Getting Started with Cadenza
When you first login and take a look at your Admin Dashboard, it can be a little overwhelming, especially if you don’t have any previous experience using WordPress or any other Content Management System (CMS). Cadenza is packed with features and you have a lot of control over how your Cadenza website looks and works, so there are a lot of options to choose from and a lot of ways to get things done.
This page is your first step to getting to know Cadenza and learn what you can do with it to build a great website for your organization. We’ll break things down a bit and explain how things are arranged and how you can find out how to do things on your website, like adding pages, events, news and more.
WordPress
Cadenza is built with WordPress, the most popular Content Management System (CMS) in the world! This means that you can easily find information about using WordPress on the Internet by searching for what you want to do and adding the word “wordpress” to your search. We’ve provided a short list of resources here.
The Dashboard
When you login, you’ll enter what’s known as the WordPress Dashboard. The Dashboard is the main Admin area from which you’ll perform all of the tasks of building and maintaining your Cadenza website. Each area of the Dashboard is covered in more detail here.
The Editor
When you create pages of content for your Cadenza website, you’ll use the WordPress Editor, which changes somewhat depending on what you want to do. For example, scheduling an event is different from writing a page about an Ensemble. If you use the Page Builder, you have even more tools for adding creative content, but we’ll look at those in a bit. Learn more about how to use the WordPress Editor here.
Publishing Content
Any time you create content and put it on your Cadenza website, its called “publishing”. No matter if its a new event, a staff bio, an Ensemble page, or a photo gallery, when you create something new and add it to your site, you become a publisher! Learn all about how to publish content here.
Website Basics
You’ve surfed the Web for years, but have you every wondered exactly how a website works? Understanding some of the basic principals of web pages and websites will make it easier to understand why WordPress works the way it does and how what you do on the back end affects what you see on the front end. Don’t worry – no coding is required! Learn a little bit about how a website is structured and how pages, posts and content is interactive and dynamic!
Web Page Basics
Get to know the structure of a basic web page to know how to edit and manage what content goes where! Learn how content is placed and styled and how things float and adjust for different devices and screens. Learn about the anatomy of a web page here.
Cascading Style Sheets
Learn a little about CSS, the language of styling the Web. CSS defines things like positioning, colors and fonts. The good news is that you don’t need to know how to write it, but it helps to understand how CSS makes your site look and behave the way it does. Learn a little about Cascading Styles here.
Themes and Presets
A Theme is the design of your website – the one you selected when you subscribed to Cadenza. Learn about all Themes and how they are built here.
Drag & Drop Page Builder
Design awesome pages like a professional without coding. The Page Builder takes the Editor to new levels with multi-column rows, background pictures, colors, gradients and even video. Everything is also mobile responsive to look great on any device. Get a feel for the power of the Page Builder here.
Templates
Start with pre-designed layout templates to get your pages started, then swap images and content for your own. Select from entire pages, or bits and pieces and build great pages in minutes. Learn more about using page templates and saved rows here.
Content Modules
Select from dozens of Content modules like slideshows, tabs, accordions, info boxes, easy buttons, hover effects, flip boxes, and more. Just drag and drop, add content and customize. Learn more about these powerful tools here.
Events Calendar
Having a robust Calendar for all of your events is critical, and The Events Calendar is the top of the line application for WordPress. Learn how to schedule events and create a detailed, searchable and filterable Calendar for your Cadenza website.
Web Site Pages
Cadenza is completely flexible and designed to grow. Add as many pages as you need to showcase your organization. We get you started with a solid foundation, but you can expand Cadenza as much as you want by adding new sections and pages. Learn more about adding pages here.
Staff Pages
You can build your own Staff pages, or use Cadenza’s built-in Staff list and Staff Profile feature. Pre-set directory templates make it easy to just add Staff, fill out their profile and add their photos. Learn more about adding Staff Members here.
Ensemble Pages
You wouldn’t be a music organization without your Ensembles. Cadenza provides a great way to add Ensemble pages and keep them organized on the back end and the front end. Add text, pictures, galleries and audio clips. Learn more about managing Ensembles here.