MemberClicks Blog Overview

Why is it used?

The MemberClicks Blog is a built in Blogging tool your association can use to create a Blog within your MemberClicks solution.

How to Access

To access the Blog, navigate to Components > Blog

Screenshot

Dashboard

The Blog Dashboard is the starting point for any new post. The dashboard includes shortcuts to all the Blogging features you'll need on the left. Those include Entries, Categories, Tags, Comments, and Settings.

On the right, General Statistics gives you an overview of the number of Blog Entries, Comments, Categories, and Tags, as well as a breakdown of Entries  and Comments that are approved or pending.

Creating a new Entry

A Blog Entry represents a post on your Blog. Each entry you make will create a separate post, and each one will have its own link.

To begin creating a new entry, navigate to Entries, then click on the New icon in the top right hand corner.

Give the entry a title, then tab down to generate the Alias. Set the entry to published, and select a Category for the entry. Add images, text, and links to create your Blog entry, then click Save in the top right hand corner.

Creating a new Category

Categories can be used to help you organize Blog entries. These categories will contain multiple entries each, and will help you keep your content organized on the Blog. Blog categories are similar to Article categories, which you can learn more about here.

To create a new category, start by clicking on the New plus sign in the top right hand corner.

Give the Category a name, and add a Category Slug (optional). A Slug is similar to an Alias, and helps improve your Blog's SEO (Search Engine Optimization). To learn more about SEO, click here. Example:

Category Name: Blog Content
Category Slug: Blog-content 

Set the new Category to published, and if it should act as the default Category moving forward, select Yes next to Default. Give the Category a Description (optional), then Save.

Creating new Tags

Tags are keywords used to identify Blog entries with particular subject matter. They are best used to help with Search Engine Optimization (SEO), as using the same tag in more than one Blog entry will allow users to search for entries with that tag. As an example, let's use the keyword "networking." If my Blog has 10 total posts, and 3 of them are tagged "networking," Blog viewers can search for the term "networking" to pull a list of all posts using that tag.

To create a new tag, navigate to Tags and click on the green New plus sign in the top right hand corner.

Give the tag a Name and a Slug (optional), then Save.

Now when creating a Blog entry, you'll see the ability to add Tags on the right hand side under Tags. Check the box next to any applicable tags, add new ones as needed, then Save.

Managing Comments

Under Comments, ASA users have the ability to publish and unpublish comments as needed, or delete comments that are inappropriate.

In order to leave a comment on your blog, members must be logged in. Public commenting is not available for the blog due to issues with spam comments. 

Once a comment has been added, it will appear at the bottom of the Blog post.

Settings

Configure the specifics of your Blog under the Settings tab. To start, click on Settings and choose General Settings.

Under General Settings, select Content.

• Introtext: If introtext is toggled to Show, a Blog entry's intro text will display from the home page of the Blog
• Strip Objects: If strip objects is toggled to Remove, images (and other objects) will be stripped from the intro area to save space on the home page of the Blog
• Paragraphs for Introtext: Here, set the number of paragraphs to display as introtext
• Show Read More when necessary: If Show Read More is toggled to Enable, a Read More link will display as needed on the home page of the Blog

• BadWords Filter: If BadWords Filter is set to Enabled, words listed in the Words to Filter box will be filtered in Blog comments
• Words to Filter: Words listed here will be filtered in Blog comments
• Replace With: The symbol or words you add here will replace censored words

Next, click on the Settings > System Themes.
 

Using the Blog

To add the Blog as a menu item, first assign permission to each group who should have access under Database > Group Permissions > System Permissions. If the public or other member groups should NOT have access, leave the boxes unchecked next to "Access to Blog." Note: At this time, access to Blog Management is only available to ASA users.

To make the Blog available to users, create a new menu item, and select Components > Blog. Here is an article on creating a new menu item.