{"id":1368,"date":"2012-02-23T23:25:25","date_gmt":"2012-02-23T23:25:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/help-o.ning.com\/?page_id=1368"},"modified":"2019-08-26T15:41:19","modified_gmt":"2019-08-26T15:41:19","slug":"basics-of-your-ning-network","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.ning.com\/help\/center\/basics-of-your-ning-network\/","title":{"rendered":"Getting Started with Ning"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Whether you’re inviting a group of colleagues to a private online space or starting up a social network that’s wide open to anyone and everyone, we want to make it easy for you to get going. Our best advice is to tackle these three things first.<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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Choose the Right Features<\/h1>\n

\"&nbsp;Creating a Ning community is a little different than creating a website with a typical web hosting service. Ning revolves around features, not pages. This means you don’t need to build out pages of your site one-by-one. You also don’t need to dig into the details of HTML (unless you want to). Just choose the features you want from the Features Layout<\/strong> section of your dashboard, and those features will begin dynamically populating content on your Main Page based on activity generated by your members. Don’t want a feature or don’t like where it’s located? Move a feature. Remove it. Experiment when Setting Up Your Main Page<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Start simple, stay flexible<\/h2>\n

Choose the 3 or 4 features<\/strong> you know your members will want to use and start with those. As you grow, you’ll inevitably make changes, including changing how everything is organized and what features you want to focus on. Online communities are organic, growing things \u2014\u00a0kind of like a plant. Start with a wireframe support and shape its growth. Don’t try to force things into a rigid container!\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Slap a Fresh Coat of Paint on Your Site<\/h1>\n

Your site is plain vanilla right out of the box, but you can quickly turn it into rainbow sherbet. Choose a theme, decide on a two- or three-column layout, pick your favorite font, and color away. Got a logo? Add it! Don’t like that shade of blue? Change it! You’ve got tons of choices with The Design Studio<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Create a custom header<\/h2>\n

\"&nbsp;You don’t have to create a unique header design (plenty of Ning communities don’t), but we think it helps. If you’ve already got a logo and a brand, great! Use the assets you already have. But all you really need is a nice image and a few minutes to create something that you think will appeal to your community. Any image will do as long as it’s 955 pixels wide. It doesn’t have to be drop-dead gorgeous. In fact, some of the most attractive and effective headers are basic and to-the-point. Ready to create one? Here’s How to Make a Custom Header<\/a>.\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Invite Charter Members to Seed the Initial Content for Your Community<\/h1>\n

Adding your first bits of content can feel like a daunting process, but it doesn’t have to. One easy way to get content on your page without having to empty out your creative tank is to invite a few friends or family members to be guest contributors.<\/p>\n