Groups and Identifiers
Contact Groups and Contact Identifiers (collectively "groups") are managed from the Contacts area of the Administration Console. Groups are used to organize the site's contacts for use by the various features of ShoutCMS. You can define as many groups as you need; however, a large number of groups increases the complexity of your site and contact management processes.
ShoutCMS implements a “group-based” security where individuals are added to one or more Contact Groups. Site access permissions are then assigned to the groups affecting the contacts in the group. Groups are used by the email system, Pricing and Discounts, forms, and security services. Understanding how to use groups is important as they support lead generation, sales, and ongoing customer management processes. Contacts can be assigned to one or more groups and or identifiers.
Managing Contacts using Groups and Identifiers
The Contacts by Group list shows the contacts in the selected group. This list can be used to manage sales activities, send bulk emails, review orders and accounts receivable status, update contact information, create invoices, reset or assign access permissions, manage the contact's subscription settings, or export the contacts to another application used by your company. The actions performed will depend on the nature of the Group and why it was created. The order of the list can be changed by clicking on the title bar column name.
Clicking on the contact 'Name' opens the Contact Editor where the contact's information and transactions can be reviewed (refer to the Contact Details User Guide). From here you can reset login credentials, manage access permissions, add an invoice, create an order, and update other contact information. On the right side of the screen, the down-arrow menu provides a set of quick actions to manage the contact without opening the Contact Editor.
Group actions are supported on selected contacts in the list. Actions include sending multiple password resets, send outstanding invoices, add selected to other groups, remove selected from other groups, and Delete contact. Group actions are available from the dropdown arrow menu above the list of contacts. Contacts are selected by checking the checkbox located on the left side beside each contact. Check the checkbox on the title bar to select or unselect all contacts on the list.
Groups and Access Security
Note: By default, all website pages are initially set to Public access (unsecured). Access to Pages, Articles, and Products can be restricted to registered users belonging to one or more Groups or Group Identifiers. Contacts belonging to the assigned Contact Groups or Contact Identifiers immediately gain access when a new item is added to the site tree.
Social Sign-on
ShoutCMS supports external authentication through services including FaceBook and Twitter. When enabled, from the Site Settings area, an individual can login using their external username and password credentials. ShoutCMS will create an internal Contact the first time the individual successfully logs into the site.
Create a New Group
Creating a Contact Group is done from the 'Groups' t tab of the Contact manager . Click on the arrow of the 'Add Contact' to access the 'Add Group' option.Enter a name for the new group along with an internal description of the group and how it will be used to support your business processes (e.g. indicate why contacts are added, and what processes involve the group).
Member Search Option
The group can be configured for inclusion of the "Find a Member" feature. This feature supports online directories that display the Contacts in the group. The directory service can be secured or configured for public access Some care to protect private information is required).
Group Managers
By default, Groups can be managed by all site administrators. Group management access can be restricted to specific site administrators by adding one or more administrators to the Group Managers field. Each group requiring restricted manager access must be configured separately.
Deleting a Group (or Identifier Group)
Note: Deleting a Contact and deleting a group (or Identifier) are distinct actions. Deleting a Contact removes the member from all groups, Deleting a Group does not delete the Contact. Additionally, removing a contact from a group does not delete the contact or affect other groups.
Groups and Identifier Groups can be remove permanently easily without having to remove the member Contacts. Groups can be deleted using the right-side menu displayed when the group is listed.