Customizing First Step

First Step is comprised of a set of pages. Parents progress from one page to the next. Pages cannot be skipped, but parents can go back to a previous page if needed.

You manage the pages in the Admin: click First Step in the left menu, then the Pages tab.

First Step Pages

There are several types of pages:

First Step Sections

First Step pages are comprised of multiple sections.

There are three types of sections:

Best Practices

When configuring First Step, keep the following in mind:

• Be concise when writing text. Parents tend to skip large amounts of text.
• Limit First Step to 10 pages. Our systems will support any number of pages, however, too many pages will have lower completion rates.
• Add a custom page before the sign up page. Use this page to set expectations on how long the process will take, important dates, and information on walk-through First Step (if needed).
• Include donations first. When adding campaigns to FutureFund, we recommend having donations on a dedicated page before campaigns for yearbooks, PE clothes, spirit wear etc.

Previewing First Step

You can click through First Step exactly as a parent would, without creating anything real.

1. In the Admin, click First Step in the left menu, then the Pages tab.
2. Click the blue Preview First Step button. The preview opens in a new tab.
3. On the You’re about to preview First Step page, click Start preview.

During a preview:

• No credit card is charged.
• No parents, students, or orders are saved.
• No confirmation emails are sent.
• Nothing appears in your reports or exports.

A banner at the top of every page reminds you that you’re in preview mode. When you’re done, click Exit preview in the banner.

You can look at every campaign, but items can’t be added to the cart during a preview.

The preview shows First Step for the school year you have selected in the Admin. You can also share the preview page’s link with other volunteers, like your board. Each person who opens it gets their own separate preview.

First Step Availability

Enabling and Disabling First Step

First Step is accessible to parents when the Allow parents to sign up students setting is enabled. To toggle the setting:

1. In the Admin, go to Account Settings. Under First Step, click First Step. The First Step Settings page opens.
2. Check or uncheck Allow parents to sign up students.
3. Click Save.

First Step Start and End Times

First Step can have scheduled start and end times. Set them with Availability Start and Availability End on the same First Step Settings page, then click Save. Allow parents to sign up students must be checked for the times to work as expected.

Restricting a Campaign to a Grade

During First Step, campaigns can be restricted to selected grade levels. By default, they are shown to all grades. This feature is helpful when selling/collecting:

• School Supply Kits
• Field Trips
• School Dances
• Test Prep Services

To restrict grades:

1. Open the campaign and click Edit.
2. Click the First Step tab.
3. Click Advanced settings.
4. Under Grade Restrictions, choose Selected Grades, then check the grades that should see the campaign.
5. Click Save.

Grade Restrictions only appears when First Step asks parents to select a grade. When First Step asks parents to select a teacher, you can limit a campaign to certain teachers the same way under Teacher Restrictions.

Purchase Settings

Requiring Donation Selection

When a donation campaign is added to First Step, the admin can require the purchaser to make a selection of the available amounts. This prevents the purchaser from skipping the campaign, although they are able to select a zero dollar amount. When a zero dollar amount is selected, a zero dollar item will be included in the order receipt.

To require a selection:

1. Open the campaign and click Edit.
2. Click the First Step tab.
3. Click Advanced settings.
4. Check Parent must select an option before continuing to the next page.
5. Click Save.

Automatically Add Campaign to Cart

This feature will automatically add a campaign to the purchaser’s cart during First Step if the following criteria are met:

1. Campaign is of type: donation drive, sign up, membership, or tiered membership
2. Campaign’s attribution setting is not for teacher
3. Membership campaigns are not individual memberships

This will not affect store orders.

To enable this feature:

1. Open the campaign and click Edit.
2. Click the First Step tab.
3. Check Automatically select campaign. If the campaign has membership levels, choose one under Membership Level.
4. Click Save.

Videos

Videos can be displayed when a parent views a custom First Step section. Videos must be hosted in YouTube or Vimeo and be publicly available (although they can be unlisted). To add a video:

1. In the Admin, click First Step in the left menu, then the Pages tab.
2. Click View next to the page.
3. Click the Edit (pencil) icon next to the custom section.
4. Paste the video’s link from YouTube or Vimeo into Video Link.
5. Click Save.