, to update your site's content directly in a browser.

Although your clients may choose to use this feature as the primary method of updating their site's content, you'll find that InContext Editing is also a very useful tool when you are away from your usual computer or when you need to make quick site updates.

Follow these steps to access and use InContext Editing:

1. Log in to your site's Admin Console.
2. Choose Website > InContext Editing > InContext Editing to launch the online editor.

   Click the Start Editing button on the Introduction screen. The home page of your site appears, displayed in edit mode (see Figure 11).

3. Select the text you want to edit, and enter the new text you want to display.

   In the upper right corner, use the More menu to access the formatting tools to edit the content as desired (see Figure 12).

At the bottom of the InContext Editing interface, you'll find three buttons that enable you to Save, Save and Publish, or Discard changes (see Figure 13).

4. Click the Save and Publish button to publish the change to your live site. In a new browser window, enter the URL for your site to see the updated home page (see Figure 14).

Inserting images with InContext Editing

In this section you'll learn how to use InContext Editing to upload an image from your local machine and display it on your trial site. Follow these steps:

1. Place your cursor in the area you want to edit. In this example, click the text area directly below the header and paragraph that you edited in the previous section and press Enter (Windows) or Return (Mac) to create a new line.
2. Click the Insert and manage images button to begin the image insertion process (see Figure 15).

3. In the Media Location drop-down menu, choose the option My Computer and then browse to select the image file on your hard drive (see Figure 16). Alternatively, you could choose The Internet and enter the absolute path to an image file that is live on the Internet, or choose My Site and browse to select an image file that has previously been uploaded to your Business Catalyst site.

4. In the Select Files dialog box that appears, browse to select the desired image file from your computer (see Figure 17).

The page refreshes with the inserted image (see Figure 18).

5. After inserting an image (or any time an image is selected) you can use the editing options provided in the More menu on the top right corner to make any changes as needed, such as adding a border (see Figure 19).

After returning to the page in edit mode, the changes you made to the image are reflected (see Figure 20).

6. Continue editing the page elements using the InContext Editing interface until you are finished.

   If you want to edit the other pages of the site, click the link to access the desired page, click the Follow Link box that appears and continue using the online editor to make changes.

7. When you are finished editing the site, click Save, Save and Publish or Discard in the lower right corner of the page. Then click the Admin Console link in the top left corner to return to the Admin Console.
8. To preview the live site, select Website > Web Pages and then click the Start Page from the list of site pages.

   While the home page is selected, click the option to Preview in a new browser window in the right sidebar; or, if you prefer, open a new browser window and enter your site's URL in the address bar. If you want to leave the Admin Console, you may also simply delete the ending part of the URL, /Admin/Frameset.aspx, so that only the domain name remains. Your updated home page appears (see Figure 21).

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Uploading files with the File Manager

In the previous section, you learned how to upload and insert images using SiteWalk. In this section, you'll use the File Manager to upload other files from your local machine to the remote server.

The File Manager enables you to upload and organize all of your site's assets, including image files, CSS style sheets, JavaScript, digital media and other related files. In addition to uploading files, you can also use the File Manager to resize images and maintain your site's structure by moving files into subfolders.

Follow these steps to access the File Manager:

1. Click the link in the upper-left side of the Admin Console directly below the tab of Recent Items (see Figure 22).

2. The File Manager appears. This interface enables you to upload an entire folder, multiple files or a single file using the upload tool. Click the Upload Files link and browse to select the desired files, using the same interface that you used when uploading files with the Image Manager in the previous section of this article.

Note: There is a maximum file size limitation of 100 MB that applies to each file upload.

Resizing images with the File Manager

To access an image file, click its filename. The corresponding thumbnail image appears. If you need to navigate within your site structure, use the breadcrumb links at the top of the list of files (see Figure 23).

To drill down inside a folder, double-click the resepctive folder name. If you need to create or delete a folder in your site hierarchy, click the Create Folder or Delete Folder options.

Once you've selected an image you want to resize, click the Resize link directly below the thumbnail of the image (see Figure 24).

You can adjust the width, height, dimension units (pixel or percent), and you can choose to constrain proportions to avoid image distortion.

If you want to overwrite the original image with the new version you are resizing, select the Overwrite file with the same name option.

Click Save to save your changes to the edited image file. Then, return to SiteWalk to insert the new images into your site's pages.

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Where to go from here

This tutorial on working with the Business Catalyst Platform to build online businesses has only just scratched the surface of what is possible. Business Catalyst offers a host of features you can integrate into your site using the Admin Console that allow you to provide your web clients with the features they require, such as site search, contact forms, calendars, RSS feeds and photo galleries.

To learn more about Business Catalyst, check out the following resources:

• Register a trial Partner account.
• Watch Introducing Business Catalyst on Adobe TV.
• Visit the Business Catalyst Support Central Knowledgebase.
• Check out Adam Broadway's new Business Catalyst Evangelist site.

To get more information about working with the Business Catalyst Platform, refer to the following resources:

• Building your first site in Business Catalyst
• Customizing the pre-built templates that are included with a Business Catalyst trial site
• Migrating an existing site with InContext Editing to the Business Catalyst Platform
• Uploading files with the File Manager, FTP clients and Dreamweaver

To build Business Catalyst online businesses with Dreamweaver, download and install the following software:

• Dreamweaver CS5
• Business Catalyst extension for Dreamweaver