The setup wizard

The setup wizard is a short series of screens that asks for what your venue website needs before couples and clients can ask about a date: your venue's name, how people reach you, your spaces and the kinds of event you take, how enquiries and date holds work, and when people can book to look round. At the end it can add a full set of ready-made pages, a main menu, sample photos and sample packages, a price guide and suppliers, so you start from a finished-looking website instead of blank pages.

It takes about five minutes. Everything you type can be changed later, and nothing you skip is lost.

This page covers the Venue kit's wizard step by step. For the wizard in general (how the steps, Back and Skip for now work), see The setup wizard in the shared chapters.

When the wizard opens

The wizard opens by itself the first time you sign in to WordPress after you switch on the Venue kit plugin (a plugin is an add-on for WordPress) and the Venue theme. See Installing.

Until you finish it, a reminder appears at the top of the Dashboard, the Plugins and Themes screens and the Venue screen. Click Continue setup to go back to where you left off.

How to run the setup wizard again

1. Go to Venue → Settings.
2. Click Run setup again at the top right.

Running it again is safe. It never adds a space twice, the starter content step never makes copies, and pages you have edited are left alone.

The steps

The bar at the top shows all eight steps. A green tick means the step is saved. You can click any step's name to jump to it.

Step 1: Welcome

The first screen lists the steps ahead and reminds you that everything is also under Venue → Settings.

1. Read the list. It is numbered the same way as the steps in the bar at the top.
2. Click Let's start.

Step 2: Your business

Your name and logo appear on the website, in emails and on the staff sign-in page.

1. In Trading name, type your venue's name, for example "Ashcombe Hall". It is also used as the website's title.

2. In Registered company name (optional), type your company's name as registered. Leave it blank to use the trading name.

3. In Tagline (optional), type a short line about the venue. It shows under the name in the header, in the footer and in search results.

4. Under the boxes, click Choose image. The media library opens.

5. Click Upload files and choose your logo from your computer (or pick one you've already uploaded in Media Library), then click Use this image.

   

6. The logo now shows in the box, with Change image and Remove next to it. You can also leave it and add it later.

7. Click Save and continue.

Step 3: How people reach you

These details show in the website's header, footer and contact sections.

1. In Phone numbers, type your numbers, one per line, the main number first.
2. In WhatsApp number (optional), type a number only if it is on WhatsApp, in international format (for example +447700900123). Leave it blank to hide the WhatsApp buttons.
3. In Public email, type the address people should see.
4. In Address, type the venue's address. Line breaks are kept.
5. In Send notifications to, type the address that should get new enquiries, viewing bookings and messages from the website. For several people, put commas between the addresses.
6. Click Save and continue.

Step 4: Your venue

1. Under Spaces to start with, tick the spaces you have. Each one gets its own page with its capacities:

   • The Hall: dinner and dancing
   • The Garden Room: ceremonies and smaller dinners
   • The Lawn: outdoor ceremonies and drinks
   • The Courtyard: drinks and late suppers
   • The Meeting Room: meetings and workshops

   The first three start ticked. You can rename them and change their capacities afterwards.

2. One event at a time (exclusive use) starts on. On: a booking takes the whole venue, so a booked date is booked for every space. Off: each space is booked on its own (for meeting rooms and venues with several events a day).

3. In Kinds of event (choices), list the events you take, one per line. They're offered on the enquiry form and the price guide. It starts with Wedding, Civil partnership, Celebration, Private dinner, Meeting or conference and Something else.

4. Click Save and continue.

Add photos and check the capacities of each space under Venue → Spaces.

Step 5: Enquiries and holds

How people ask about a date. These settings are also under Venue → Settings, on the Enquiries and Holds tabs.

1. Take enquiries online starts on. Off: the form says to call or email you instead.
2. In Reference numbers start with, type a short prefix for your enquiry numbers, such as your initials and a dash: "AH-" gives AH-1001, AH-1002 and so on. It starts as "EV-".
3. The enquiry form can hold a free date starts on. When someone enquires about a free date, it is held for them for a while so nobody else books it. Off: enquiries come in without a hold and you hold dates yourself.
4. A hold lasts (days): how long a held date stays held (it starts at 14).
5. Remind them (days before it ends): when to remind the person their hold is running out, separated by commas (it starts at "3, 1"). Leave it empty for no reminders.
6. What the reply email says (optional): the email people get after they enquire. It starts with "Thank you for thinking of us for your day. We'll look at your date and be in touch within one working day, usually sooner."
7. Click Save and continue.

Step 6: Viewings

When people can book to look round. These settings are also under Venue → Settings → Viewings.

1. Take viewing bookings online starts on. Switch it off if you'd rather arrange viewings by phone.
2. A viewing takes (minutes): how long each viewing is (it starts at 60).
3. Viewings at the same time: how many of your team show people round, so how many viewings can happen at once (it starts at 1).
4. For each day, switch Open on or off and set the times people can book. The wizard starts with Tuesday to Saturday 10:00 to 16:00, and Monday and Sunday closed.
5. Click Save and continue.

Step 7: Starter content

This is where the wizard builds your website. Each switch adds one kind of ready-made content. Switch on the ones you want, then click Save and continue. Running this step again never makes copies.

While the starter content is added

When you click Save and continue, a box appears under the switches: Adding your starter content… Please keep this page open. Each part you switched on gets a line that says working… and then done. The sample photos are added a few at a time, so their line counts up, for example Sample photos: 8 of 26.

Keep the page open. It takes a minute or two, mostly for the photos. When everything is done, the next step opens by itself. If the box turns red and says This didn't finish, click Save and continue again: the wizard carries on where it stopped and never adds anything twice.

Step 8: All done

The last screen lists what this run of the wizard did (anything an earlier run added isn't listed again), then gives you four links: See the website, Open Venue → Today, Review all settings and Add staff and choose what they can do.

Click Finish. The wizard closes and you land on Venue → Today.

What you have at the end

With every switch on, the wizard leaves you with:

• Spaces: the ones you ticked in step 4, each with its own page, under Venue → Spaces.
• Pages: Home (the front page), Spaces, Dates, Prices, Gallery, Suppliers, Viewings, Brochure, Enquire, Contact and Photo credits, all published. Terms and conditions, Privacy Policy and Cookie policy are drafts.
• Main menu: Spaces, Dates, Prices, Gallery, Suppliers and Viewings, with an Enquire button.
• Sample content:
  • three packages: "Sample package: the whole day", "Sample package: small and simple" and "Sample package: day meeting"
  • four suppliers: "Sample caterer", "Sample florist", "Sample photographer" and "Sample band"
  • a sample price guide, under Venue → Price guide
• Photos: 26 sample photos in the media library, tagged Ceremony, Grounds, Dinner and Evening for the gallery, and listed with their photographers on the Photo credits page.

This is the home page a visitor sees straight after the wizard:

How to remove the sample content

Every sample is named "Sample …", so it's easy to find.

1. Go to Venue → Packages, type "Sample" in the search box and click search.
2. Tick the box at the top of the list to select them all, choose Move to Trash from Bulk actions and click Apply.
3. Do the same under Venue → Suppliers.
4. Go to Venue → Price guide and replace the sample prices with your own.

To remove the sample photos, put your own photos on your spaces and in the gallery first, then go to Media, search for "Pexels", select the sample photos and delete them permanently. Then update the Photo credits page.

Next steps

• Designs: the Venue kit's designs and colour palettes, and how to switch.
• Quick start: the checklist from here to your first enquiry.
• Your look: your logo, colours, menus and footer.