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5.6 Step 6: Build the first parts of your website and/or Action center

If you are confident in what you have to say, you should start putting together some early Media to help spread your Message and get people involved. Remember, we define Media as the materials you use to spread your Message. It might be a piece of literature, a script for a phonebank, or a flyer, for example.

First and foremost, we think you should put together a preliminary website .

We suggest creating your website first for you a few reasons:

• It is the easiest place to send people if they want to get involved and to stay connected with your efforts.
• More and more people expect to plug into organizing efforts online. It is where they expect to sign up to volunteer, to receive emails, to participate with your Pebble as a Pebbling, to find Actions they can take, to learn more about you.
• It will help you organize more efficiently from day one by helping you collect the information (or data) in a centralized way where you can access it and organize it more effectively.
• The website has to represent every part of your organization in some way or another and therefore will help you think about how you structure your campaign.

What to do to build your website

First Select the type of website you want to build. You can select the model that fits your organization on your Pebble's “Essentials Page.”

You must be logged in. If you want to go to your “Essentials Page” for your Pebble, you can reach it either by:

• Clicking the name of your Pebble when you are working on it. It appears in the top right part of the screen.
• Going to your Dashboard and clicking on your Pebble name.

The options you will see on the Essentials Page include:

Private or Public

You may choose to make your website Private or Public:

“Public” means that anyone in the world will see whatever you put on your website.

“Private” means you don't want anyone to see your website except your Pebblings.

ADVANCED USERS. If you have a domain name AND want to use aPebble for your website, you can point your CNAME to your aPebble URL.

What to put on your website

Ask yourself what information and tools do you want to put on your website. If you did the Message section of Organizing 101 Using aPebble, you should have some ideas, but you can also find some ideas by simply looking at the websites of similar organizations or campaigns—which can be especially useful for how to group your content.

For example, we often see the following...

Article-based Content :

• Feature(s) - Details the current most critical current Message of the campaign. You usually see this front and center.
• About us (organizations or causes) or About the Candidate (campaigns) - This section usually details the history of an organization or the biography of a candidate.
• Our Agenda (organizations or causes) or Issues (campaigns) - This section usually details what the organization is attempting to implement or what a candidate's platform is. It is often broken up into smaller sections.
• Mission Statement (organizations or causes) or Why I'm Running (campaigns) - This is often a personal statement from the candidate or leader of an organization about the purpose and motivation of the campaign.
• - In the news and press releases - This usually details news coverage and lists recent press releases.
• - A Blog*
• - Video and/or audio and/or photo gallery

Action or Get Involved Content

• Sign up for our email list - Email is one of the easiest ways to keep people informed of the latest news surrounding your campaign. You'll need a form to let people sign up.
• Volunteer - Volunteering is an essential part of Community-based organizing. You'll want people to easily get involved.
• Contribute* - How to give money on or offline.
• Other “Do something” Actions - For example, write a letter to the editor, blog about the campaign, spread the word, host a house party or event, make phone calls, etc.

Be aware that many of aPebble's Action tools include what we have listed above but others are far more robust. We detail these more fully in the “Actions” and “Community” sections.

Operational sections:

• Contact us -How to contact the organization, get directions, help, etc.
• Legal: Terms of Use, Privacy Policy This is actually a very important part of a website. Often overlooked or taken for granted. aPebble generates a model version for you to use, but we are not lawyers or in any way offering legal advice. We encourage you to review how aPebble.com handles these key documents as it has implications for your campaign.
• An Events Calendar
• Online Store*

Almost all of these sections (except those marked with an asterisk*) are handled by your Pebble's Content Management System (also called the CMS). The ones that are not handled by us, we explain solutions for with some of our FAQ's.

The aPebble Content Management System (CMS)

To take full advantage of how to create and manage your website with aPebble, you should understand the basics of the aPebble CMS. You can access your website editor by going to the Message and Media —> Website Edit of your Pebble.

Your website is made up of the following:

• Wireframe: This is the basic layout for your Pebble. You can select between two types of wireframe currently, but we have more on the way.
• Pages: Pages are just that, pages of your Website. You can create as many as you want.
• Fixed Content: Fixed Content, is content you want to appear of every page of your Pebble.
• Sections: Sections are how each page is divided. They change depending on the type of wireframe you choose.
• Modules: Modules are how you insert content into each section. We have lots of different types. You can add signup forms, text, videos, pictures, actions from your action center and more to your wesbsite by publishing modules.

So, basically, your website is made up of pages. Pages are made up of sections. Sections are made up of modules. Modules create your content. Additionally, any content you (say a navigation system) that you want to appear on every page is Fixed content, and how you want the content laid out is determined by choosing your wireframe.

A quick note About Articles and Scripts . On your Message and Media are of your Pebble, you'll see Articles and Scripts. Think of a newspaper or a magazine Article or a Script you might give to a volunteer. They are usually made up of some copy/text and maybe some pictures. They have a headline, a byline, and a date published. In short, an Article's purpose is to present information. One of the types of modules you can place within a section of one your webpages is an Articles. So you might make Articles that fulfill the “About Us/Bio” or “Mission Statement” or “Agenda/Issues” areas of your website. Articles also serve as more than the foundation content for your website They also serve as the foundation for your blast emails, flyers, instructions for you Pebblings, Scripts, talking points, and more. Most of your content should and will be created with the Article tools.