Rapid Web Site - Random Widgets

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What Are Random Widgets?

Each Rapid Web Sites (RWS) installation comes with a group of “widget” topics. A widget is simply a thing like an inspirational though or a funny saying. There are four widget files initially supplied with your starting package, they are collections of inspirational saying, funny technological sayings, short thoughts, and Webmaster tips. The inspirational file has over 100 motivating thoughts.

Your site is initially set up to display random inspirational thoughts near the bottom of your home page. One though is selected at random and displayed. Reload the page and a different thought is displayed. You can turn off the widgets completely, display the widget under the left navigational area or near the bottom of the page, select a different set of widgets, add to an existing set of widgets, or create your own group custom widgets. The last options is especially powerful, if you’re an account you can have tax tips, a food seller could display random recipes, a sporting goods store might show fishing tips and so on. Let’s look at each of these configuration options.

Changing Widget Placement or Turning Off Widgets

Go into normal maintenance mode by going to http://your-domain/admin and entering your user name and password. Click on the menu item “Maintain the [your organization’s name] Company Information.” Toward the bottom of the page is a prompt “Display random widgets on Home Page? Your choices are “No” for don’t display widgets, “In Left Column” to display widgets at the bottom of the home page navigational area, and, “In Center Column” which is the default. Click on “Submit” and your action will immediately take effect.

Selecting Another Widget Topic

Go into normal maintenance mode by going to http://your-domain/admin and entering your user name and password. Click on the menu item “Maintain the [your organization’s name] Company Information.” Toward the bottom of the page is an item with the prompt “File to use if displaying random widgets.” Using the drop menu, select the widget file you intend to use. Click on “Submit” and that widget file will immediately start being used.

Adding Additional Widgets

Go into normal maintenance mode by going to http://your-domain/admin and entering your user name and password. Click on the menu option “Maintain the [your organization’s name] Company Information.” There is an item about half way down “Select a Widget File, for Maintenance or Creation, from the Drop Menu Below.” Your currently selected widget topic will be selected, however, you can maintain any widget file you choose. Select the desired widget file and click on the button marked “Open or Create Widget File Now.” The first item at the top of the page is the title of the widgets, which is displayed on the home page. You can edit or delete an existing widget by entering your changes or clicking on the box title “Check to delete this item.”

All the existing widgets are displayed with two empty spaces at the bottom of the page. Scroll to the bottom of the page and enter your widgets. Submit and they are now available for use. If you need more than two new widgets, enter two, submit, and bring up the page again,

Creating a New Widget File

One of the powers of the widget system is allowing the site administrator to create a set of widgets tailored to the site’s intended audience. Indeed, any number of widget files might be created. A sporting goods store might have hunting tips in the fall and fishing tips in the summer. How about a group of sporting humor widgets for use in the off-season.

Go into normal maintenance mode by going to http://your-domain/admin and entering your user name and password. Click on the menu option “Maintain the [your organization’s name] Company Information.” There is an item about half way down “Select a Widget File, for Maintenance or Creation, from the Drop Menu Below.” Your currently selected widget topic will be selected. Drop the menu and select the last item, which is titled, “Add a New Widget File.” Click on the button “Open or Create the Widget File Now.” You will be taken to a totally blank page. The topic title is what is displayed on the home page. A short file name might be something like “Fishing Tips.” After entering the page information start enter widgets, two at a time, just as you did when adding widgets to an existing file.

Sharing Your Widgets

If you create a widget file and would be willing to share it with other users, please let me know. You will of course be given credit and will have the never ending gratitude of your fellow RWS users.

Urb LeJeune, urb@rapidwebsites.net