Getting started with websites

If you’re subscribed to a free trial or the Standard edition of Acoustic Content, you have access to Websites in the ribbon. From Websites, you can explore a sample site, or create and manage new sites.

Step 1: Download the latest sample

  • If you already have the Standard edition and want to create multiple sites, your administrator needs to download the latest version of the Oslo sample and upload it manually to your tenant.
  • Check the About page to access the Update the sample site widget for the latest sample. 

Step 2: Get inspired by our sample website, Oslo

  • Your hub includes a sample website, Oslo, that illustrates what you can create with your hub.

  • You can use the sample pages and content as a starting point for customizing your own website.

  • Use Oslo's content model as-is to create new content or discover endless possibilities within your hub by developing your own unique content model.

Step 3: Create your own draft site

  • Creating a website is as easy as selecting a template. Your hub includes a sample template for you to use, or you can add your own.

  • You can create as many templates and draft websites as you want.

Step 4: Add content to your draft site

  • Your draft site will have placeholders indicating what type of content you can add. As you explore inline and in-place editing, you'll discover how easy it is to update your site. Preview your changes instantly in your draft site so you never get surprises on publishing day.

  • You can create new content items for your website pages, or reference existing content items within your site.

Step 5: Control your site hierarchy with our site manager

  • In site manager, you can quickly access your site tree to get a bird's eye view of your entire site.

  • You can also add pages, edit your site structure, and update site settings from the site manager.

Step 6: Publish your draft site

  • Your site has never been published, and you're ready to go live. Click Publish to publish everything in your draft site. Remember, you can either publish your site to the default Acoustic domain or a custom domain. Custom domains are purchased from the domain provider of your choice, and added to your hub by the administrator.

  • After your first publish for the site as a whole, you can move on to extending your site with new pages and content. Your drafts follow a different publishing process to help you zero in on just the pieces that you want to publish.

    • To publish new pages, along with content, open site manager to find the page you want to publish in the tree view. Open the actions menu, and click Publish page. Select a publishing option, such as publishing schedule or instant publishing, to promote your updates to the live site.
    • To publish content updates to existing pages, open your content editor, and click Publish. Select a publishing option, such as publishing schedule or instant publishing, to promote your updates to the live site.
    • To publish updates to page settings, open site manager to find the page in the tree view. Open the actions menu, and click Edit page settings. Update your settings, and click Publish to instantly go live with your updates.
    • To publish updates to your site name, description, or custom host name selection, open site manager and click the site settings menu. Update your settings, and click Publish to instantly go live with your updates.

Step 7: Chat with your developer

  • It’s time to move on to more advanced steps. Our Acoustic Content developer center contains tutorials and documentation that is tailored to customizing the Oslo sample and landing pages.