Giving Microsite Builder - Frequently Asked Questions- Early Access Beta
Giving Microsite Builder - Frequently Asked Questions- Early Access Beta Early Access Beta: Customers interested in trying the Giving Microsite Builder can submit the Beta interest form to request access. Giving Microsite Builder Early Adopter Form
Giving Microsite Builder
What is the Giving Microsite Builder?
It is a guided workspace for creating a complete fundraising microsite in Encompass. Administrators can set up campaign details, arrange pages and content, apply institution branding, preview the experience, and publish the site from one workflow.
What types of campaigns is it designed to support?
The initial experience is designed for focused, short-term fundraising efforts, including Giving Initatives that benefit from campaign storytelling, visible goals, donor participation, leaderboards, challenges, and timely updates.
What are the main benefits for institutions?
Create professional, branded microsites without requiring design or development support.
Reduce setup time through a guided process and reusable content sections.
Manage campaign pages, styles, previewing, and publishing in one place.
Connect the microsite to an existing donation form so progress can reflect giving activity.
Use engagement elements such as countdowns, progress indicators, donor recognition, and leaderboards.
Is the Giving Microsite Builder generally available?
The current release is available through an Early Access Beta program. Customers can request participation while Encoura continues to improve the experience in preparation for a broader release.
How can my institution request Early Access Beta participation?
Complete the Giving Microsite Builder Beta interest form. The form is used to request access and provide information about your institution's interest in the Beta.
What should we expect from an Early Access Beta?
The Beta provides access to the released foundation while the product continues to develop. Participating institutions should review the experience carefully, report issues through the appropriate support process, and share feedback about usability and missing needs. Capabilities may be refined as the Beta progresses.
Does the microsite replace our donation campaign or giving form?
No. The microsite provides the campaign-facing pages and engagement experience. An existing Encompass donation campaign or giving form must be configured and selected for the microsite to collect gifts.
Access and Initial Setup
What permissions are required?
Access will be available through the Super Admin or Giving Microsite Admin permissions as eligible access levels. If the menu is unavailable, confirm the user's rights and that Beta access has been enabled for the institution.
What should we prepare before creating a microsite?
A configured donation campaign or giving form.
A campaign name, fundraising goal, and planned start and end dates.
A primary campaign contact and contact information.
Branding assets such as a logo, campaign colors, and banner images.
Approved page copy, calls to action, and image alternative text.
Where do administrators open the builder?
In the Encompass administration area, go to Donations and select Giving Microsite Builder. The dashboard lists existing microsites and includes the option to create a new campaign.
What information is entered when a campaign is created?
Campaign name and unique vanity URL.
Start date, end date, and timezone.
Fundraising goal.
Campaign contact name, email address, and phone number.
The donation form associated with the microsite.
What is a vanity URL?
It is the unique text added to the institution's site domain to create an easier campaign address. Choose a short, recognizable value and confirm that it is unique before continuing.
Can campaign details be edited later?
Yes. From the dashboard, use Edit Campaign Details or Edit Microsite to return to the campaign setup and builder. Review any date, goal, URL, contact, or donation-form changes before publishing them.
Pages and Campaign Content
How is the builder organized?
The Pages tab manages the microsite structure and content sections, the central canvas displays the page being built, and the Styles tab controls site-wide visual settings. The top toolbar contains save, preview, undo, redo, and publishing actions.
Which pages are included in the initial site structure?
The builder can include pages for Home, Areas of Support, Leaderboards, Challenges, FAQs, and Give Now. Administrators can adjust the page structure to match the campaign.
Can administrators add, reorder, or delete pages?
Yes. Pages can be added, edited, and moved within the navigation. Pages other than Home can be deleted. The Home page remains required.
How is content added to a page?
Use the Sections Library to find a predesigned content block, then add it with drag-and-drop or the plus control. The section appears in the editable page area, where it can be configured and positioned.
What types of content sections are available?
Hero image and image-with-text layouts.
Full-width text and text with a countdown timer.
Campaign progress and designation progress indicators.
Leaderboards, donor recognition, and donation buttons.
RSS feeds for campaign news or updates.
Footer content for branding, contact information, links, and calls to action.
Can content sections be rearranged or reused?
Sections can be dragged, cloned, moved up or down, hidden, and deleted. Available actions can vary by section type, so review the controls displayed for the selected section.
What image sizes are recommended?
Hero image: 1600 x 800 pixels.
Horizontal image and text: 605 x 340 pixels.
Vertical image and text: 1270 x 800 pixels.
Can image alternative text be added?
Yes. Supported image sections include an option to update alternative text. Add a short, meaningful description when the image communicates information. Decorative images should be handled according to your institution's accessibility practices.
How can campaign progress be displayed?
A progress section can measure either money raised or the number of unique donors. Administrators define the goal and can associate the display with a specific designation, fund, cause, or giving area when appropriate.
Can the microsite display current news or campaign updates?
Yes. An RSS Feed section can use a feed URL to display updates from a supported news, blog, or campaign source. Confirm that the feed is publicly available and preview the result before publishing.
Branding and Accessibility
What branding and theme options are available?
Administrators can apply primary and secondary colors, and configure global text styling. These settings make it easier to keep the experience consistent across the microsite.
Which text styles can be managed globally?
Global controls are available for heading levels H2 and H3, body text, and links. Depending on the element, administrators can adjust size, color, bold, and italic styling.
Was accessibility considered in the builder?
Yes. The administrative controls were developed and tested with keyboard navigation and screen-reader use in mind. The template-based approach also provides a more consistent starting point for accessible page creation.
What accessibility work still belongs to the administrator?
Provide meaningful alternative text for informative images.
Use headings in a logical order and write descriptive link text.
Maintain readable color contrast and avoid communicating meaning through color alone.
Preview the campaign and review important pages with keyboard-only navigation before launch.
Keep page content clear, concise, and understandable for the intended audience.
Saving, Previewing, and Publishing
What is the difference between Save, Preview, and Publish?
Save stores the administrator's current work.
Preview opens a review version before changes are made public.
Publish makes the selected draft content available to site visitors.
What does Publish & View Live do?
It publishes the content and immediately opens the live version in a new browser tab or window. This allows the administrator to confirm the public experience after publishing.
What does View Live do?
It opens the currently published version without publishing newer saved changes. Use it when you need to compare the public site with work that is still being edited.
Can a published microsite be taken offline?
Yes. Select Unpublish to remove the live microsite from public view while retaining it for later editing or republishing. The option is available when the microsite has a live status.
Can a live microsite be deleted?
A live microsite cannot be deleted directly from the dashboard. It must first be unpublished so that it returns to draft status; the Delete action is available only for draft microsites.
What is the difference between an active and hidden page or stage?
Active content is visible to site visitors. Hidden content remains in the microsite for editing or later use but is not displayed to visitors until it is activated and published.
Dashboard and Campaign Activity
What information appears on the Giving Microsite dashboard?
The dashboard summarizes total raised, active campaigns, total campaigns, and total donors. It also lists each campaign with its microsite, associated donation form, goal, progress, status, donor count, start date, and available actions.
How does the microsite reflect donation activity?
The campaign connects to its configured donation form so giving totals and progress displays can update from donation activity. Confirm the correct form and goal configuration before launch, then validate the live results during the campaign.
Current Beta Scope and Support
Will more functionalities be added?
Yes. The current release establishes the initial foundation for the Giving Microsite Builder. Encoura plans to continue improving the experience, and Beta feedback will help inform future work. Features and timing should be considered confirmed only when they are included in official release of communications.
Where can administrators find more help?
Use the related support articles below for detailed setup and management instructions. Contact Encompass Support for assistance with access, permissions, errors, or unexpected behavior.