Log onto the project portal at http://portal.bigsplashwebdesign.com with the username and password you received in a “Welcome” email.
Along the top, you will see a row of tabs (Overview, Tasks, Milestones, Messages, etc.). Go to the tab labeled “Notebooks,” then open the the notebook titled “Content Map.” Here, you will find a section that corresponds to each page of your new website. Click on “Edit Page” on the upper right. This will allow you to insert your text content for each page.
Guidelines for text
Text should be typed in without any additional formatting. If you have section headings, type them in without any font modifications, space down, then enter your descriptive text. If there are several blocks of content with a heading or title on the same page, simply use spacing to separate them, using a heading/space/paragraph/space formula. Here is an example (the highlighted text):
If you need to insert a list, or other off-set content, insert a space, then type in your list line-by-line, without bullets or other formatting (we can add that later). This format transfers more smoothly, is more readable on your site, and is more suitable for search engine optimization.
Content text should be “copy-ready,” which means we can take the content as-is and insert it directly into your site pages. If it’s necessary for us to re-type the content, additional fees will apply. Please do not cut-and-paste text from another source. This not only creates potential formatting problems, but can also lead to a “duplicate content” penalty if it not content originally composed by you. We are not able to use a pdf document, or text that’s in the form of an image (file from a brochure or other print piece).
If you need to include comments and/or instructions to us about your content, please use the “comment” feature in the project portal. On the upper right of your content pages, click on the “Options” button which is next to the “Edit Page” button, then choose “Add Comments” from the drop-down. If your comments or notes to us are directly in your content text, there’s a risk they may be overlooked if we aren’t able to distinguish the two.
We will consider your content submission to be site-ready; this will be the “starter” content we will use in the construction and design of your site. You will be able to make revisions and edits through your content management system once the site is done.
If you have any questions while you’re building your content, you can email us at info@bigsplashwebdesign.com, or submit a message through the project portal. And, as always, you can reach us by phone at (281) 816-6932.
Photos and images
Selecting photos and images
If you have your own photos you’d like to use, those will work fine, as long as the image is clear, and the size falls within the specs in the Content Map. Use the following instructions for submitting existing photos.
You should have received from us an email with a compressed file attached, containing image folders. Be sure you’ve saved this file to your computer, then unzip the file to extract the folders. You should find one folder for each page on your website (at least any pages that will include images). Once you’ve chosen the photos/images you want for each page, save those images to the appropriate folder. When your image choices are complete, you will zip the files back up and return them to us via email.
If you need to purchase new images, we recommend www.dollarphotoclub.com. Up to 50 images are included in the price of your project. If you would like to shop for photos through their site, simply go to the site, and browse for photos, using the search tool.
If you find photos on dollarphotoclub.com you would like to use, make a note of the file number, which is the number listed below the image (beginning with #). Be sure to jot down a description of the photo as well. Next, go to the Project Portal, where you will find a notebook titled “Image Map” and list the photo file numbers here, along with a caption for the photo. The caption will not be displayed unless you request it, but is included as “alt text” in the admin panel of the site, making the image visible to search engine crawlers. We will purchase up to 50 photos; any purchases beyond that will be added to your next invoice (we’ll still purchase them on your behalf, and upload them to your site files).
Please do not copy images directly from another source without permission.
A note about image sizes: while larger images can often be reduced or cropped, images that are too small cannot be enlarged. Therefore, it’s important to select images that meet size guidelines as closely as possible. Feel free to contact us if you have questions about specific images.