Guide - Blogs and Forums
Start a New Blog
To create a blog, go to the Pages tab of the editor, click Add Page and Select the Blog Page option.
This will add the blog to your list of pages.
Give the blog a name and then click Edit Page to start adding content.
A new blog starts with a blank content area and a sidebar with some default content that you can easily change. To create your first post, click the New Post button.
This will add the blog to your list of pages.
Give the blog a name and then click Edit Page to start adding content.
A new blog starts with a blank content area and a sidebar with some default content that you can easily change. To create your first post, click the New Post button.
Write a Blog Post
To create a new post for your blog, use the New Post button at the top of the blog itself.
Your blog post has a title and a content area. The title should generally be short - no more than a sentence long or so. Just like the headline of a newspaper article.
Adding content to a blog post works the same way as adding content to a regular page - drag elements into the post and edit them to add content.
Once you've added your content you can categorize the post using Tags - these tagged categories will appear on your sidebar, making it easier for visitors to your blog to find posts that cover certain topics. Categories can be whatever you like and it isn't necessary to use them. Learn more about Tags and Categories here.
Now you can Publish the post to your live site (which will make it instantly available) or Save to Drafts to edit / publish it later.
If you save the post as a draft, it'll be accessible to you through a drafts area at the top of the blog page from within the editor (along with any other drafts you've saved). Just click the link to the post from this drafts area to edit it further and save / Publish.
Every new post you Publish will appear at the very top of the page, pushing older posts further down the page. After you've added ten posts to the page, older posts will be moved off the main page to easily accessible archive pages.
Published posts are also sent out to your RSS feed.
Your blog post has a title and a content area. The title should generally be short - no more than a sentence long or so. Just like the headline of a newspaper article.
Adding content to a blog post works the same way as adding content to a regular page - drag elements into the post and edit them to add content.
Once you've added your content you can categorize the post using Tags - these tagged categories will appear on your sidebar, making it easier for visitors to your blog to find posts that cover certain topics. Categories can be whatever you like and it isn't necessary to use them. Learn more about Tags and Categories here.
Now you can Publish the post to your live site (which will make it instantly available) or Save to Drafts to edit / publish it later.
If you save the post as a draft, it'll be accessible to you through a drafts area at the top of the blog page from within the editor (along with any other drafts you've saved). Just click the link to the post from this drafts area to edit it further and save / Publish.
Every new post you Publish will appear at the very top of the page, pushing older posts further down the page. After you've added ten posts to the page, older posts will be moved off the main page to easily accessible archive pages.
Published posts are also sent out to your RSS feed.
Blog Post Categories
Adding Tags to a post Categorizes that post on your sidebar. Categorizing a post in this way allows visitors to your blog to easily find posts that cover a specific topic.
Tagging a Post is as easy as using the Tags section to check off any previously added Tags that apply and adding any new Tags that seem appropriate via the Add link.
Once you add a Tag it's always available to use for future posts.
Any Tags that are used with a blog post will show up in the Categories section of your blog's sidebar. Clicking on a Tag will display all blog posts associated with that Tag.
If you don't see a Categories section on your sidebar, you can add one by dragging a Categories element to the page.
We recommend you use a certain amount of restraint when creating Tags. If you keep the number of Categories to a minimum (say, less than twenty or so) it'll be easier for visitors to find posts that interest them. Creating a new Tag for almost every post makes the Categories difficult to navigate and significantly less useful for your visitors.
Tagging a Post is as easy as using the Tags section to check off any previously added Tags that apply and adding any new Tags that seem appropriate via the Add link.
Once you add a Tag it's always available to use for future posts.
Any Tags that are used with a blog post will show up in the Categories section of your blog's sidebar. Clicking on a Tag will display all blog posts associated with that Tag.
If you don't see a Categories section on your sidebar, you can add one by dragging a Categories element to the page.
We recommend you use a certain amount of restraint when creating Tags. If you keep the number of Categories to a minimum (say, less than twenty or so) it'll be easier for visitors to find posts that interest them. Creating a new Tag for almost every post makes the Categories difficult to navigate and significantly less useful for your visitors.
The Blog Sidebar
Your blog has a fully customizable sidebar. This sidebar include four sections / elements by default and these can be deleted just like any other element.
But you can easily add more content by dragging elements to the sidebar. There is a "Blog Sidebar" category that is meant to be used only with the sidebar, but you're welcome to use elements from any of the categories.
Here we see a sidebar that includes three of the default sidebar elements, a Flickr badge from the "Blog Sidebar" category of elements and a Blogroll (links to other blogs) that was created using a Title and a Paragraph element.
But you can easily add more content by dragging elements to the sidebar. There is a "Blog Sidebar" category that is meant to be used only with the sidebar, but you're welcome to use elements from any of the categories.
Here we see a sidebar that includes three of the default sidebar elements, a Flickr badge from the "Blog Sidebar" category of elements and a Blogroll (links to other blogs) that was created using a Title and a Paragraph element.
Manage Blog Settings
Your blog settings let you determine how you want to handle comments and alter your time / date settings. These settings can be altered via the Blog Settings button at the top of the blog.
Select if you want to allow all comments, allow only comments you approve (you'll need to moderate the comments and select the ones you want to publish) or turn the comments off entirely.
Select if you'd like to be notified of any new comments made by visitors and enter the address to which you'd like such notifications to be sent.
Select if you'd like to automatically close comments after a set period of time. If you set comments to close after 30 days (for example) then comments can no longer be made to a blog post 30 days after you publish it.
Select if you need the "American" style Month / Day / Year date format or the "European" style Day / Month / Year date format.
Select to use 12 hour or 24 hour time.
Select your timezone.
And Save Changes when you're done!
Select if you want to allow all comments, allow only comments you approve (you'll need to moderate the comments and select the ones you want to publish) or turn the comments off entirely.
Select if you'd like to be notified of any new comments made by visitors and enter the address to which you'd like such notifications to be sent.
Select if you'd like to automatically close comments after a set period of time. If you set comments to close after 30 days (for example) then comments can no longer be made to a blog post 30 days after you publish it.
Select if you need the "American" style Month / Day / Year date format or the "European" style Day / Month / Year date format.
Select to use 12 hour or 24 hour time.
Select your timezone.
And Save Changes when you're done!
Manage Blog Comments
We turn on comments by default for every blog post you create, and visitors to your blog can comment on any posts you've made unless you turn comments off under your Blog Settings. These comments appear underneath each individual post in the order in which they were added.
You should reply to your comments using the same comment feature all of your readers use -- if you're logged into Sitezapp (which you can do via the blog comment area), your comment will be highlighted in blue to set you apart as the site owner.
Additionally, if you (or any other commenter) replies directly to another comment, that comment will appear directly underneath the original comment and will be part of a thread connected to that comment. Any other replies to that comment will appear as part of that same thread.
We notify you of these comments via the email address associated with your account (you can change this to a different address for the blog under settings). The comments can be read directly on your site or under the Blog Comments area for the blog in your account.
How can you access this Blog Comment section for the site in your account? Go to the main page of your account, click the More button to the right of the site and select Blog Comments.
This will bring up the comment area. You can read and delete comments for all the blogs on a site here. And if you turned on comment moderation (comments are not moderated unless you turn this on) via the Blog Settings, you'll be able to approve the comments from here.
You should reply to your comments using the same comment feature all of your readers use -- if you're logged into Sitezapp (which you can do via the blog comment area), your comment will be highlighted in blue to set you apart as the site owner.
Additionally, if you (or any other commenter) replies directly to another comment, that comment will appear directly underneath the original comment and will be part of a thread connected to that comment. Any other replies to that comment will appear as part of that same thread.
We notify you of these comments via the email address associated with your account (you can change this to a different address for the blog under settings). The comments can be read directly on your site or under the Blog Comments area for the blog in your account.
How can you access this Blog Comment section for the site in your account? Go to the main page of your account, click the More button to the right of the site and select Blog Comments.
This will bring up the comment area. You can read and delete comments for all the blogs on a site here. And if you turned on comment moderation (comments are not moderated unless you turn this on) via the Blog Settings, you'll be able to approve the comments from here.
What is an RSS Feed?
An RSS feed element is automatically added to the sidebar of any blog you create. The RSS feed allows blog visitors to receive automatic updates about your blog if they are using a feed reader like feedly.com or theoldreader.com.
The link to the feed looks like this:
If you accidentally delete it or don't see it, you can add it back to the sidebar by dragging a Blog Feed element to the sidebar.
RSS feeds are only available for blogs, not regular pages. If you create more than one blog on your site, each blog will have its own feed.
The link to the feed looks like this:
If you accidentally delete it or don't see it, you can add it back to the sidebar by dragging a Blog Feed element to the sidebar.
RSS feeds are only available for blogs, not regular pages. If you create more than one blog on your site, each blog will have its own feed.
Blog Updates via Email Subscription
An RSS feed element is automatically added to the sidebar of any blog you create. The RSS feed allows blog visitors to receive automatic updates about your blog if they are using a feed reader like Google Reader. There are dozens and dozens of such readers available for Windows, Mac OS, iPhones, iPads, Android devices, and so on from there. You can read a bit more about RSS Feeds in this help article.
But what if you want to offer your visitors an option to follow your blog other than just via RSS? In this case, you can offer them an option to sign-up for updates to your blog via email. This can be done for free through a Google service called Feedburner. Read our instructions below to learn how to set it up, but please note that this is not a Sitezapp service and not something we can directly support.
Start by going to the Feedburner login / signup page at feedburner.google.com. Log in to a Google / Gmail account or create a new one. Then you'll be prompted to add your blog's RSS feed.
You can find your RSS feed on the sidebar of your blog. Copy the link from there (do this from your live site, not from the editor).
And then paste the link into the feed field and click the Next button.
Feedburner will assign your blog a Title (this Title will show up in the emails readers receive). Make sure you like the Title and then click Next.
Success! Now click the "Skip directly to feed management" link.
On the following page, choose the Publicize tab and go to the Email Subscriptions section.
Click the Activate button to turn Email Subscriptions on.
Feedburner will provide you with HTML code that needs to be copied and then pasted to the sidebar of your blog. Be sure to copy the entire block of code.
Open up your blog in the editor and drag a Custom HTML element to your sidebar. The Custom HTML Element can be found under the More section of elements.
Paste the Feedburner code into the Custom HTML Element.
And then you're done! Publish your site and visitors will be able to sign up to receive updates to your blog via email.
But what if you want to offer your visitors an option to follow your blog other than just via RSS? In this case, you can offer them an option to sign-up for updates to your blog via email. This can be done for free through a Google service called Feedburner. Read our instructions below to learn how to set it up, but please note that this is not a Sitezapp service and not something we can directly support.
Start by going to the Feedburner login / signup page at feedburner.google.com. Log in to a Google / Gmail account or create a new one. Then you'll be prompted to add your blog's RSS feed.
You can find your RSS feed on the sidebar of your blog. Copy the link from there (do this from your live site, not from the editor).
And then paste the link into the feed field and click the Next button.
Feedburner will assign your blog a Title (this Title will show up in the emails readers receive). Make sure you like the Title and then click Next.
Success! Now click the "Skip directly to feed management" link.
On the following page, choose the Publicize tab and go to the Email Subscriptions section.
Click the Activate button to turn Email Subscriptions on.
Feedburner will provide you with HTML code that needs to be copied and then pasted to the sidebar of your blog. Be sure to copy the entire block of code.
Open up your blog in the editor and drag a Custom HTML element to your sidebar. The Custom HTML Element can be found under the More section of elements.
Paste the Feedburner code into the Custom HTML Element.
And then you're done! Publish your site and visitors will be able to sign up to receive updates to your blog via email.
Share Your Posts to Facebook and Twitter
The whole point of having a blog is for people to read all the witty, interesting, mundane, goofy, smart, informative things you have to say. And a great way to help guide folks to your posts is by sharing them on Facebook and Twitter. Which is why auto-sharing for both social networks is built right in to every post.
To the right of each new post you'll find Share switches for Facebook and Twitter in the Post Settings:
The first time you switch either of them on you'll be prompted to both log in to your Facebook / Twitter account and give Sitezapp permission to connect to those accounts (this permission can be revoked at any point).
Twitter is very straight forward. Log in to your account, give permission for Sitezapp to connect and you'll start posting the next time you Publish your blog (the title of the blog post is automatically used as the message on Twitter). Facebook is a bit more complicated in that it provides you with options the first time you connect. Let's walk through those.
Your first option is to choose where you'd like to share. Should your posts go to your personal Facebook account so all your friends can see? Or would you like to share them to a Business or Fan Page you've created?
If you choose your personal profile you're all done. But if you select "My Business Page" you'll be presented with a list of every Fan Page you manage on Facebook. You need to select the one to which you'd like to share your posts.
Once that's done you're set. Next time you Publish a blog post it'll show up on your Business Page wall and will be shared with your fans.
To the right of each new post you'll find Share switches for Facebook and Twitter in the Post Settings:
The first time you switch either of them on you'll be prompted to both log in to your Facebook / Twitter account and give Sitezapp permission to connect to those accounts (this permission can be revoked at any point).
Twitter is very straight forward. Log in to your account, give permission for Sitezapp to connect and you'll start posting the next time you Publish your blog (the title of the blog post is automatically used as the message on Twitter). Facebook is a bit more complicated in that it provides you with options the first time you connect. Let's walk through those.
Your first option is to choose where you'd like to share. Should your posts go to your personal Facebook account so all your friends can see? Or would you like to share them to a Business or Fan Page you've created?
If you choose your personal profile you're all done. But if you select "My Business Page" you'll be presented with a list of every Fan Page you manage on Facebook. You need to select the one to which you'd like to share your posts.
Once that's done you're set. Next time you Publish a blog post it'll show up on your Business Page wall and will be shared with your fans.
Create a Forum
A forum allows visitors to your site to interact with both you and other visitors. A forum can be used to start conversations, ask questions, and post pictures / link to files.
The built-in Sitezapp forum is provided by Tal.ki. If you prefer to use another forum, you are welcome to do so as long as it's an embeddable forum. Any such forum can be added to your site through the use of our Custom HTML Element. If you're not sure if a forum is embeddable, just ask the forum provider.
To add a Tal.ki forum to your site, drag the Tal.ki element (found under the More section) to a page.
This forum will start with one member (you). If you don't like the avatar / icon image that Tal.ki assigns to you, change it by using the Edit Profile link.
The forum starts with two default sub-forums: News and Off-topic.
If you want to add new sub-forums or rename the two defaults, go to the Forum Admin section. Then select the Forums tab from within that section;
You can start a new sub-forum using the provided fields and button, rename or delete a sub-forum using the links to the left of each and change the listed order of the forums by clicking and dragging them.
You can start a topic for any sub-forum by clicking the Start a Topic button on the main page or within any of the individual sub-forums.
After you start a topic, any of your members will be able to post new content to that topic while they're reading it.
But how does someone log in and become a member of your forum? When a visitor sees your forum, they can log in with a Sitezapp account (should they have one) or log in using a number of other options.
These log in options include Facebook, Twitter, Google and nine other systems. It'd be pretty hard for a site visitor to not see an option they could use to log in.
The built-in Sitezapp forum is provided by Tal.ki. If you prefer to use another forum, you are welcome to do so as long as it's an embeddable forum. Any such forum can be added to your site through the use of our Custom HTML Element. If you're not sure if a forum is embeddable, just ask the forum provider.
To add a Tal.ki forum to your site, drag the Tal.ki element (found under the More section) to a page.
This forum will start with one member (you). If you don't like the avatar / icon image that Tal.ki assigns to you, change it by using the Edit Profile link.
The forum starts with two default sub-forums: News and Off-topic.
If you want to add new sub-forums or rename the two defaults, go to the Forum Admin section. Then select the Forums tab from within that section;
You can start a new sub-forum using the provided fields and button, rename or delete a sub-forum using the links to the left of each and change the listed order of the forums by clicking and dragging them.
You can start a topic for any sub-forum by clicking the Start a Topic button on the main page or within any of the individual sub-forums.
After you start a topic, any of your members will be able to post new content to that topic while they're reading it.
But how does someone log in and become a member of your forum? When a visitor sees your forum, they can log in with a Sitezapp account (should they have one) or log in using a number of other options.
These log in options include Facebook, Twitter, Google and nine other systems. It'd be pretty hard for a site visitor to not see an option they could use to log in.