Website Publishing Quick Start Guide

The Constituent Gateway Website Publishing System is an intuitive program that allows staff to easily create and manage their website content.

Login:

1. VPN into the House’s network.
2. Browse out to https://iconstituent.house.gov.
3. Login with your username and password.
4. Click Sign In.

Locating Content:

To begin editing your website content, select the Website button on the top of the screen.

You will now be looking at the Manage Content screen for your website’s Home Page. At the top of the page, you will see a list of folders that represent sections of your website. Each folder name corresponds with a menu item on your home page.

Similar to how you navigate the actual website, select the correct folder name, and then choose the correct area of the page to edit:

• Folders represent menu items nested within this section. (These would appear as dropdown menu items.)
• Introduction is landing page content. Pages such as Biography, Issues, and Constituent Services are created as an introduction of a section.
• Content shows up as a link on the page, allowing you to display multiple content items within a section. Pages such as Press Releases, Speeches, Blogs, and Events are typically created as content items.
• Pushed sections are the widgets, links, and buttons that display along the right sidebar of your website.

Editing Basic Content:

To edit existing content, navigate to the correct area of your site, then select the correct Headline/Title. This will open a WYSIWYG editor. You can type directly into the editor, but many prefer to compose their text in Word first. To avoid pasting in errant code from other programs, use the Paste as Plain Text icon on the toolbar. Then do all of your formatting such as bolding text or creating hyperlinks within the editor.

To include a photo, do the following:

1. Name the photo so that it does not have any spaces or special characters. (THevent_8-21-13.jpg is fine, but avoid TH event 8.21.13.jpg which contains both spaces and punctuation.)
2. Place the cursor where the image will appear.
3. Then select the image icon located on the second row of the toolbar.
    
4. Click Browse Server, Upload, and then Upload Selected Files to upload the image to the server.
5. Double-click the image to see it appear in the image properties window. Make your edits and click OK.

After editing the content, click the Save button in the bottom right corner.

Seeing Your Edited Content:

Every section has 2 URLs at the top of the screen. The Site URL will open up a new tab to your Home Page. The Section URL will open up a new tab to the section you are working on. Saving your edits instantly updates the site, so click the Section URL to view your changes.

Every content item has a Revision History icon that allows you to view and restore previous versions. 

Adding a New Press Release or News Article:

Adding a new press release or news article is much like editing existing content. Start by navigating to the correct section, and then select the Add Content button.

A new WYSIWYG editor will appear with blank “Headline” and “Summary” fields. The headline will be a hyperlink on the news or press release page that viewers can click to access the full article. If your site displays a brief summary below the headline, then add the desired text to the summary field.  Add your content to the editor.

If content categories are enabled, you will see a list of issues below the editor. Check the appropriate issue topics. Then click Save to add your new content. The new content will display on the site. If you applied any categories, viewers will be able to locate content by topic. 

Updating the Home Page Slideshow:

Many websites contain a slideshow on the Home page. This slide show is a great way to drive viewers to key information on your site and to encourage repeat visits.

The slideshow element is a photo gallery that you can find on the Home page’s Manage Content screen. Select the Pushed Section labeled HP Rotator. To add a new photo, complete the following steps:

1.  Within the section, select the photo gallery folder labeled Rotator Items.
2. Click Upload Photo.
3. Give the photo a Headline and a Description.
4. To include a button, add the following to the bottom of your description:
   URL=(http://www.iconstituent.com). (Replace www.iconstituent.com with the correct URL.)
5. The button’s default text will be “Learn More.” To change the text, type the following below the URL information: BUTTON=(Request Tour). (Replace Request Tour with your desired button text.)
6. Click the Browse button to find a photo on your computer.
7. Click Save.

To take down a photo, uncheck the “Live” box.

Additional Resources:

This is just a quick guide to get you started on your website. For more detailed information, see our Help Center articles under Q & A for Constituent Gateway Website Publishing.