Tutorials

An overview of how the web hosting industry works, and the general requirements and compatibility for ocPortal.

Once ocPortal is installed, there is some basic configuration to do before your website is ready to open. We discuss it here.

ocPortal supports integration with a number of forum systems through our forum driver system. We discuss any issues here.

We show you how to embed a Google map into a ocPortal-powered website.

We show you how to make good use of Custom Comcode tags.

Background into the different kinds of solutions that are out there for creating websites - and where ocPortal fits in.

This tutorial details the browser requirements for visitors to an ocPortal site, determined by the CSS/XHTML/Javascript in our default theme.

An explanation of how the Internet works, all the way from what goes through the wires, to how meaningful activities happen.

An explanation of the ocPortal systems that together form the structure and navigation for ocPortal-powered websites.

All about ocPortal's menu system. Did you know you can set up and configure as many different levels of navigation as you like?

How to add dynamism and inline content to your pages, using blocks; and multimedia, using attachments.

How to backup your website (be it using our backup module, or otherwise), and why it is so important to do it.

A discussion on the features ocPortal provides for members, and for staff - and how permissions divide them.

The theory behind the permissions ocPortal needs on most web hosts, and practical guidance on setting them.

For most web sites, it is important to draw in visitors. We discuss the process of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO).

How to translate your (ocPortal-powered) website into different languages.

It's really not hard if you know how to do it. In this tutorial we move a sample install from a Windows PC to a Linux server.

Important background information that will help you keep your website up-to-date with the latest ocPortal.

Guidance on the legal and social issues that webmasters need to understood.

Details on different publishing features available in ocPortal, and their advantages/disadvantages.

You can make large files available to your visitors using the ocPortal downloads system. Read about it.

A gallery system is provided for the storage, organisation and viewing of images and videos. Read about it.

The catalogue system is a bit like a visual database system such as Microsoft Access. The possibilities are endless.

How to create a community calendar, or let your members maintain online diaries.

Many functions may be activated by key code, rather than clicking. Find out the key codes you can use in this tutorial.

Use the banners system to run multiple advertising campaigns on your website, using multiple media profiles.

ocPortal includes really cool AJAX-driven chat and instant messaging functionality. Read about the features, and see general advice.

Little tricks: changing their permissions via usergroups, mandating prior post approval, and how to ban them.

Find out the difference between the 12 terms we use for describing the people who interact with an ocPortal website.

This tutorial explains aspects of the OCF member system, including usergroups, profiles, and avatars.

This tutorial explains how to moderate topics and posts under OCF, and how post approval works.

It can get hard to keep up with all the discussions if you've got an active community. See how OCF can help.

A very practical tutorial showing how to created a fixed-width layout, and how to change the site header.