VedaCMS includes a wide range of tools that may be overwhelming to new users. The following tips will assist you with utilizing the system as effectively as possible:
1. On-Page Instructions
On almost every tool of the CMS you will see a block of text on the right hand side that reads 'Instructions'. Be sure to review this section if you are unsure of how a tool is supposed to work.
2. Help Icons
Any time you see a '?' icon, mouse over it for additional information or instruction. Every tool within VedaCMS provides additional information within these help icons.
3. Icon Legend
Most tools within VedaCMS have an Icon Legend on the right hand side of the page. They explain what that icon does. Mouse over these legend icons for additional information.
4. Explore All Features
You should feel free to explore all of the tools available within VedaCMS. Anything that is irreversible (such as deleting a photo, blog post or calendar entry) - will require a second click to confirm that action, so you shouldn't be afraid of messing anything up accidentally. If you read the instructions on each page and mouse over help icons, there is really nothing you can do to break your website (or at least, nothing you can do that is irreversible).
5. Don't Be Afraid to Experiment
As covered in the point above, there is really little you can do to permanently damage anything. With this in mind, you shouldn't hesitate to experiment with trying out different settings or tools within the CMS. If you don't like a particular change, then almost every action can be done over again. There is a wide range of customization options available within the Settings page that you should take advantage of.
6. Check the Knowledgebase
Although there are instructions and help icons on every page of the CMS, read through the Knowledgebase for more in-depth information on tools you are confused about. The knowledgebase is always a work in progress, so if there is no documentation about the tool you want to use and the on-page instructions/tooltips have not helped - don't be afraid to email Veda Designs with your question. However, please try to use the above resources (instructions, tooltips, knowledgebase) before giving up.
7. Careful When You Copy/Paste
A common problem ladies have using the VedaCMS editor is that their page text looks inconsistent with the rest of their website after they paste content into the editing window from a source like MS Word. The reason for this is that the editor will transfer over embedded formatting from whatever source you copied text from. This can have undesirable results in the end page, especially so if you copied from a source like Microsoft Word or another website. You should ALWAYS paste content in as plain text. There is a special icon within the editor toolbar that allows you to paste in content as plain text. When in doubt - use it every time. Even if you don't visually see anything wrong with the end result, oftentimes your source code is filled with a lot of 'junk code' that increases page load times or negatively impacts SEO. Another option is to first paste in your content to a program like Notepad, and then copy/paste into your editor from that. Notepad is a plain text editor, so it automatically strips out embedded formatting.
8. Save Frequently
If you are editing a page or writing a blog post, be sure to save frequently. If hosted on my server, the system will automatically log you out if it doesn't detect a page load after 60 minutes. My recommendation is to just get in the habit of saving every 15-30 minutes as you work on content within a page or blog post.
9. If you get stuck, contact me!
I am happy to help walk you through anything you're getting confused or stuck on. I know the system can be overwhelming at first, so don't be afraid to contact me with questions if you can't find your answer using the above resources.