Home > Orchid for Change > New Users
Getting Started
Congratulations on signing up with Orchid
Suites. Your new website will either be stand
alone or part of a suite of websites where you
can share content with others in your
organization or market.
To get started with applying a design and content to your staging site go to the following link in our helpdesk where there are numerous articles and tutorials available as well.
FIRST STEPS FOR ORCHID USERS
INTRODUCTION TO THE ORCHID SUITES SYSTEM:
THE SYSTEM
The Orchid system is configurable, flexible, predictable and affordable. It is designed for organizations that need a powerful system with integrated functionalities that can be administered easily by non-technical users. It is not just a CMS or content management system.
Unique to the Orchid system is the ability to share content within a "suite" of sites.
This content can include articles, alerts, press releases, images, documents and even commerce. Every suite is set up with functionality that meets the common needs of many organizations. Additional features can be added to the system.
SITE MANAGER AND ADMINISTRATION
The site manager is the "control tower" for managing your site and communications. Administrators are those individuals with access to this part of your website from any web-enabled browser. Those in this position do not need a high level of technical ability to manage the site. However, a good understanding of the web, how links work and a comfort with computers is preferable. We suggest you have a limited number (1-3) people with privileges of a site administrator.
CONTENT MANAGEMENT
Content management includes adding, editing, deleting, moving, and formatting pages. This is done by administrators via the sitemap. In most cases, the sitemap will include pre-loaded pages configured to the market or organization. Learn more under "Content" in the knowledge base.
PEOPLE MANAGEMENT
You can manage your contacts with the Orchid Suites system at a variety of ways: staffers and leaders, associates (all people in the system), and members, subscribers and volunteers (all ways of sorting your associates.) You can upload contacts and people can join via forms displayed on the homepage. If you have complex data questions, please contact us directly. Otherwise, learn more under "People" in the knowledge base.
COMMUNICATION
You can communicate with your associates through the email blast tool. You will first set up mailing lists using filters that allow you to sort your contacts based on zip code, date joined, interests, etc. When you want to send an email, you can send it to targeted lists if desired in both plain text and html formats. You can also upload pre-designed templates. Learn more under "Communication" in the knowledge base.
COMMERCE
All Orchid Suites sites come with payment processing capabilities. This means that you can take donations, set up a store and sell products (additional fee for this option), and have people register for events and buy tickets. To do this you must have a merchant account. Learn more under "Commerce" in the knowledge base.
EVENTS
You can set up events under the calendar feature of your website. These can be shared with other sites if you are in a suite. Events can occur on multiple dates and can be assigned a fee. Users can also sign-up for events. A conventions module is available with a much greater range of options. Learn more under "Events" in the knowledge base.
LOOK and FEEL
The design or presentation of typestyles, colors and arrangement of graphics is determined by style sheets. If you are an advanced user with an understanding of cascading stylesheets, you can use this advanced feature to apply design changes to your site. If you simply want a design for your site and do not have the design skills, you have several options. You can contact us directly for a quote or you can get someone with "css" skills to help you. We are building a list of resellers with these capabilities. Learn more under "Look and Feel" in the knowledge base.
SETTINGS AND REPORTS
You can control certain settings on your site as well as generate reports. Settings include the ability to set expiration dates for articles and press releases, to view breadcrumbs, etc. Report links appear throughout the site manager whenever there is a list of items drawn from the database -- articles, associates, press releases, images, documents etc. Reports are generated as csv files that can be easily opened in excel or access. Learn more under "Settings and Reports" in the knowledge base.
HELP DESK AND TRAINING
We off FREE email support via our help desk. When there, submit a ticket explaining your problem in detail. We will respond within 24 hours during the business week. Otherwise, we encourage you to visit our knowledge base where we update items regularly. Our help desk is at www.helpdesk.orchidsuites.net.
To get started with applying a design and content to your staging site go to the following link in our helpdesk where there are numerous articles and tutorials available as well.
FIRST STEPS FOR ORCHID USERS
INTRODUCTION TO THE ORCHID SUITES SYSTEM:
THE SYSTEM
The Orchid system is configurable, flexible, predictable and affordable. It is designed for organizations that need a powerful system with integrated functionalities that can be administered easily by non-technical users. It is not just a CMS or content management system.
Unique to the Orchid system is the ability to share content within a "suite" of sites.
This content can include articles, alerts, press releases, images, documents and even commerce. Every suite is set up with functionality that meets the common needs of many organizations. Additional features can be added to the system.
SITE MANAGER AND ADMINISTRATION
The site manager is the "control tower" for managing your site and communications. Administrators are those individuals with access to this part of your website from any web-enabled browser. Those in this position do not need a high level of technical ability to manage the site. However, a good understanding of the web, how links work and a comfort with computers is preferable. We suggest you have a limited number (1-3) people with privileges of a site administrator.
CONTENT MANAGEMENT
Content management includes adding, editing, deleting, moving, and formatting pages. This is done by administrators via the sitemap. In most cases, the sitemap will include pre-loaded pages configured to the market or organization. Learn more under "Content" in the knowledge base.
PEOPLE MANAGEMENT
You can manage your contacts with the Orchid Suites system at a variety of ways: staffers and leaders, associates (all people in the system), and members, subscribers and volunteers (all ways of sorting your associates.) You can upload contacts and people can join via forms displayed on the homepage. If you have complex data questions, please contact us directly. Otherwise, learn more under "People" in the knowledge base.
COMMUNICATION
You can communicate with your associates through the email blast tool. You will first set up mailing lists using filters that allow you to sort your contacts based on zip code, date joined, interests, etc. When you want to send an email, you can send it to targeted lists if desired in both plain text and html formats. You can also upload pre-designed templates. Learn more under "Communication" in the knowledge base.
COMMERCE
All Orchid Suites sites come with payment processing capabilities. This means that you can take donations, set up a store and sell products (additional fee for this option), and have people register for events and buy tickets. To do this you must have a merchant account. Learn more under "Commerce" in the knowledge base.
EVENTS
You can set up events under the calendar feature of your website. These can be shared with other sites if you are in a suite. Events can occur on multiple dates and can be assigned a fee. Users can also sign-up for events. A conventions module is available with a much greater range of options. Learn more under "Events" in the knowledge base.
LOOK and FEEL
The design or presentation of typestyles, colors and arrangement of graphics is determined by style sheets. If you are an advanced user with an understanding of cascading stylesheets, you can use this advanced feature to apply design changes to your site. If you simply want a design for your site and do not have the design skills, you have several options. You can contact us directly for a quote or you can get someone with "css" skills to help you. We are building a list of resellers with these capabilities. Learn more under "Look and Feel" in the knowledge base.
SETTINGS AND REPORTS
You can control certain settings on your site as well as generate reports. Settings include the ability to set expiration dates for articles and press releases, to view breadcrumbs, etc. Report links appear throughout the site manager whenever there is a list of items drawn from the database -- articles, associates, press releases, images, documents etc. Reports are generated as csv files that can be easily opened in excel or access. Learn more under "Settings and Reports" in the knowledge base.
HELP DESK AND TRAINING
We off FREE email support via our help desk. When there, submit a ticket explaining your problem in detail. We will respond within 24 hours during the business week. Otherwise, we encourage you to visit our knowledge base where we update items regularly. Our help desk is at www.helpdesk.orchidsuites.net.