Plain-language help
Exponential in plain language: how-tos without the command line, hosting choices and a glossary.
48 pages
- Non-technical people: start here The landing page for people who are not technical and want to use, run or pay for an Exponential site: plain words first, how-tos without a command line, how to choose hosting, what to hand to a host or partner, and…
- Glossary for non-technical people Every word you meet in the Exponential administration and in conversations with a host or developer, explained in one or two plain sentences, grouped by where you meet it, with a link to the page that explains more.
- FAQ for non-technical people Short, plain answers to the questions non-technical people ask most about Exponential - whether they can break the site, whether they need to code, what it costs, who installs it, what happens when they make a mistake…
- Reading path for non-technical people Every page of the non-technical people section in a sensible order, in three tracks - for people who edit, for people who own or pay for a site, and for people who do not have a site yet - with the time each step takes.
- What Exponential is, in plain words A description of Exponential for people who are not technical - what it does, what it does not do, who makes it, what it costs and what you need around it - without a single technical term that is not explained.
- What you never have to do The technical jobs around an Exponential site - installing, updating, backups, the domain, HTTPS, templates, extensions and the command line - who does each of them for you, and what you ask for so you know it was done.
- A website without hosting costs In plain words - how Exponential can put your website online for free on GitHub Pages, what you do, what someone technical sets up once, and what such a site cannot do.
- Words explained The ideas behind the screens of Exponential, one idea per page and without jargon - content items and the tree, drafts and publishing, the site and the administration, roles, caches, extensions, and hosting with domains…
- Content items and the tree Why everything on an Exponential site is a content item of some type, how items are arranged in a tree like folders on a computer, what fields are, and how one item can appear in two places - explained with everyday…
- Drafts, versions and publishing explained Why nothing you type reaches visitors until you publish, what a draft, a pending version and an archived version are, why the old text is never lost, and how approvals fit in - explained with a letter-writing comparison.
- The site and the administration One Exponential installation with several doors - the public site, the administration, often a simpler Editor, sometimes a second language or a second site - what each door is for, why signing in to one does not sign…
- Roles and permissions explained Why what you can do in Exponential depends on your role and not on your skill, the four roles a standard installation starts with, what groups and sections add, and how to ask for more (or less) access - with a key-ring…
- Caches explained Why a site keeps ready-made copies of its pages, why that sometimes shows an old page after you published, what you can safely do about it from the browser, and when to ask somebody else - with a bakery comparison.
- Extensions explained What extensions, designs, themes and templates are, a plain list of add-ons that ship with Exponential and what each does for a non-technical person, what is not available as an extension, and how to ask for one.
- Hosting, domains and HTTPS explained The three things every website needs besides Exponential - a server to run on, a domain name to be found at and HTTPS for the padlock - explained with a house comparison, who provides each, how they connect, and what to…
- First steps Short how-tos in plain language for the everyday jobs in the Exponential administration - sign in, find your way, change a page, add news, pictures, documents and links, undo, hide, search, build a page with Layouts…
- Signing in for the first time Sign in to the Exponential administration or Editor for the first time, step by step in plain words - the address, the form, two-step sign-in, a forgotten password - and what each message means if it does not work.
- Finding your way around A plain-language map of the Exponential administration - the dashboard, the tabs at the top, the tree on the left, an item's page and its buttons, the right column - and the three places you will use every day.
- Changing a page Change the text of an existing page in Exponential and publish it, in numbered steps without jargon - find the page, press Edit, change a field, preview, publish or keep as draft - with what to do when the form will not…
- Adding a news item Create a new article in Exponential - a news item, a blog post or an announcement - in the right folder, with a title, an introduction, the text and a picture, and publish it now or keep it for later.
Documentation license
This documentation is free documentation, licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License 1.3 or later.
Exponential Copyright © 1998-2026 Exponential Foundation and 7x