Best Practices: Web Community Manager Back To School – Community Engagement

Welcome Back!

We know the beginning of the year can be hectic. We’ve created a list of back-to-school tips to help you get started.

Update user accounts

Clear out the user Recycle Bin to remove old data and ensure there are no user account conflicts.
Check out how to sign into Web Community Manager and how to use the Recycle Bin.
Depending on how you update user information, complete your data file imports.
- For districts and schools using LDAP, make sure your certificates are up-to-date.
- Use the Update User feature if you need to add parents and teachers in bulk within groups. Use Update User to delete single users or groups of users.
  Review the last login date for users to determine inactive users to delete. Use the Export User< button to export all the user information to review the login dates
Create teacher class pages and assign section permissions.If you import users accounts, you can have teachers with a separate import file that will also create separate sections on the website. You can also manually create sections and assign teachers as editors.The import will NOT delete any existing sections so returning teachers will have their existing class pages.
Send credential info to your users. Depending on your district or school's sign on method, you can send a link to new users where they can set their password, or the users will be authenticated either locally or through a directory on your district or school network.

Update the calendar with important events so students and parents can keep up-to-date with district or school happenings.

You can manually import calendars or use your previous calendar and update the dates. Check out the Calendar app for your scheduling needs.

Update your website design. Check your web design template for any updates. From the Template Workspace, select Update. If you want to change your template for a new look, check out templatelibrary.schoolwires.net for demos and documentation from the Creative Services department.
Ensure site URLs are 'friendly'.
When you can use friendly web address mappings, use them. An easy html web address makes returning to pages easier for your visitors.
Create useful content for your staff. Create useful staff directory lists, alumni information, or other important data with the MiniBase app.

Update your school's allowed list to avoid issues with blocked emails or responses to forms and surveys.
Get up-to-speed with what’s changed in Web Community Manager. Check out the release notes.