EASYRealtySites.com

EasyRealtySites FAQ's

How Do I?

Summaries

1. Set up a Domain Name

Why: A domain name ex. (www.yourdomain.com) will identify and represent your company with a particular name on the Internet.
Where: In the admin area under My Website choose Domain Registration
How: Click here

2. List and Access all pages

Why: All of the pages you create are listed here. You can edit your page(s), add a link to the main navigation menu, choose a homepage, choose to use a Layout, Password Protect, Delete, and rank the order of your page(s).
Where: In the admin area under My Website at List Pages
How: Click here

3. Add Pages

Why: You can add pages to your website.
Where: In the admin area under My Website at Add Page
How: Click here

4. Change the Website Design

Why: You can change the style or layout of your website.
Where: In the admin area under My Website at Change Design
How: Click here

5. Configure the Header and Footer area

Why: You can add header and footer content to areas of the template on your site which will be displayed on all of your pages.
Where: In the admin area under My Website at Configure Layout
How: Click here

6. Check on Website Traffic

Why: This area allows you to view the statistics for the hits on your site.
Where: In the admin area under My Website at Page Stats
How: Click here

7. Configure Meta Tags and Page Titles

Why: Meta Tags are HTML tags that provide hidden information to the search engines to describe the content of the web pages the search engine is visiting.
Where: In the admin area under My Website at Meta Tags
How: Click here

8. Add Links, Photos, and raw HTML

Why: You can add links, images, and other content to the different areas of your pages.
Where: In the admin area under My Website at List Pages choose a page that you would like to add extra content to.
How: Click here

9. Create a Custom Form

Why: You can add new forms to obtain your site users information by adding new contact forms or questionnaires to help you increase your lead opportunities.
Where: In the admin area under Add a Page choose Custom Form Builder page type from the page wizard menu.
How: Click here

10. Obtain and/or Change your Admin Username and Password

Why: If you either forget your site admin login information or would like to change it so it is easier for you to remember
Where: At your admin area login page under Forgot My Password link or once you have logged in under User Options and then choose Update Login Information.
How: Click here

1. How to set up a Domain Name

STEP 1

In your admin under My Website choose Domain Registration. This will give you two choices: (A or B)

Current Domain(s) will list the domains we currently have in our system for your site.

Choice A)
I would like a Domain
This will let you submit one domain to us to purchase for you.
Click on the here link to begin this step.

Choice B)
I have my own Domain
This will let you submit a domain that you already own to us.
Click on the here link to begin this step.

DNS Info
If you already own a domain and have entered it in the Domain Registration page under I have my own domain then this is the information on pointing your domain name (www.yourdomain.com) to our servers to host your domain with us.

You should log into the site that you originally registered your domain name with your username and password. There should be a choice of either “manage name servers” or “point domain name”. Our servers are labeled:

DNS1.Colony1.net
DNS2.Colony1.net
DNS3.Colony1.net

Once you complete that, it normally takes about 48-72 hours to have your domain name point to your website that is located at Colony1.net.

2. How to List and Access all pages

In your admin area under My Website click List Pages.

Pages with Buttons and Pages without Buttons
The pages you create are listed here in two categories. The first category, "Pages with Buttons", lists your pages with links in the main navigation menu. To include a page in this category, make sure the word "YES" appears in green text under the "Main Button" box. If the word "NO" is displayed in red text, click the word once so it appears as "YES". The category "Pages without Buttons" lists pages that do not feature a link in the main navigation menu. To include a page in this category, make sure that the word "NO" appears in red text under the "Main Button" box.

Page Name
This is where you can edit your pages(s) by clicking on the current name of the page. You can edit the name of the page, change the header/footer, enter meta tags and more.

Page Type
This displays which type of page that was used and what function they serve. For example, a page using the "Contacts" page type is used for displaying your contact info.

Main Button
When you view your pages, you will notice a menu on the side of the page displaying links to more of your pages. This is called the main navigation menu. When the word "YES" is displayed in green text under the "Main Button" box, this means that the page's link is included in the main navigation menu. By clicking "YES", it will then display "NO" in red text. This means that the page's link is not being displayed in the main navigation menu.

Default Home Page
The home page is meant as a welcome and introduction page. You choose any page to be the home page. Simply click the "+" symbol under the "Default Home Page" box that corresponds with the page you wish to assign as your home page. Once you've selected your home page, the "+" symbol will change to read "HOMEPAGE" in green text.

Use Layout
You can choose whether your template will display for a each page. When the word "YES" is displayed under "Use Layout" this means that the template will show up for that page. By clicking "YES", it will then display "NO" and this means that the template will not show up in that page.

Password
You can set a page to require a password in order for it to be viewed. Click the blue text "Set" displayed under the "Password" box. A small window will pop up asking you for a password. Enter your desired password here and then click submit. Now whenever someone attempts to view this specific page, they will first be asked a password. If they enter the password which you've chosen, then the page will be viewable to them. If you later decide that you want to remove the password protection, simply click the word "Change" under the "Password" box and delete all the text in the Password box. Submit the blank password and the protection will be removed.

Delete
If you decide that you want to completely remove a page, click the red "X" under the "Delete" box. CAUTION: Deleted pages are not re-attainable. The page will be lost, along will all of the information it contained/displayed.

Rank
This is where you can change the order in which your pages appear on the main navigation menu. Click the down arrow to move the page down the list and click the up arrow to move the page up the list.

3. How to Add Pages

In your admin area under My Website click Add Page. Click on the type of page that you would like to add to your website. This will give you Add a New Page to Your Website. Then, enter the title of the page and click on the Add Page button. Your new webpage will then be added and you can begin to edit the new page to your specifications.

Contacts
This type of page will contain all of your company’s contact information, including, phone numbers, addresses, email address, etc.

Links
This type of page will contain any links to other websites you wish to include.

Hours of Operation
This type of page will contain your store hours.

Free Form
This type of page will let you create whatever type of content you wish to include. It will also let you edit raw html.

Question & Answers
This type of page will be a Frequently Asked Questions section about your website.

Quotes
This type of page will let you include any quotes you may want to add.

COOL Cart Catalog Page
This type of page will contain all of your products for sale along with product information.

News/Articles
This type of page will have posted news and articles for people to read on your site.

Photo Gallery
This type of page will allow you to display photos with descriptions.

Contact Me Form
This type of page will contain a contact form so visitors can email you their name, address, numbers, and comments.

Product Search
This type of page will allow visitors to search for products by specifying the Class, Manufacturer, Price Range, and/or any text the product contains.

Custom Form Builder
This type of page will allow you to build a form with the fields of your choice. It can also be used to accept a set credit card payment after the form has been submitted.

Guest Book
This type of page will allow visitors to fill out an entry on your website for other vistors of your website to view.

Mailing List
This page type will allow vistors of your website to join your Mailing List which will end up showing up in the Mailing List section of your admin area. Mailing List is a seperate section in your admin area that will allow you to set up a collection of email addresses and schedule mailings on the dates you choose.

RSS News Feed
This page type will allow you to add an address of a RSS Feed to display as a page on your website.

4. How to Change the Website Design

In your admin area under My Website click Change Design. Select the category for the type of design you would like your website to portray. This will take you to Select a New Template.

Next, select a template and color scheme. Click on Preview to see what your site will look like. When you are satisfied with the design you chose, click on Select to update your site with the new look. This will take you to a link where you can preview your website.

5. How to Configure the Header and Footer area

In your admin area under My Website click Configure Layout. This will give you the different areas (header, footer, top, and bottom navigation) of the template on your site which will be displayed on all of your pages. Put you mouse over the desired area and the name of the section will be displayed for you to click on. That section will now load for you edit and submit changes.

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6. How to check Website Traffic

In your admin area under My Website click Page Stats. This will give you Site Stats. You can view the pages separately with the number of hits on each page. You can also reset the counters for each page which keep track of the number of hits per page.

7. How to configure Meta Tags and Page Titles

STEP 1

In your admin area under My Website click Meta Tags. This will give you the Meta Tag section.

Enter your META KEYWORDS and DESCRIPTIONS in the boxes. Enter words separated by commas with no HTML. The COOL Site System will put the HTML in as necessary. If you are given Meta Tags with the following example content you can remove the surrounding HTML tags and put in the word content only as follows:

Example with HTML tags
Remove the HTML tags to get the following: Fine Products, Great Services

These are HTML tags that provide hidden information to the search engines to describe the content of the web pages the search engine is visiting. Web Site owners use this resource to help their ranking and descriptions in the search engines. Many search engines incorporate reading Meta Tags as part of their indexing process.

You can configure your site using META Tags in two areas. One is labeled "META DESCRIPTION" and the other is "META KEYWORDS"

Meta Description
This is used by some search engines to display a brief summary about your site. When you type in keywords to search for a site, you will get a number of results. Depending on the search engine you use, it will show a brief summary below the link of the site that it is displaying. The META DESCRIPTION area is where you would put this brief description.

Meta Keywords
This is used by virtually all search engines. These key words are indexed by search engines and placed into their database. When someone types in keyword phrases to search for sites online, that search engine goes through its index and comes up with the closest matches to the requested keywords. Your keywords should be limited to single words or short 2 or 3 word phrases separated by commas. For example, if you are selling beach towels on your site, your meta key words could be: Beach Towels, Towel, Towels, Sunbathing, etc. Try to stay away from using words like "to, and, my, at" etc. Use only words that describe your site.

Once you have the Meta Tags inserted into the form fields, click on the submit button on the bottom.

Once you save this page, the Meta Tags and Meta Descriptions are automatically added to your site. You will not see these TAGS anywhere on your site. They only appear in the HTML code that the search engines read.

*** Please Note: Just because you have Meta Tags configured on your site, does not mean that your site is going to come up when you type in keywords on a search engine page. You must have your site registered with search engines for you to be able to be indexed and you site come up.

STEP 2

In your admin area under My Website click List Pages .Choose any page and when the edit section loads for that page at the top you will see a link called “Rename”. This will bring up two field boxes that will let you enter a New Page Title and a New Button Title. Enter in the Page Title that you would like to show up as the title of that particular page.

Then, enter in the Button Title for that page which shows in the navigation menu on your site. In the help box at the top it states to not use html code as the cool site system will put it in for you.

8. How to Add Links, Photos, and raw HTML

In the admin area under My Website at List Pages choose a page that you would like to add extra content to.

Example:

Choose the Home page (or any Free Form page type).
At the top you will see a link for "Tutorial".
This will show a video on how to use editor to add links and photos, etc.

Links
Once in the editor section of a page you can create a word or sentence in which you want to be the link. Next, highlight the text to be a link and click the world and chain icon in the top tool box of the editor area and a pop up window will come up. Fill out the HREF: area which is the only required field. TARGET: is optional, and will bring up the link in a separate browser window once clicked on the website. You can obtain the HREF: entry by going to the page where you want to link to and coping the address in the address bar of your browser. (Ex. http://www.yourdomain.com) After you have filled out the entries, click "Insert Link" at the bottom of the small pop up window. Finally, process the entire page at the bottom of the Editor.

Photos
Put your cursor in the editor where you want the photo to show up. Next, click the mountain and sun icon in the top tool box of the editor area and a pop up window will come up. Click New Image link at the top of the new window and a browse button will appear. Browse through your computer and click and open the .gif or .jpg photo. Then, once the photo path is filled in next to the browse button you can click "Upload". Click "Insert Image" at the botom of the pop up window and the photo will be inserted into the editor. Finally, process the entire page at the bottom of the Editor.

Raw HTML
There is a Raw Html link at the top of all Free Form page types that will let you enter in html directly and submit it. Also, if you right click in any of the editor boxes it will let you "Edit Source" which will open another window which will let you enter in html directly and submit it. Note: After saving the changes in the Raw Html section you will still have to Process the entire page for the changes to take effect.

9) How to create a Custom Form

In the admin area under My Website at Add Page choose the page type of Custom Form Builder.

STEP 1 - Form Properties

Click the Form Properties at the top.

Email Address
Enter in the email address that you would like your form to go once it has been submitted.
Confirmation Page
Using the drop down box choose the page that you would like the user to go to after the form has been submitted.
Activate
Checking the active box will allow the form to be viewed by the user on your site. If the active box is not checked it will give a message of: "Page Not Found".

STEP 2 - Add New Form Field

Click the Manage Form Fields link at the top. Next, click on the "Add New Form Field" button located across from the name of the form.

A) Choose the Field Type and Group

Field Type
Using the drop down box, select the type of Field you would like to create. The following types of fields are listed below:
Group With: (Optional)
You can only group with matching Fields Types of either check box or radio button. Finally, click the Submit button when you have made your choice.
Available Field Types
Check box
This field type will have 1 or more boxes in which a user can select from to respond to a Field.
Hidden
This type of field will not be seen on your site but will pass a value which can be seen at Form Submissions.
Multi Line Text Box
This type of field will have multiple lines of text for the user to respond to a Field.
Password
This type of field will allow the user to enter a password for the Field.
Radio Button
This field type will have 1 or more buttons in which a user can select from to respond to a Field.
Select List
This type of field will have 1 or more choices in a drop down box in which the user can select from.
Single Line Text Box
This type of field will have a singe line of text for the user to respond to a Field.
Free Form Field
This type of field can display any type of info including photos, links, text, etc. using the editor provided.

B) Specify properties of the new Field Type

Internal Name
The Internal Name is not seen on the website by the user, but will actually be used in the creation of the new Field Type for identification purposes. It can only contain letters and/or numbers and NO other characters or spaces.
Field Label
This is the label that the field is given to be displayed on your site. Example Label: What is your Name?
Field Value
This will list the value of certain field types. The field values will display for radio buttons, checkboxes, and hidden field types only. Example Field Value for a check box: Male
Additional Code: (Optional)
This area is used for additional code for added functionality to your Field Value.
Required
This will let you require the user to complete the Field Value before submitting the form.

STEP 3 - Manage Form Fields

Click the Manage Form Fields link at the top. This will list all of your fields for the particular form.

Field Rank
This will let you rank the order of the fields which are displayed on your custom form page.
Field Label
This is the label that the field is given to be displayed on your site. Example Label: What is your Name?
Field Type
This will list the type (functionality) of the field that was created. Example Field Type: Check Box
Field Value
This will list the value of certain field types. The field values will display for radio buttons, checkboxes, and hidden field types only. Example Field Value for a check box: Male
Editing Fields
You can edit Fields or Field Values by clicking the Edit link located across from the Field Label or Value.
Previewing Fields
You can preview created Fields by clicking the Preview link located across from the Field Label.
Deleting Fields
You can delete entire Fields or singe Field Values by clicking the Delete link located across from the Field Label or Value

STEP 4 - Form Submissions

Click the Form Submissions link at the top. This will list all of your Form Submissions ordered by date.

Submission ID
Each form submission is given an ID number in which to reference.
Submission Date
The date in which the form was submitted is listed across from the Submission ID for each form submission.
Details
Click on the Details link across from the Submission ID to access the entire contents of the form responses.
Delete
You can delete a form submission by clicking the red X across from the Form Submission ID

10. How to Obtain and/or Change your Admin Username and Password

You can go to your Admin Area where you login and there is a red password reminder box at the top right. This will allow you to instantly email your current login details to yourself.

If you forget how to get to your admin area, you can use the following link below. Using your Site ID or email address you can have your login details emailed to yourself

http://sites.colony1.net/admin/index.cfm?fuseaction=forgotpassword

Once in the admin area you can go under My Website to User Options and you can update your current username and password for the Cool Site Admin login.

Note: If your email address is changed at User Options, default communication between us will switch to your new email address.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How can I change the order in which my navigation links are shown on my website?
You are able to change the order by going to "List Pages" in the admin area. There is a page "Rank" located to the right side of the page. Select the up/down arrows to move your page higher or lower in the navigation structure.

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2. How can I edit the Header/Footer sections of my site?
The content in the header/footer section of your site can be edited by clicking on "Configure Layout" in the left navigation menu of your admin area. Next, click on the appropriate section to be edited. You can then update the information from within the editor window and click on "Process Page Update" at the bottom of the page when you are done.

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3. How can I edit the existing content on my pages?
You can edit the content on any of your pages by clicking on "List Pages" in the admin area and then clicking on the appropriate page to edit. Once you are in the editor window, you can make any changes necessary and then click on "Process Page Update" at the bottom of the page when you are done.

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4. How can I change the template design for my site?
In your admin area under My Website click Change Design. Select the category for the type of design you would like your website to portray. This will take you to Select a New Template. Next, select a template and color scheme. Click on Preview to see what your site will look like. When you are satisfied with the design you chose, click on Select to update your site with the new look. This will take you to a link where you can preview your website.

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5. How can I configure Meta Keyword and Descriptions for my site?
You can add Meta Tags to your entire site as well as to individual pages on your site. Please see the instructions below for more information. NOTE: You need to enter the Meta Description and Keywords without the HTML Tags, as the Cool Site System will automatically insert these tags for you when you click on the “Submit” button. Entire Site: Click on “Meta Tags” from the left navigation menu in your admin area. Enter your Meta Description and Keywords into the respective boxes. After you are done, click on “Submit” at the bottom of the page. Individual Pages: Click on "List Pages" and then select a page from the list Next, click on the link above that says "Meta Tags" When you are done filling out the description and keywords, you can click on "Submit" at the bottom of the screen. NOTE: Keep in mind that when you add meta tags to individual pages on your site, it will only affect that particular page and would not affect the meta tags that may already be defined from the "Meta Tags" link on the left navigation menu in your admin area.

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6. How can I add a message to the email my customer gets after an order has been placed on my site?
Click on "Order Response" in the left navigation menu of your admin area. Here you can add a message to the response email that is sent to the customer after an order is completed. For example, Thank You for visiting my website you can reach me at, etc...

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7. Can I setup individual pages on my site, to not use my current template?
Yes. You can remove the template from certain pages by going to "List Pages" in the admin area and clicking "Yes" under the Use Layout column. To re-enable the page to use your current template, click on "No" under the Use Layout column. Therefore, any page listed as a "Yes" under the Use Layout column will use your current template and all pages listed as a "No" will NOT use your current template.

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8. How can I get a domain name I already own (ie: www.mydomainname.com) to work with my Cool Site?
In your admin under My Website choose Domain Registration. This will give you two choices: (A or B) Current Domain(s) will list the domains we currently have in our system for your site. You will need to select Choice B I have my own Domain This will let you submit a domain that you already own to us. Click on the here link to begin this step. DNS Info If you already own a domain and have entered it in the Domain Registration page under I have my own domain then this is the information on pointing your domain name (www.yourdomain.com) to our servers to host your domain with us. You should log into the site that you originally registered your domain name with your username and password. There should be a choice of either “manage name servers” or “point domain name”. Our servers are labeled:

DNS1.Colony1.net
DNS2.Colony1.net
DNS3.Colony1.net

Once you complete that, it normally takes about 48-72 hours to have your domain name point to your website that is located at Colony1.net.

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9. How can I obtain and/or change my username and password for the admin area?
You can go to your Admin Area where you login and there is a red password reminder box at the top right. This will allow you to instantly email your current login details to yourself. If you forget how to get to your admin area, you can use the following link below. Using your Site ID or email address you can have your login details emailed to yourself. Request Password here.

Once in the admin area you can go under My Website to User Options and you can update your current username and password for the Cool Site Admin login. Note: If your email address is changed at User Options, default communication between us will switch to your new email address.

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10. What are ALT Tags?
ALT Tags are image associated titles. Whenever you add an image you can add a title to it. Since search engines can't pick up images on a site, HTML designers have developed a short line of code, "ALT", to make up for this. The Alt Tag adds text to the picture. When the Search Engine spider begins crawling, it will look at not only the content, titles, and meta tags of your site but the alt tags as well rather than neglecting them as it would with images without alt tags present.

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11. How can I remove a page from my website's main navigation but still keep the page?
In your admin area under My Website click List Pages and you will see Pages with Buttons and Pages without Buttons: The pages you create are listed here in two categories. The first category, "Pages with Buttons", lists your pages with links in the main navigation menu. To include a page in this category, make sure the word "YES" appears in green text under the "Main Button" box. If the word "NO" is displayed in red text, click the word once so it appears as "YES". The category "Pages without Buttons" lists pages that do not feature a link in the main navigation menu. To include a page in this category, make sure that the word "NO" appears in red text under the "Main Button" box.

NOTE: Removing or hiding a page from showing up in your site's main navigation menu does not actually delete the page itself from your site. Therefore, it is two totally different concepts to delete a page from your site vs. hiding a page.

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12. How can I add a new page to my site?
In your admin area under My Website click Add Page. Click on the type of page that you would like to add to your website. This will give you Add a New Page to Your Website. Then, enter the title of the page and click on the Add Page button. Your new webpage will then be added and you can begin to edit the new page to your specifications.

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13. Is there a way to check the traffic stats for my site?
In your admin area under My Website click Page Stats. This will give you Site Stats. You can view the pages separately with the number of hits on each page. You can also reset the counters for each page which keep track of the number of hits per page.

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14. How do you change the text color, font size, etc. on free form pages?
Click on “List Pages” in your admin area and choose any free form type page. Next, highlight the text for which you want to change the attributes for, from within the editor box. Then, click on the “Font” icon (illustrated by a “T” and a colored square box) in the toolbar above the editor box. Change the necessary attributes and click on “OK” when you are done. Finally, click on “Process Page Update” at the bottom of the page

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15. How often do I save my pages?
To avoid losing data, it is recommended that you constantly click on "Process Page Update" while working on your pages. This will ensure that your data is constantly saved and therefore avoid possible loss of data. Also, if you leave your computer for a while, your admin area will become idle and as a result, may cause you to lose the recent information that you just entered prior to clicking on "Process Page Update". This is due to a time-out in the current session. Therefore, if you are in the middle of working on a page and you need to step away from your computer for a while, it is strongly recommended that you process the page update prior to that.

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16. Is there another editor that I can use to edit my pages?
In you admin area, click on “User Options > Choose WYSIWYG Editor”. From the two choices of editors, you will notice that one is already selected (Active Edit or EditLet”). At this point, select the editor that is NOT currently selected and then click on the “Submit” button at the bottom of the page. Now that you have switched your editor, you can try again to see if the problem reoccurs.

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17. Why is there a blank space on the right side of my site?
It's the way the sites were designed, and is really a preference item. Some people prefer fixed width and some prefer stretch. The stretch ones sound like an easy answer, but in reality based on viewers at different resolution, you wind up with areas that come up with lots of unwanted white-space inside of the content, instead of controlled outside of the content The majority of "major" websites use fixed width. For example cnn.com, foxnews.com, chevrolet.com, disney.com (centered but fixed width), wal-mart.com, realtor.com (centered). You can find examples of both ways.

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