Page templates are the easiest way to add cool content to your MyAIMStore website. You don’t have to write anything. AIM writes it for you. Where was this feature in honors English, am I right?

Instructions for Busy People

Here is a quick-and-dirty explanation of how Page Templates work and how they can work on your site.

Pages appear in the top menu bar on your MyAIMStore website. To add a new page, log in to your site, click on Pages from the left-side vertical menu, click Add New, and away you go.

Give the page a title. The title is what appears in your site’s menu bar and at the top of the page.

Then take a look at the right side of your New Page screen. See the section called Attributes? Good. Use the drop-down under Templates to select the Page Template of your choice.

Click Publish.

You’re done.

Hooray.

Instructions for Busy People with More Time on Their Hands

Page Templates really are as easy as I made it seem above (I did make it seem easy, didn’t I?). But that doesn’t mean that you might not get tripped up along the way. Longer instructions to the rescue!

Log In to your website

Visit your site, and click the link in the very bottom right corner. Then enter your username and password, and you’re in. (Forgot your username and/or password? E-mail us.)

Click on Pages > Add New

Did you know: The left-side vertical menu can collapse and expand with the click of a button. Place your mouse over the item you plan on clicking (don’t click yet), and a small gray triangle should appear to the right of the text. Click the triangle. A hidden menu magically appears.

Clicking on Pages will take you to your Edit Pages screen where you can make changes to the pages that already exist on your site. On this page is a button for Add New page. You can click that button or you can click the Add New link that appears under Pages in your left-side vertical menu.

What is the difference between pages and posts?

Good question. Posts are used for blogging. Pages are used for navigation and utilities. For instance, you would write a post about a new research study that came out explaining how Quarter Pounders can be blamed for terrorism. You would write a page about studies in general. Or terrorism in general, I guess.

Give your page a title

The title field is at the very top of your page editor, above the fancy Microsoft Word-ish buttons.

It can be any title you want. If the page is very generic, a short title would be best. If it is a little more detailed, then you can get more detailed with your title as well. Keep in mind that the page title will appear at the very top of your website in the menu, so “Contact me at my most amazing e-mail address and/or phone number so I can say what up” would not be a good title.

Select a Page Template

Finally, what you came here for. The Page Template section is located under the Attributes section, which is located at the right side of the page. Do you know where the Publish button is? Good. Look below that for the Attributes section and look below the Attributes section for the Page Template drop-down.

The titles in the drop-down menu represent different templates you can choose for your page. Each template is designed to stand alone as a page on your site, so there is no need to do any further editing once you have picked your poison.

As of this very moment, here are the Page Templates you get to choose from:

• About AIM: An info page about The AIM Companies (with Who Is AIM video)
• Archives: A list of all the posts on your site (for bloggers, mostly)
• Blog: A collection of your posts in blog form, listed chronologically and with full content or excerpt
• Contact Form: A contact form for your site, naturally
• Fullwidth: A template that does not include a sidebar; put your own content in the page
• Products: A list of six popular AIM products
• Redirect: A straight redirect to another URL; you must put the URL in the page content for the link to work
• Sitemap: A listing of all the different pages and areas of your site, good for SEO
• Testimony American Dream: Story of Bella and Ark Vladimirsky
• Testimony Doctor Chen: Story of Dr. Yu-Shiaw Chen
• Testimony Fountain of Youth: Story of Kathie Fitzpatrick
• Testimony Homepage: Short testimony blurbs from a number of AIM Members
• Testimony New Lifestyle: Story of Patti and Larry Warren
• Testimony Olympic Athlete: Story of Debbie Lawrence-Spino (plans are to replace with a J.R. story when time allows)
• Video: Six AIM YouTube videos

Whew. That’s a lot of templates. If you have an idea for a new one, drop us an e-mail or leave a comment on this post.

Add your own content

This part is entirely optional. The Page Templates are designed so that you don’t have to do this step. But good for those of you who are overachievers.

If you want to add your own text to the page, simply type it in to your Text Editor. There are some templates that don’t support extra text (the testimonies, for example), but many do.

Click Publish

And you’re done.

I took the time to put this lengthy post into video form to save you the trouble of reading, if you so choose. Enjoy.

That covers the basics of Page Templates. Don’t hesitate to call or e-mail if you have any questions using these templates on your site.

Well, I have tried and tested all 22 of them, and I took pictures along the way. Here is an amalgam of every different color scheme you can have on your MyAIMStore website.

(Click to enlarge.)

Not bad, right? Of course, knowing that there are 22 color schemes and experiencing 22 color schemes are two very different things. Fortunately, changing the color of your site is part of MyAIMStore’s Super Simple Six-Minute Set Up. And hey, there’s a video for that.

What’s your favorite color scheme in the MyAIMStore palette? Mine is rainbow bubbles. I think it has something to do with my Irish heritage.

Of course, you’re probably here for that New Look information. And I can’t blame you. I would want to have this new MyAIMStore design on my site, too. In fact, I think I’ll follow along to learn how.

To Switch Or Not To Switch

That is the question, although it’s not really a question for a lot of you. Those using Theme One for their MyAIMStore website need do nothing in order to reap the goodness of the new look. Since Theme One was the default theme of MyAIMStore, it is simply being replaced. No extra work necessary.

For those operating with Theme Two or Theme Three, you can make the change whenever you are ready (or we can help, just e-mail us). The plan is to slowly phase out Themes Two and Three, but no hurry. I like to let the idea of change settle in before I do anything, too.

How To Switch

Log in to your site

For more on that, read this.

Go to Appearance

Look to the left of the page at that long, vertical menu. About halfway down (right above Plugins) sits the Appearance link. Give it a click.

Choose the MyAIMStore theme

You can tell what theme is active on your site by looking at the top of the page at your Current Theme. If it says MyAIMStore, you’re set! If it doesn’t, you’re still set, but you just have to do a little more work. (See a Current Theme screenshot.)

If you have Theme Two or Theme Three as your Current Theme, look down the page just a bit until you see Available Themes. The MyAIMStore theme will be in this group.

Click on Activate underneath the MyAIMStore theme picture.

Presto-changeo, you’ve come over to the new side!

Check out the Super Simple Six-Minute Set-Up for more information on what to do next.

And if you’re stumped by all this and/or find the video abhorrent, feel free to wave the white flag at MyAIMStore Support and send an e-mail.

To prep yourself for the Super Simple Six-Minute Set-Up (SSSS for short), all you need is a clear head, a quiet mind, and six minutes of time. Oh, and a computer.

Gentlemen and ladies, start your stopwatches!

Check E-mail

If you are truly starting from sign-up, this step will kick off your six-minute cycle. Every MyAIMStore sign-up receives an e-mail once your site is ready for your perusal. In this e-mail is helpful information like how to log-in, which becomes important right … about … now!

Log In

To log in via your e-mail, simply click the log-in link that we provided.

To log in via your website (for those of you just joining us), go to your site, scroll to the very bottom, and click the Log In To Your MyAIMStore Website link in the bottom right corner.

Enter your username and password, and away you go.

Click Customize

Congratulations if you made it this far. You’re the best. Now this next part is a little tricky, especially if you get distracted easily.

Ignore all the information on the page except for the Menu that runs vertically down the left side (if you’re really curious about this page, try this). About halfway down, underneath the Comments link and above the Appearance link, is a link called Customize. See it there? The one with the gear icon next to it?

Give ‘er a click.

Enter Personal Info

The Customize page has a series of options for you to fill out, so let’s get to it. Start at the top with your Member ID Number (this may already be filled out for you). Next, add your Name, Phone, E-mail, and Location. This information appears at various places around your website and when visitors click from your site to AIM’s site. If you have any privacy issues, best to leave some of these fields blank.

Upload A Photo

Skip to the bottom of the page to upload a personal photo. Click the Upload button, find your favored image on your computer, and click Open. MyAIMStore does the rest.

You will definitely want to choose a horizontal, rectangular image for your pic (one that is 465×380 pixels in a perfect world). For additional information, give the Photo Upload page a read or e-mail MyAIMStore Support.

Have an AIM Composure

You’ve earned it!

Set Color Scheme

This step is my favorite (because I love colors) and my least favorite (because I’m indecisive). There are over 20 color schemes to choose from, so have at it.

The Color Scheme selector is right above the Featured Image/Photo Upload section. Click the down arrow to see the list of options, and ignore the “.css” at the end of the color names.

Save Changes

Important. The Save Changes button is in the lower right corner or the upper right corner. You’ll know the changes have been saved when a green check shows up on screen.

Check Your Work

And stop the timer! You’re done!

Whew, that was a fast six minutes. See the Super Simple Six-Minute Set-Up in action via the following video:

Want to save this information forever and ever? Go ahead and print this page, or save the pictures included below.

The Quick Way

Adding a photo is one of the built-in features of the MyAIMStore websites. We want to make it as easy as possible on you. Follow these three steps to get your photo up and active:

1. Log in to your website and click Customize.
2. Scroll down to the Featured Image section, and click Upload.
3. Find your photo on your computer, select it, and click Open.

MyAIMStore handles the rest.

The Long Way

Need a little more instruction than the Quick Way? No prob. Here is a detailed take on the image uploading process.

Log in to your website

This can be done using the link in the bottom right corner of your website. For more info, read a detailed How To on logging in.

Go to Customize

The Customize section of your site is where the photo magic happens. To get there, simply click on Customize in the left-side vertical menu once you are logged in. Confused? Don’t worry. There’s a more detailed How To on this, too.

Scroll down to the Featured Image section

The Featured Image section is the last option on the General Settings tab. Once you land on the Customize page (after clicking the Customize link), all you have to do is scroll. You should see a blank box with an upload button at the very bottom.

Click Upload

Upload is just a fancy way of saying, “Add my picture to my website please!” What you are essentially doing is taking a picture from your personal computer where only people looking over your shoulder can see it and putting it out on the World Wide Web where anyone from anywhere can see it.

Find your photo on your computer

After you click Upload, a dialog box will pop up. Chances are, it will look something like this:

This is the hard part. Do you know where you put your picture on your computer? I imagine that your picture came from a digital camera or an e-mail. If you have a usual place where you save these photos, then go ahead and head that direction. Click on the file you want. And click Open.

Make sure it is the right size

Once you click Open, MyAIMStore does some photo crunching and – voila! – your image appears on the page. How does it look? Probably pretty good. Keep in mind, though, that the image location on your website is a horizontal rectangle. If your picture isn’t anywhere close to that shape, it might look funky.

The ideal image size is 465×380 pixels. If your image is something different, it will simply be scaled to fit that size.

Want to scale it on your own? There are programs and services for that. A good one to consider is Paint.net, which is essentially your computer’s Paint program on steroids. If you don’t want to download anything, give Picnik a try. It is a web-based photo editing tool.

And of course, if you’d prefer not to mess with either, simply e-mail it to us here at MyAIMStore Support, and we will be happy to hack and slash it to fit.

Speaking of MyAIMStore Support

Still stumped by this photo editing nonsense? No worries. E-mail MyAIMStore Support or give us a call (1-800-477-4246), and we’ll be happy to help.

Good luck. Let us know how we can help.

The MyAIMStore Dashboard is your friend. And he has connections.

1. The Menu (1). Though not as exciting as a Cheesecake Factory menu but a whole lot more exciting than an HMO pricing menu, the Dashboard’s Menu is your one-stop shop for navigating through your MyAIMStore options. The menu will always be on the left side of the page from now to forever, so you always have a means of getting around.Also of note, the Customize link lives here. This link is where you edit your site’s look and feel. You will get to know it dearly.
2. MyAIMStore Blog Tips (2). Hey, that link goes to this site! Semi-regularly I post tips and hints and how tos on getting the most from your MyAIMStore site. You can keep abreast of all that simply by checking this part of your Dashboard page.
3. Sales and Signups (3). Check in on the progress of your site by logging on to AIM’s corporate website to see your sales and sign ups that have occurred through your MyAIMStore.
4. Visit Site (4). This link takes you to your website’s homepage.
5. Right Now section (5). For bloggers only, you can see a snapshot of the activity on your posts and pages.
6. QuickPress (6). Again for bloggers only (man, those guys are needy), QuickPress is a quick-and-dirty means of posting blog entries to your site.

If you have only read one thing I wrote this entire post, I hope it was this: The Customize link is in your Dashboard’s left-side Menu.

Getting There From The Internet

Grab Your Site’s Address

First things first, you are going to need to have your site’s web address handy. This is the address that begins with http://myaimstore.com/ and ends with your storename. For instance, mine is http://myaimstore.com/keeeeeeeeeevan. Yours is probably something easier to remember.

If you cannot remember what your storename is, you can you can go rifling through old e-mails or e-mail MyAIMStore Support. Whatever you prefer!

Type in Your Site’s Address

Once you have your address, you will type it into your browser’s address bar. (A browser is a fancy way of saying Internet Explorer.) The address bar is located at the top of your browser and contains the web address for the page you are on currently.

Things that are the address bar:

Things that are not the address bar:

Google.com

Browser quick search

Yahoo.com

Kit Kat bar

Type your site’s address into the address bar, and you are good to go.

Getting There From Your Dashboard

Let’s say that you have logged into your site and are poking around doing fun things. Now you want to take a look at how you’re doing.

Easy enough. Your site’s name will always appear in the upper left-hand corner of the screen whenever you are logged in and working on your site. Simply click your store’s name (or the equally helpful Visit Site button), and you’ll be whisked away to your homepage.

But be careful. If you are working on something and have not saved changes, you run the risk of losing it.

Log In Through Your Homepage

The easiest, simplest, straightforwardest way to log in is by web surfing your way to your MyAIMStore homepage. For instance, mine is http://myaimstore.com/keeeeeeeeeevan. Yours probably has fewer e’s. Need some extra help? Try this How To post on for size.

Once you are at your website, you’ll want to scroll down to the very bottom. Scroll, scroll, scroll! Once you hit the bottom (the bottom bar is black, kind of like a basement), there will be a link in the bottom right corner that says “Log-in to your MyAIMStore.” Click it.

The Log In Page

Once clicked, the link will take you to the Log In page where you input your username and password to gain access to your site’s options.

• Username: Your username is most likely the same as your store name.
• Password: I have no idea what your password is. Probably something creative and hard to crack, though. If you’ve forgot your password, you can click the “Lost Your Password?” link or e-mail MyAIMStore Support. We keep most passwords around for a rainy day.

The Remember Me Box

If you would like to cut down on your logging in time, go ahead and check the Remember Me box before clicking the Log In button. This will save your log in information so that you don’t have to waste precious milliseconds typing it in next time. I use this feature every chance I get. It’s my favorite.

Click Log In

And away you go!

New User Log In Alternative

If you have just received your first e-mail from MyAIMStore, you might find it easier to log in using the link provided to you in the e-mail. That’s fine. It won’t hurt my feelings. If you would prefer to bookmark that link or commit it to memory, that’s fine, too. But rest assured that the Log In link will always be in the bottom right corner of your website whenever you need it.

Want to get a website of your own? Sign up for a FREE site with your AIM membership.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/7070151/myaimstore051810.wmv

The video is about 50 minutes long. The general outline of the class looks like this:

1. Welcome
2. Explain sign-up process
3. How to add a photo
4. Manage your sidebar
5. Explanation of theme options page
6. Explanation of contact form

I also covered topics on creating pages, hiding page links from your homepage, alternative log-ins, and more. I apologize for the lack of audio on the video. We will seek to remedy that with the next MyAIMStore teleclass, later this summer.

If you have any questions, please contact MyAIMStore Support at myaimstore@aimintl.com. Also, most of the areas I covered in the teleclass are explained in the MyAIMStore Welcome Guide, which is available to download at the MyAIMStore Resources page.

Note: Video from my first teleclass is also available.