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Quick guide: Managing your website

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John Mackenzie
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This guide provides an overview of the core modules used to build, organize, and manage your website content within the MC Professional platform.

Website components

  • Articles: Generally represent a single page on your website, though a single webpage can also be composed of multiple articles stacked together.
  • Categories: Act like organizational folders for your articles. For example, you might create one category for public articles and another for members-only articles.
  • Menus: Your site's navigation menu. It houses the buttons that direct users to your articles, forms, directories, or documents.

Permissions and access errors

Permissions must be aligned across all three core components for visitors to view your content. If permissions are misconfigured, users will encounter errors:

  • "You do not have access to this article" error: Go to Website > Article Manager and select Permissions (top right) to authorize user group access.
  • Missing navigation buttons: Go to Website > Menu Manager > Edit Menu Items and select Permissions (top center) to ensure the target group can see the menu button.
  • Inaccessible content groups: Go to Website > Category Manager and select Permissions (top center) to authorize access to the folder.
Caution: If your site uses only one category for all content, make sure its permissions are open to all intended user groups.

Adding a new menu item

  1. Go to Website > Menu Items.
  2. Select the title of the menu you want to edit from the left column.
  3. Select New in the top toolbar.
  4. Select your Menu Item Type. This determines what happens when a user selects the button.
  5. Complete the required fields for your selected type.
  6. Select Save.
Note: The required fields depend on the item type. For example, if you selected Single Article, select Select an Article to choose the destination page.

Changing where an existing menu button points

Use these steps to redirect an existing button to a different destination — for example, replacing a temporary layout page with a live article.

  1. Go to Website > Menu Manager.
  2. Select your menu's title in the left column.
  3. Select the name of the menu item you want to edit.
  4. To link to a different destination category, select Change Type. To swap only the underlying article, select the button next to Select Article.
  5. Select Save.
Note: Use the pagination arrows at the bottom of the list if you have multiple pages of menu items.

When creating or changing a menu button, link it to one of these system areas:

Category Menu item type Destination function
Database My Profile Opens the logged-in member's personal profile.
View All Displays the public or member directory.
Advanced Search Opens an advanced directory search page.
Export Center Provides an admin shortcut to generated export files.
Article content Single Article Links directly to a single custom page (most common).
Blog/List Layouts Links to dynamic blog grids, category groups, or archives.
Community Event Calendar Opens the main community calendar.
Event List Displays upcoming events in a list view.
Forums / Blog Links to message boards, user posts, or social feeds.
Forms & lists Forms Links directly to a published registration or survey form.
Directory Searches Links to pre-filtered directory searches or saved lists.
Profile Lists —
Other Login/Logout Adds an authentication toggle button.
External Link Redirects users to an outside webpage or absolute URL.
Forgot Password Directs users to the automated password reset page.
Separator Creates an unclickable header text item for dropdown menus.

Media Manager

The Media Manager stores all images, graphics, and files used across your site. Go to Website > Media Manager to access it.

  • Creating folders: Enter a folder name in the input box below the Files header, then select Create Folder.
  • Uploading files: Select your target folder, select Upload near the bottom of the screen, then select the file from your computer. The file uploads automatically.
  • Inserting assets into articles:
    • To insert an image, select Image below the article editor.
    • To insert a document as a hyperlink, highlight your text, select Site Links below the article editor, then select the File tab.

Best practices

  • Publish your forms first: A form must be set to Published before it appears as an option in your Menu Item list or internal Site Links tool.
  • Create pages before buttons: Always write and save your article before building a menu button that points to it.
  • Linking directly to a document file: To make a menu button open a document (like a PDF):
    1. Upload the file to the Media Manager.
    2. Right-click the file name and select Copy Link Location.
    3. Create a new menu item under Other > External Link.
    4. Paste the copied path into the link field and select Save.
  • Sanitize your file names: Before uploading, rename files to use only lowercase letters, numbers, hyphens (-), or underscores (_). Avoid spaces and special characters to prevent broken links and browser formatting conflicts.

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