Which type of customer are you?
The customer start pages are written for nine kinds of sites. Most real sites are a mix: a magazine that sells subscriptions, a store in three languages, an intranet for two companies. Answer the questions below and read every start page you land on; the reading paths can be followed side by side.
The questions
| Question | If yes, read |
|---|---|
| Do you publish news several times a day, under time pressure? | Newsrooms |
| Do you publish features, long reads or themed issues on a schedule? | Magazines |
| Do one or more authors post regularly in a blog, with feeds and perhaps comments? | Blogs |
| Is your site a manual, a knowledge base or product documentation? | Documentation sites |
| Do customers order and pay on your site? | Online stores |
| Do people register, and see content the public does not? | Membership sites |
| Is your site used by your own staff, behind a sign-in? | Intranets |
| Is your site in more than one language? | Multilingual sites |
| Do you run more than one site, brand or region from one installation? | Owners of several sites |
If none fits (a campaign site, a portfolio, a catalog without a shop), start with the Customers reading path, which every type shares, and the Feature tour.
Common combinations
| Your site | Read | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| A magazine that sells subscriptions | Magazine, Membership, perhaps Online store | Who may see paid content, and how access ends when a subscription ends |
| A store in several countries | Online store, Multilingual | Prices, currencies and VAT per country; translations of product texts |
| A brand group with a shop per brand | Several sites, Online store | Which settings and products are shared, and who handles each brand's orders |
| A company site with a blog and documentation | Blog, Documentation site | One set of roles that keeps the blog's speed and the documentation's review |
| An association with members and events | Membership, Magazine or Blog | Member data, mail preferences and volunteers who change every year |
| An intranet for a group of companies | Intranet, Several sites, Multilingual | Departments and companies that must not see each other's pages |
What you are not
These pages assume that your site is already running. If you are still choosing a system or a partner, the Businesses section is written for you. If you are building or changing the site yourself, the Website creators section is. If you write and publish content and need the steps in the editor, the Editing content page is the place to start.
Related pages
- Customer types
- Customers: start here
- Which section fits your organization
- Free documentation: this page is free to copy, translate and improve under the GNU FDL 1.3.
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