Trying the public demo #

The quickest way to see Exponential is the project's public demo. You need only a browser. This page tells you where it is, what to try, and why you will soon want a site of your own.

Contents #

1. Where the demo is
2. Demo mode in one minute
3. What to try in your first hour
4. What the demo cannot teach you
5. Good manners on a shared demo
6. Other demos

Where the demo is #

The project describes it as "a public demo of the latest Exponential 6 with the 7x Simple design and a shop", and says that everything in the demo is reset every day (Community channels, About the project).

This page does not print the sign-in details. Take them from the community page; the administrator password of a public demo is published on purpose, as Demo mode FAQ explains.

Demo mode in one minute #

A public demo runs in demo mode. You will see a yellow Demo mode banner in the administration. In demo mode, administrator passwords cannot be changed or reset, so the published sign-in keeps working for the next visitor. Everything else still works: you can edit content, create accounts and change settings, which is why the demo is rebuilt on a schedule (Demo mode FAQ, Demo mode).

What to try in your first hour #

1. Look at the site as a visitor: the front page, a list, an article, the search.
2. Sign in to the administration with the published details. Read the dashboard (Getting started).
3. Open Content structure and find the item behind a page you saw on the site.
4. Edit that item, change its title and Send for publishing. Reload the site.
5. Look at the versions of the item, and go back to the earlier one (Publishing, versions and the trash).
6. Open the Layouts tab, if it is shown, and look at a layout in the editor without publishing (The layouts editor).
7. Open the help in the administration and search for a word you met.

Write what you tried and what surprised you in your study journal.

What the demo cannot teach you #

After one or two sessions on the demo, move on: Your first site: three ways.

Good manners on a shared demo #

• Use invented content. Do not enter personal data, yours or anyone else's.
• Do not upload anything you do not have the right to share.
• Do not remove or break things for the sake of it; other learners use the demo too.
• If something on the demo looks broken, report it on the community issue tracker, which is for "the project, the website, the ecosystem" (When something goes wrong).

Other demos #

The project also runs https://site.cjw.demo.exponential.earth/, the CJW starter site (Demo sites, cjw_multisite). It shows another site package, which is useful when you compare packages (Site packages for learners).

Related pages #

• Your first site: three ways
• Demo mode FAQ
• Your first hour in the administration
• Free documentation: this page is free to copy, translate and improve under the GNU FDL 1.3.