Getting Started - A Quick How-to Guide

[Writer In Motion (Official)]

Hello and welcome to the Writer In Motion forum!

If this is your first time using a forum, or Simple Machines software, it's pretty easy and very versatile. Before you get started, we ask that you read our
General Guidelines. Here's a quick guide to help you get started:

I. CREATE AN ACCOUNT
To create an account, click on 'register'  in the top right corner. This will take you to a registration agreement. We encourage everyone to take a quick read. It's a pretty standard "be respectful to others."

Once you click 'I accept this agreement', you will be prompted to create your account.

II. TAKING YOUR FIRST STEPS
Once your account is created, you'll be taken to the homepage where all forums will disappear except two. Don't panic. This allows administrators a second line of defense against robots and spam accounts.

Please click on the Introduce Yourself forum and say hello. It doesn't have to be anything fancy, a few words or lines of text is all that's required. Once you click 'Post', the rest of the forums will unlock. To access them, click on the Home button at the top.

NOTE: Once you have posted your 'introduce yourself' post, the rest of the forums will appear on the main page. From here you are welcome to poke around, speak with others, and engage in the community.

III. SETTING UP YOUR ACCOUNT PROFILE
Now we're at the fun part, setting up your account profile. At the top of the forum, click on 'Profile'. Move your mouse over 'modify profile' and choose the fields you want to update. We recommend starting with your Account Settings.

Account Settings:
Here you can change your display name. Username will always remain the same, but the next box down (Name) will allow you to choose what you want others to see. Example: Username (TacoDinosaur) Name (Roars for Tacos).

Forum Profile:
Here you can upload your avatar (100x100), create a signature,  and add personal text.

You're all set! With your profile setup, you're ready to play. Go forth and write beautiful words.

[Writer In Motion (Official)]

Are you ready to spice up your signature? Here's a few guidelines about signatures and how to create your own.

I. SIGNATURE GUIDELINES
Signature banners should be no wider than 600px and no taller than 200px. Here is the largest sample size:



All banner images need to be static--no animation, gifs or flash please. It distracts readers from the stories and journals.

Please keep the images content friendly to all readers.

Full signature (banner + links) should be no taller than 2-3 lines of text + banner height.

II. WAYS TO CREATE YOUR BANNER

A signature banner can be a fun way to get creative with your writer profile. If you've never used Illustrator, Photoshop or Gimp, here's an easy solution to get you started:

• Canva.com is a great free site to help you create a banner.
• Browse Pixabay and Unsplash for some great stock photo, or canva has their own stocks.
• Add some text on top (maybe a little pizazz) and you're ready. 

III. HOW TO ADD BANNER TO SIGNATURE.
The first thing you'll need to do is upload the image to your blog site, google drive, or a free site like Imgur.

Once you have the url, add the following code to the signature block in your profile:

Code: [Select]

[img]IMAGE URL HERE[/img]
Be sure to replace IMAGE URL HERE with your image url. Click 'save' at the bottom of the page.

III. HOW TO ADD A LINK TO SIGNATURE
Paste the following code into your signature:

Code: [Select]

[url=URL HERE]Write some text here[/img]
Be sure to replace URL HERE with your url and Write some text here with a word or description for your link. Click 'save' at the bottom of the page.