Before we get into the details on how to configure your Stacks site and create content, we'll start by looking at the different components of your site and introduce you to some terminology to get familiar with.
Anatomy of your Stacks site
At a basic level, Stacks can be broken into 2 parts, a "front-end" and a "back-end."
The "front-end" is essentially the website that is visible to both your non-administrative patrons/user users and staff users. Unless otherwise configured, this will be the blank default homepage your Stacks site starts with. Logging into your site as a user with either the Administrator or Moderator role, will display additional options here that patrons won't see, we'll touch on these in the sections below.
The "back-end" of Stacks is the Dashboard, this is where staff users with the appropriate permissions will go to create, edit, or delete content, as well as access system configuration settings and other features that will be discussed in more detail throughout the following user guide articles.
Header
Your Stacks site has 2 header areas that can contain various buttons and links which can direct your users/patrons to other pages or content in Stacks or to outside websites and services.
Top header and user bar
When logged into your site with a non-Patron user account, the "user bar" will appear at the very top of the window. Here, you will see the Dashboard button, as well as buttons to access Support and Help, as well as your username. Clicking your username will toggle a menu to appear just below, which is where you can logout.
Below the user bar is the top menu; this is where users with a Patron account will see a Login (or Logout) option, My Account link (for logged in users/patrons only), and depending on your configuration, this area could also include:
- Location & Hours information
- Font Resizer
- Language Selector
- Icons that link to Database Listings, Site Search, or Events
These items may be toggled on or off depending on the functionality you plan to use. A top menu can also be configured and displayed here for navigating to other pages and content.
Header
The second header area is directly below the top header, this larger header area will contain the primary search bar and can be configured to meet your branding needs with an image or solid color background and items such as:
- Your logo
- Site name and Slogan
- Call-to-Action buttons
- Main Navigation Menu
Between the header and content area, users logged in with either the Administrator or Moderator role will see a series of tabs; one of the most important tabs is the Layout tab.
When clicked, this will open the page in what is called the Layout Builder view. This is where sections can be added to the page and content can be added within the sections. This functionality will be discussed in more detail in the Landing Pages section of the user guide.
Content area
The content area of your Stacks homepage is where you can add a variety of different content types for your site's visitors to interact with. This area can be configured in different sections with a 1, 2, or 3 column layouts, within these sections blocks of content is then added.
Content could include things like text, images, videos, and other forms of media that provide information or engage your users.
Footer
At the very bottom of the site is the footer area, this space can be used to display additional important information that, like the header, can provide additional branding options, as well you can include copyright notices, contact details, and links to various social media accounts.
Style editor
Users logged in with the Administrator role, will see a icon fixed in the bottom right corner.
This is the Style Editor, from here you can configure settings associated with the appearance of your site and the content added to it. The style editor is discussed in more detail in separate user guide articles.