Customizing Your Web Baby Shower
This help page is intended for Web Baby Shower customers who have already submitted their Web Baby Shower Set Up fee and need assistance in customizing their Web Baby Shower. If you are still deciding on whether to host a Web Baby Shower, please see the articles listed under "More Resources" below.
Web Baby Shower Set Up Process
Please note that the set up process at Web Baby Shower IS NOT AUTOMATIC. In order to ensure the integrity of the Web Baby Shower service ALL Web Baby Shower requests are personally reviewed, approved and set up by the Web Baby Shower owner. After you have submitted your Web Baby Shower Set Up Fee and the expecting/adopting parent(s)' details, please expect to WAIT for further information about your Web Baby Shower set up. I can usually approve new shower requests the same or next business day and appreciate your patience.
Be on the lookout for an email with the subject "Your Web Baby Shower is ready" from webbabyshower.com. Once I have set up your shower, this email is sent to you and contains all the information you need to find and manage your Web Baby Shower -- so please save it in a safe place!
Get Your Computer Ready To Host A Web Baby Shower
While you are waiting for your Web Baby Shower to be approved and set up, please make sure that your computer's security settings will allow you to interact with webbabyshower.com. Please add webbabyshower.com as a trusted website to your:
- Web Browser (Internet Explorer, FireFox, AOL, etc)
- Email Spam White List
- Anti-Virus (Norton, McAfee, etc)
- Your computer or network firewall
Because everyone's computer is set up differently, please see the Help section of the above programs on your computer for assistance in adding webbabyshower.com as a trusted website. Thank you.
What To Do If You Do Not Receive The "Your Web Baby Shower is ready" Email
Essentially, I have written this guide in case the "Your Web Baby Shower is ready" email does not arrive in your InBox. If two or more business days have passed and you have not received the "Your Web Baby Shower is ready" email from me:
- Make sure you check for it in your Spam / Bulk email folder
- I know this can be a bit unsavory, but it really is wise to at least take a quick glance in your Spam / Bulk Folder before deleting the contents
- Please make sure that you have added webbabyshower.com to your email spam white list
- If you wish, you can follow the instructions below for finding and customizing your Web Baby Shower
- Please also feel free to call or email me for assistance in getting started with your Web Baby Shower
How To Find Your Web Baby Shower
If you have not received the "Your Web Baby Shower is ready" email or if you have lost it, you can find your Web Baby Shower here. All showers start with a Privacy Level of "Medium" so that you can find your own shower in case the "Your Web Baby Shower is ready email" gets lost.
DON'T CLICK IT -- Bookmark It! Once you see your Web Baby Shower in the search results, take a second to bookmark it before you click through. In most web browsers, you can add your Web Baby Shower to your bookmarks/favorites by dragging the link to your shower to the "Bookmarks" or "Favorites" button in your browser (Internet Explorer, FireFox, etc). This will make it very easy to get to your shower again later -- especially if you decide to increase the Privacy Level (see below).
Find your Web Baby Shower
Your Customized Web Baby Shower URL Link
Every Web Baby Shower comes with a personalized URL link based on the name(s) of the expecting/adopting parent(s), such as:
http://www.webbabyshower.com/example/
You can find your customized Web Baby Shower link in:
- The "Your Web Baby Shower is ready" email
- The follow-up email: "Web Baby Shower: How is everything?"
- The search results when you find a Web Baby Shower
- Your Host Control Panel main page in the "Your Web Baby Shower Details" section
You should share this link with your guests to make it easy for them to find your Web Baby Shower. You may do so by email, snail mail or other personal contact. Please see "Invite Your Guests" below.
Note: I try to give everyone a URL based on the mother's first name, depending on availability. For common names, such as "Jennifer," your URL may be based on her last name(s). If there is a special nickname or screen name that the expecting mom likes to use that you would like to use for your customized URL, please contact me for assistance. Please note that if you have already invited guests to your Web Baby Shower, it would be best to not change your customized URL to avoid confusion.
The Basic Web Baby Shower
When your Web Baby Shower is first set up it will come with the default design, only the Guest Book and Live Chat pages turned on, a privacy setting of medium and no password protection. It is up to you to turn the rest of the features and pages "ON" by adding privacy and password protection, photos, gift registries, games, Birthday BetsTM, videos, etc. These pages only appear in your Web Baby Shower navigation bar as you actually add those features to your Web Baby Shower. The reason that these pages do not appear initially is to help avoid any confusion or frustration of clicking on a "Photos" page only to find out that there aren't any photos to view.
As your shower progresses, you can also turn certain pages and features on and off again if you are no longer using them.
Customizing Your Web Baby Shower
Most likely you will want to take advantage of all the features Web Baby Shower has to offer and that's where "Customizing Your Web Baby Shower" comes in. Please note that there are more features in the service than are actually documented in the Help section so please explore and try things out. Also, this guide is just a suggestion for getting started -- you do not have to do things exactly this way and you can update your shower at any time. Web Baby Shower is very flexible to suit to the varying needs of each expecting family.
Meet Your Host Control Panel
The Host Control Panel is the brain behind your Web Baby Shower. Whenever you want to change, add or remove something from your Web Baby Shower, please go to the Host Control Panel first. Most likely you will be able to manage the change yourself through the Host Control Panel.
To access your Host Control Panel, simply go to your Web Baby Shower (find) and click the "host control panel" link near the bottom of any of your Web Baby Shower pages.
In order to secure your Host Control Panel, you will be asked to enter the host's email address on file with Web Baby Shower in order to log in. You can also add a Host Control Panel password so that only you can access your Host Control Panel (more info).
If your email address has changed, please log in with your "old" address that is still on file with Web Baby Shower and then update your account information with your new email address under "Edit Host Info". Then you will be able to log in to the Host Control Panel with your new email address. For more information, please see the Host Account Information help page
Once you have logged into your Host Control Panel, you can manage any of the following aspects of your Web Baby Shower and more. You can also return to your Host Control Panel to continue updating and managing your Web Baby Shower. The Host Control Panel is meant to help you manage the life cycle of hosting a Web Baby Shower from beginning to end. Please note that you are not stuck with the choices you make at the beginning of your Web Baby Shower -- you can almost always make changes and updates whether it is your baby ticker, a live chat or even a photo that has become out of date.
Choose Privacy & Password Options
It's not the most fun part of Web Baby Shower, but you should establish your privacy and password settings first, before doing anything else and as soon as possible after your shower has been set up. Web Baby Shower offers a variety of privacy and password settings to meet your needs and I encourage you to learn about each one and choose the option that is best for you:
Choose A Web Baby Shower Design
You can change the backgrounds and colors of your Web Baby Shower. There are eight different backgrounds, three different border and text colors and 15 different clipart photo placeholders.
Please note that at this time the clipart is just meant to be a place holder until you upload photos. Your first photo will replace the clipart originally shown on your Web Baby Shower home page and there is not currently a way to keep the clip art instead of the photo.
Customize Your Web Baby Shower home page
You can customize the welcome and introductory messages on your Web Baby Shower home page and add a baby or pregnancy ticker.
- To edit the first paragraph on your Web Baby Shower home page go to*:
- Host Control Panel
- Expecting Family Info
- Expecting Family Introduction
- To edit the second paragraph on your Web Baby Shower home page go to*:
- Host Control Panel
- Edit Host Info
- Choose: Edit Host Introduction on your Web Baby Shower Home Page and click Go!
For more information please see the Host Account Information Help page
- To choose a photo for your home page:
- Log into your Host Control Panel
- Choose "Photo Manager"
- Make sure you have uploaded photo(s)
- Click "Edit Sort Order"
- Make sure that the photo that you want to appear on your Web Baby Shower home page is #1 in the list and click "Submit"
Note: At this time your first photo, or photo #1, will replace the clipart on your home page. There is not a way to keep the clip art instead of a photo at this time.
- To add, remove or update a baby or pregnancy ticker, please see the Baby Ticker Help page.
*IMPORTANT NOTE: Please make sure that there is always a valid, full name on file with Web Baby Shower for both the host and the expecting family. Please do not use any screen names or irrelevant data in required name fields. Please use the Host Introduction and Expecting Family Introductions to make any customizations to your Web Baby Shower. For more information please see the Required Name Tips help page. Thank you.
Sign Your Guest Book First
This is actually done outside of your Host Control Panel. Now is a good time to get your Guest Book going with a nice welcome or introductory message to encourage your visitors to do the same. Not everyone likes to be "first" so your message shows your guests that your Web Baby Shower is a warm and friendly place to participate. You can easily return to your Host Control Panel after you have added a message to your Guest Book.
To add a message to your Guest Book, simply return to your Web Baby Shower home page and click the Guest Book link. Once you are on the Guest Book page, you can use the "Sign The Guest Book Form" to add your message. If you have added "message board" level password protection, you will need to provide the password/your email address in order to submit your message.
Please note that at any time, you can log into your Host Control Panel and use the Guest Book Manager to edit messages, remove messages and/or report any abuse in your Guest Book. For more information, please see the Guest Book Manager Help page.
Sign Up To Be Notified When Your Guest Book Is Updated
While you are signing your Guest Book first, you can also sign up to receive notifications when subsequent messages are added to the Guest Book.
If you wish to be notified when the Guest Book is updated, click the "know when this guest book is updated!" link and add your email address. In order to reduce the amount of outgoing email at webbabyshower.com, please note that you have to click through the links in the notification emails your receive in order to continue receiving notifications.
If you haven't already, please make sure that email from webbabyshower.com will be delivered to your email InBox so that you receive your email notifications.
Create Your Web Baby Shower Journal
Your Web Baby Shower also comes with a Journal page (or "blog") which you and/or the expecting/adopting parents can use to create a pregnancy or adoption journal that is separate from your Guest Book message board. For more information please see the Journal Manager Help page.
Add Links To Gift Registry Stores
Add links to any online stores where the expecting family is registered. Web Baby Shower lets you link to just about any online store and even provides a space for you to enter a link to any local or unique stores you have registered at. All registry links require Snowboard Mommy Productions/Web Baby Shower approval. For more information please see the Gift Registry Links Help & FAQ page.
Add Photos And Videos
You can add up to 48 photos with captions and any number of YouTube Videos through the Host Control Panel -- so get your camera or camcorder out and get the expecting parents in front of it! You can add, and update photos and videos throughout your Web Baby Shower. Please note that once you upload at least 2 photos and at least one video, then a link to "Photos" and "Videos" pages will appear in your Web Baby Shower navigation bar (along with Guest Book, Live Chat, etc).
For more information about adding photos and videos to your Web Baby Shower, please see:
Add Baby Shower Games & Birthday Bets
Your Web Baby Shower comes with a Birthday BetsTM game on a page of its own as well as five additional baby shower games on a games page. Because different hosts like to play these games at different times, these pages are not initially turned on when your Web Baby Shower is set up. You must log into the Host Control Panel and configure the games to your liking in order for the pages to be added to your Web Baby Shower. For more information, please see: Birthday Bets Help, Gotcha Bets Help and Baby Shower Games Help.
Schedule live chat
Your Web Baby Shower comes with a private live chat room which you and your guests can use anytime. To assist you in your planning you can also schedule chats in the Host Control Panel. If you would like to schedule a chat, just click on the Chat Scheduler (coffee cup icon) in the Host Control Panel. There, you can add, edit, and cancel chat reservations. For more information, please see the Chat Scheduler in your Host Control Panel, or the Web Baby Shower Chat Help page
Get Your Free Conference Call Access Code
Web Baby Shower has teamed up with FreeConferenceCall.com to bring you a private, reservation-free conference call feature for your Web Baby Shower. Please see the Conference Call Manager in your Host Control Panel, or the Web Baby Shower Conference Call Help page for more information.
Invite Your Guests
Phew! After all that work it's time to start showing off and telling your guests about it! The easiest way to invite people is by email, but you are also welcome to mail printed invitations as well. Whichever method you choose, be sure to include your customized Web Baby Shower URL link so that everyone knows where to find your Web Baby Shower. You are also welcome to use the Web Baby Shower Guest List Manager, which you can find through your Host Control Panel. Your Guest List Manager can be used throughout the life of your Web Baby Shower. I encourage you to remind your guests several times throughout the course of your Web Baby Shower to keep everyone coming to the site to leave messages, see new photos, get pregnancy updates or even play games. You are welcome to use the Sample Web Baby Shower Invitations either in an email of your own or through the Guest List Manager.
Announce The Baby's Birth
Once the new baby arrives, don't forget that you can transform your Web Baby Shower into an online birth announcement. Simply log into your Host Control Panel and click "announce the birth." When you "announce the birth," your Web Baby Shower will remain active for at least one month from the date you announce the baby's birth. Depending on when the baby is born, this may mean that you get additional time if the baby is late or, if the baby is early, that your original expiration date remains intact. In either case, you will have at least one month's time to use the site after the baby is born. This ensures that everyone has plenty of time to share pictures, post messages and send gifts. This service is included in your Web Baby Shower Set-up Fee, so there is no additional fee to use this service. You can use your Guest List Manager and Announce The Birth to create an instant online and email birth announcement. For more information please see Instant Birth Announcements
Your Web Baby Shower End Date
Your Web Baby Shower will end approximately 4 weeks after the estimated due date you entered when you signed up for the service. This should give the new baby plenty of time to make an appearance so that you can announce the birth at Web Baby Shower too (see Instant Birth Announcements).
Once your Web Baby Shower ends you will not have access to it anymore, so please make sure you have made any final changes and saved any information you want to save yourself before the end date. All Web Baby Showers are ended at approximately 1:00PM Pacific US and Canada on the expiration date. For more information, please see the Web Baby Shower Terms of Service
Information found in the Web Baby Shower Resource Directory is provided "As Is" with no warranty; information regarding pregnancy, birth and parenting is not meant to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease or condition and is not meant to be a substitute for personal care from a professional health care practitioner. Web Baby Shower/Snowboard Mommy Productions does not endorse any product or service and is not responsible for the content or conduct of sites it links to.
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