Below is the workflow for deploying a new YM site. Once you read through the tasks you’ll understand why it’s best to hire an experienced YM professional to perform your site deployment.

Infrastructure

  1. Configure admin alerts: Decide which of your administrators should receive each of the email alerts that are automatically sent out as members perform certain functions.
  2. Personalize auto-response emails: Customize the messages that go out to your site members by inserting your organization’s name, a special message, or use the macros provided for further personalization.
  3. Take control: Here you can decide which of your site features are open to anyone who visits the site and which ones are restricted to members only. You can also customize the Commerce, Email & Messaging, Directory, Locale, Meta Tags & CSS, Site Maps, and Snapshot options for your site.
  4. Insert custom fields: If you would like to collect information from your members that is not already part of our standard profile form, you can add custom fields. You can also add custom fields to the donation form. Start by selecting the settings for the field then populate the choices that will appear in the drop-down menu or allow members to provide fill-in-the-blank answers.
  5. Contact forms: Use this feature to quickly create new contact forms or edit existing forms. Each contact form features the same standard fields, but allows you to customize the name and description. If you want more flexibility, create a custom form.
  6. Member Data: Communicate with your client consultant about the steps for importing your database of member info so that you can email your database with e-newsletter templates through the bulk email system and use the contact management system.
  7. Realtime Credit Card Processing: Contact a YourMembership.com supported payment gateway provider to setup real time credit card processing.

Website Content & Features

  1. Manage your calendar and events: Add important events and dates to your calendar. Events can be public or private, allow for online registration and ticketing, and have a maximum number of registrants. Remember: If you are creating an event with tickets, you must first create the ticket(s) in the online store.
  2. Add groups/chapters: First, submit the names of your group types, which are the categories your groups will fall under. Then, click on “Add a New Group” in the left menu under “Group Management/Group Types” to populate the groups within your group types. You can add as many group types and groups as you want.
  3. Revisit your menu: After creating your groups, you will want to add the menu item called ‘Groups.’ This menu item generates a dynamic list of groups, organized by Group Type in the main frontend menu. As you create or remove groups from the system this menu item will reflect those changes. Please note, this button must be added as a top level menu item only so it cannot be added as a sub menu.
  4. Revisit your member types: Whenever you add a new group type, you’ll want to revisit each of your member types and grant them permission to join the new groups.
  5. Upload images for rotation on the homepage: You can upload as many images as you’d like to the photo rotation section on the homepage. The site will automatically resize a horizontally formatted, standard digital photo to fit on the page; however, the exact dimensions for your specific layout will be listed for your reference.
  6. Populate your store: Use the online store to sell merchandise, event tickets and downloadable content. The store also allows you to create promo codes to give discounts on an item or cart. If you are shipping items to your buyers, you’ll want to configure shipping options.
  7. Collect donations: Setup multiple funds that allow for fixed or variable giving. If you have real-time credit card processing enabled, recurring donations can be made by a donor.
  8. Create blogs: Provide a place for members to interact on the website using blogs. Community blogs are for site-wide community interaction while group blogs are for members of specific groups only. Please Note: When you create a new group, by default, an associated group blog is created. You can create additional group blogs for each group.
  9. News and press: Keep your site visitors informed by adding news items. The “add a news item” form uses the same editor found all across the site – keeping it consistent and easy to add imagery, video and links.
  10. Build your career & volunteer center: Start by entering the categories you would like available for posting of career/volunteer openings. You may or may not want them to match up with the Professions you have available as a field in each member’s profile. Then, set up the attributes you want to include to help classify your openings by Position Type, Education Requirements and Prior Experience.
  11. Develop surveys: Obtain valuable information from your community by surveying and polling your members. You can also test their knowledge by creating quizzes.

Launch

  1. Have your DNS administrator set up the record for your URL: www.yoursite.com: This step needs to be performed by someone who has access to your DNS server/host. Usually this is your IT administrator or domain registrar’s support desk.
  2. Market your site: Build your member base by following our helpful tips to help market your site properly and help ensure search engines can find you.
  3. Launch: Modify your launch date or officially launch your site that will remove the countdown notification from your dashboard page.