Launch Guide | Axero Documentation

This guide takes you and your project team through setting up your Axero intranet.

It follows the three stages Axero uses with every client: Plan, Build, and Thrive. The five sections below (Setup, Content, Customize & Design, People & Governance, and Launch) take you through those stages in order: Setup is the Plan stage, the middle three sections are the Build stage, and Launch begins the Thrive stage.

Note: This documentation is meant to supplement your customized Intranet Project Plan.

Setup

Start by setting up your new intranet site: hosting, basic settings, and branding. In this stage, you'll work through the following:

• Domain Configuration
• Site Settings
  • Decide with your internal project team which intranet features and integrations you want. Record them in the Intranet Features Survey your Implementation Manager gives you.
  • The platform feature tour describes the features in more detail and can help start your team's discussions and planning.
• Logo and Branding: Customize the appearance of your intranet by adding your logo, choosing the header color, and uploading a favicon.
• Single Sign On (SSO)

Once your intranet site is set up, you can open it and add more core team members, spaces, and content.

Content

Next, fill your intranet with content. At Axero, we take a "Content First" approach, because content is one of the most important steps in launching your intranet. To build your homepage, space homepages, and information architecture (how your content is organized), you first need to create spaces and fill them with content.

In this step, you'll address the following:

• Create a Space: Create your top-level (parent) spaces for the different groups within your larger collaboration community.
  • You can download the Stock Space Images for a polished look and feel.
• How to Add Content to Your Intranet: Add content to your spaces. Make sure each space has the content types it needs turned on.
  • Unsplash Integration Administrator Setup gives your authors free, high-quality images to use on pages and content.

Once the content is in, your intranet comes to life with images, content summaries, easy navigation, and more as you customize it further.

If your team needs assistance migrating your content from another platform, we are happy to provide an estimate for this service. Contact us to learn more.

Customize & Design

Next, customize your intranet further so it reflects your company's brand and culture and meets your goals for launch.

In this step, you'll address the following:

• Page Builder: Learn how to customize your intranet appearance by creating a unique homepage and space homepages.
  • Homepage and Space page templates save you building layouts from scratch: import one of Axero's designs, then point its widgets at your content.
• Localized Content: Learn how to change the platform's wording to suit your organization. For example, change Cases to Tickets, or Create to Add New Content.
• CSS Overrides: paste your own CSS into the editor to restyle anything the settings screens do not cover.
• Email Templates: Edit your email templates so emails sound like your organization.
• Dynamic Properties: Add your own text or HTML to places across the site, such as the Activity Stream.

Our How to Customize Your Intranet wiki collects more resources on design and customization options.

The design can keep changing after launch. Use the Design Resources, such as our videos and wikis, or enlist our team in a special design project.

People & Governance

Next, your IT and Site Administrators should learn about Axero's user-related features and configuration settings. That way, you can prepare your intranet for people according to the governance (your rules for how the intranet is run) your organization requires.

Work through the following:

• Roles: Learn about Axero's default and custom roles on Roles, and how to give someone a role on Set User Role.
• User Profiles: Understand the user profile page and display capabilities.
• People Directory: Learn about Axero's Organizational Chart and people directory.
• User Space Assignment Rules: Add people to spaces automatically, based on their email domain or their top-level role.
• Custom Profile Fields: Add your own profile fields (Add User Profile Field) and put them on the sign-up form (Edit Registration Page).
• Add People: If you're not using SSO, now is the time to add people one at a time (Add User) or in bulk (Bulk Import Users).

With People and Governance set up for your organization's needs, you are ready to launch your intranet!

Launch

Once the earlier stages are done, you are ready to launch.

We always recommend making your launch a special event in your organization, as this will help generate excitement and ensure engagement.

Prepare for launch by following our recommendations on how to announce your new intranet:

• Use a Launch Email Template
• Choose one or more How to Make an Announcement
• Share Axero's User Welcome Guide for all platform users

After launch, consider reviewing your admin analytics and collecting user feedback, then plan how to keep improving the platform. Let our services team know how we can help with that plan as you grow.

How to Launch Your Intranet

Related pages

• How to Add Content to Your Intranet (the Content step in full)
• How to Customize Your Intranet (the Customize step in full)
• How to Launch Your Intranet (the Launch step in full)
• Quick Start Guide (the shorter version for a fast start)
• Intro Video (a short video introduction)
• How to Train Your Employees to Use Your New Intranet (train people once the site is live)
• Training & Consulting (training from Axero)