CESBC Website User Manual
This page provides information on how to make common updates and manage workflows for this website on the Squarespace platform.
Home Page
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This section uses a “summary block” to automatically populate from the Latest News blog. To update content, create a new blog post and the home page will automatically populate. The blog consists of two parts: 1) summary + photo, and 2) full content. Both need to be updated.
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This section of the page is set up as a “summary block”, which dynamically pulls content from the “events calendar”. It is filtered to show only upcoming events based on the current date.
Events
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Events are added or updated through the Events Calendar. Both the event summary and full description need to be created.
There are three types of events:
1) Free online event with registration through zoom. When creating the event, add a button for registration and link it to the zoom registration link.
2) Free in-person event with registration through a website on the form. When creating the event, add a form and create questions as needed. Form data will be stored in Squarespace or can be directed to a Google Sheet in a cesbc gmail account. Notifications can be sent to the relevant cesbc gmail account.
3) Paid events either online or in-person. First, create a product for the event in the Products section (further instructions below). Then create the event and add a product summary block to the event, specifying the product. Purchases/registrations will be stored in Squarespace. Automated reminders can be set up for these events.
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In Squarespace, paid events are set up differently than free events because you need to create a “product” or “service” that people can purchase. Even if tickets are free for CES Members, the event needs to be created as a product/service so it can include an option to purchase tickets.
Ticket prices
While setting up the product/service, you need to assign
Inventory
Most events will require individual registration. In these cases you should select the setting in the product/service setup to limit the person to only being able to purchase one ticket.
If your event has a capacity limit, for example only 16 people can fit into the room, limit your inventory to your capacity limit so Squarespace will know to automatically stop selling tickets once the maximum number of tickets have been sold.
Automated reminders
This function serves two purposes: 1) to provide a Zoom link to the event, after it has been purchased, and 2) to remind registrants to attend the event.
The automated reminder is triggered once a person purchases a ticket. Because of this, this function must be set up before the event goes live and people can start purchasing tickets. Once they have made the purchase, Squarespace no longer has a “trigger” that will initiate the email reminders.
To set up reminders, go to “Campaigns” then “Automations”. Set up a Transaction automation. This will allow you to set the delay time for how long after the purchase the reminder will go out, then what content you wish to send. The suggested setup is as follows:
Trigger - Customer makes a purchase
Delay - 1 hour
Message - Thank them for registering, provide the zoom link to register, and include the original information or poster of the event so they have all relevant information.
Delay - Day before or morning of the event
Message - Remind them of the upcoming event and include the original information or poster of the event so they have all relevant information.
[end of automated reminders]
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To view or export a registration list for an event, from the main menu select “Products & Services”, then “Orders”. The default view shows all orders for all events. To generate a registration list for a specific event, click the filter on the top right-hand side, and select the specific event. If some orders have been cancelled, you can view only the active orders by also filtering by “pending”. This will hide any cancelled registrations.
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Automation to sort upcoming vs previous events can only be done in Squarespace using a calendar function. It cannot be automated through the events function.
As all events are set up through the calendar function, they automatically filter once the date of an event has passed.
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This setting does not have a functional purpose from the customer’s perspective. Once an event date has passed, you could change the status from “pending” to “fulfilled”. This only matters if you want to be able to filter by the “pending” status when generating a registration list.
Jobs Board
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On the BC Jobs Board page, the “Post a Job” form is set up to automatically populate to a Google spreadsheet in the cesbc.treasurer gmail account. It also automatically sends an email to this gmail account to alert once a job is posted.
This can be changed if it is easier for someone else to manage this function.
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Embed Code Function
On the BC Jobs Board page, the jobs list is a page element called “embedded code”. This code directs this section of the page to pull from a designated Google Sheet. If the google sheet moves locations or to a new gmail account, this embedded code needs to be updated to direct to the new URL of the new Google Sheet.
Custom CSS Code
To change the appearance of how the job board information displays on the page, this is affected both by the format created in the Google Sheet and by a Custom CSS code, which can be edited at the bottom of the main navigation menu in Squarespace.
Google Sheets Tabs
The easiest way to change the appearance of the jobs board is to change the formatting within Google Sheets. That is why it is currently set up to have the raw data from the jobs form populate into one Google Sheet tab, then a second tab contains the formatted version for the public-facing website. This second tab automatically populates from the first tab using formulas. We tried setting up the tab to automatically hide posts 45 days after they were submitted, but this had errors and needs to be explored further. The posts can be manually hidden in Google Sheets.
Further automation options
We explored add-on features to automate this process (e.g., Zapier) but decided it was too expensive for the small volume of jobs that get posted.
Newsletter content
We originally wanted to populate the latest jobs to the newsletter, but this function is not possible without external add-ons (e.g., Zapier). We manually populated it for a while, but this is time consuming. We settled on just including a link to the jobs board in the newsletter.
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Service providers (i.e., evaluation consulting companies) can be added to this list as long as at least one principal or partner is a CES member, based in BC.
Requests to be added to the list are currently sent to bc@evaluationcanada.ca. However, this could also be managed using a contact form that has set fields (description, email, phone, website, contact name).
New service providers need to be manually added to the accordion list, which is in alphabetical order.
There is no automated system for knowing when to remove a service provider. The list should be checked on occasion to confirm all businesses are still active and are still CES members.
Forms
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The form to apply for the DEI Fund is set to send a copy automatically, once it is submitted, to the DEI Committee general email address.
Updates can be made to the form fairly easily, and this direction should come from the DEI committee.
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The application form for the conference bursary is set up to send copies automatically to the BC Conference gmail address.
When the application period is closed, remove the link to the form.
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This form is set up to automatically go to the BC conference gmail account.
Deactivate the form when the period for applications has closed.
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This allows the public to submit job opportunities to be included on our website. Further details are included in the Jobs Board section of this manual.
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This form automatically sends the content to the general BC email, which is managed by Louise. It is intended to cover all general inquiries.
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This link is included at the bottom of every page on the website, as well as other locations. It is set to automatically add people to the newsletter email list, so this does not have to be done manually. People can also choose to unsubscribe, which automatically removes them from the newsletter email list.
People who subscribe to the newsletter are not added to any subgroups, for example regional or SEEN lists. They would have to be added manually.
Newsletter
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A template with common sections is saved for the newsletter. Currently, content has to be added manually for each section. For each send out, update the content and save that newsletter version so there is a history of each one. Sections can be deleted if there is no content for that week.
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Links to subscribe to the newsletter are included in the header and footer of each page of the website. Once a new subscriber fills out the form, they are automatically added to the newsletter contact list and will be included in future emails. A link to unsubscribe is automatically included at the end of each email, so they can self-manage if they’d like to be removed from the list.
Contacts/Members
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New subscribers to the newsletter are automatically added through the subscribe form. They are automatically removed if someone chooses to unsubscribe from the link emailed to them in the newsletter template.
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As new people subscribe, they will appear in Contacts > Lists & Segments > Subscribers > New Subscribers. We will need to manually tag them to relevant sub lists.
Manage Orders and Finances
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Item description
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Products/prices are set up to automatically add 5% GST. Currently this is set to be added to the price in the Cart. Settings can be changed to add the GST in the displayed price, if that is preferred.
GST must be charged for any services or products we sell. This applies to in-person and online events, including purchasing recorded webinars. If we collect money, we need to charge GST. We do not charge GST if it is free.
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Once someone makes a purchase through our site, they automatically receive an order confirmation via email. This can be customized, but is currently set to display our logo, the event, and the amount paid.
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The system is set up to direct any funds received (called “payouts” in Squarespace) to the CESBC bank account at Vancity. Squarespace automatically deducts their transaction fees:
Credit card rate: 2.9% + $0.30
Online store transaction fee: 0%
Digital content and memberships transaction fee: 5%
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Financial summaries for each event (product) are generated using….
UPDATE ME
Website Administrator Accounts
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There are generally 4 types of administrators:
Owner: Has access to all administrative functions of the website. The most important unique function is that the owner can edit financial information to connect payments on the website to the CESBC bank account.
Contributor - Administrator: Has access to all administrative functions of the website, except for setting up payment systems. This role can also change permissions levels for other users.
Contributor - Select Functions: These users do not have all administrative functions; functions are granted by the administrator or owner on a per-function basis. Usually the “Store Manager” function should be turned off for this user level, so the related email address is not bombarded with notifications every time someone registers for an event.
Basic Author: This is a guest account that can be granted temporary permissions to contribute to website content. This level of account restricts access to specific functions, particularly these accounts should be limited to functions that do not involve accessing any confidential membership or payment information stored through the website.
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Add website administrators/users by going to:
Settings (gear symbol at bottom of left hand menu)
Permissions & Ownership
Permissions
Add contributor or basic author
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Store Manager Function
For everyone other than the owner, disable the “Store Manager” function. Otherwise, all administrators will receive an email anytime an order is placed (e.g., event registration).
This is a universal setting that cannot be changed for a specific event, so it’s better to turn it off for every user. It cannot be turned off for the website owner.
Squarespace Plans
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Squarespace separates their functions so there is flexibility to customize plans to CESBC’s needs and budget.
The Core Plan was selected as it is the lowest cost plan that includes key functions we need, including commerce options to sell registrations. It includes up to 5 hours of video storage, which is sufficient to sell a limited number of webinars.
The plan payment is due in February of each year.
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We chose the tier that includes 10,000 emails per month. This is based on the current (2026) newsletter mailing list of about 1,300 contacts being sent the weekly newsletter 4x/month (total = 5,200 emails/month).
The next tier down is 5,000/month, which was too small.
The plan includes unlimited contacts.
The payment is due in February each year.
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If we plan to store more videos through the website, we can upgrade to the “Plus” Squarespace Plan. This plan includes up to 50 hours of video that we can store behind a paywall.
If we are offering videos for free, we can instead store them on a free platform (Youtube, Vimeo, Google Drive, Zoom) to avoid upgrading to the Plus Plan, which costs more.
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We can purchase external accounts that integrate with Squarespace, if we need additional functionality. The main one that might be beneficial is Zapier, which would automate the Jobs Board as well as populating jobs to the Newsletter. It may also help with member/contact management. However, currently the additional automation is not considered worthwhile relative to the additional cost.
Custom CSS Code
The Custom CCS page includes code for settings that could not be changed with the menu options in Squarespace. Current codes include:
Squarespace automatically includes “(required)” text at the end of each form question. This code removes that text to avoid the form looking too cluttered. Instead, a sentence is included at the top that says every field on the form is required unless stated otherwise.
There was no setting to change the appearance of the shopping cart, and it had a dark blue background which made it difficult to see the black letters. This custom code changed the background colour as well as other settings to make the checkout cart simpler and more user-friendly.
The form for the jobs board auto-populates to a google spreadsheet, which is not formatted well. Custom code adds a little more of a professional look, such as hiding the navigation pane at the top.