Fantastic Support from the SiteGrinder Creators
If you’ve been looking through the articles on this site, it may seem that SiteGrinder will take you a long time to learn. I hope I can reassure you on that point, because I started out with only a basic understanding of working in Photoshop, and I was able to transfer that knowledge to the SiteGrinder platform with a minimum of frustration. However, as with all kinds of software, you may run into a situation that has you stumped. That’s where the great support from the SiteGrinder team comes into the picture. I can honestly say that the Media Lab website provides some of the best information and help to its customers that I have ever seen. Here are a few of the ways that SG supports its users.
A Fully Functional Learning Center
The folks at Media Lab evidently know enough about educational methodology to recognize that people learn in many different ways. Some are visual learners and retain information best when they can see it demonstrated. Others want a written document that they can refer to again and again. Still others need to use an interactive method of learning-by-doing. All of these styles are supported within the Sitegrinder learning center.
The first thing you will see when visiting the support area of the website a menu at the top of the page that lets you choose a tab named “Basic Topics” or one called “Pro Topics.” This helps you to get to the right area of the site immediately, depending on your level of expertise with the SiteGrinder program.
Movie Tutorials
If you learn best by watching a video, you can opt to start your training with the on-site Flash movies that demonstrate the different aspects of building a website with SiteGrinder. There are sixteen different tutorials that cover both introductory and advanced material. Six different presentations describe the basics of building a website. There are also several about how to make a gallery of thumbnail sketches or images. Besides these, you can find great info about working with text and menus. There is even a movie containing helpful hints about working within Photoshop in order to make your SiteGrinder experience flow more smoothly.
Excellent Reading Materials
The SG Learning Center provides two well-written documents that are great for folks who like to have a manual on hand for reference. One is called the Reviewer’s Guide and contains a highly organized description of the way SiteGrinder works. It is also full of links to SiteGrinder help pages and web tutorials that expand on the written material.
The second manual is the Zero-to-Hero Guide that is designed to help a beginning user learn the system. It contains many examples of possible ways to construct your site as well as step-by-step instructions for actually using each element of the program. You can work along while you read and get a firm grasp of the techniques. It’s available as a PDF as well as a web guide.
Reference Materials
Several items in the Learning Center are meant to provide quick reference for a user that needs info about a certain aspect of SiteGrinder. Experienced users will find these valuable when they are branching out to a new area of website design, and newbies will have an easy place to find what they are looking for. Some of the materials included here are:
- The Features List and the Big Idea. These are great documents for learning about all of the different elements of SiteGrinder and gaining an understanding of how they work together.
- The SG User Interface. This document describes every working panel in the program and includes screen shots and links to more info.
- The Hint List. Here you will find a complete list of all the hints that are recognized by SiteGrinder, their abbreviations, and some helpful tips for making them work effortlessly.
- The FAQ. If you have a question about the SG tools, chances are good that some other user has had the same question. The Frequently Asked Questions section of the Learning Center is well organized so that you can locate any problem area you may be dealing with. The answers in the FAQ are detailed and follow SG’s practice of including screen shots and diagrams for greater understanding.
Help and Support
In addition to all the videos, tutorials, and written materials that are provided for SG users, the Media Lab site also hosts a forum. As a registered owner of the SiteGrinder program, you can enter into discussions about many aspects of web building. There are lots of participants there that are generous with their help and will gladly share their knowledge with other site designers.
The creators of SiteGrinder keep several software engineers on call to help answer questions from users that come in via email. You can be assured of a quick response to any technical issue you might have if you choose this method of communication.
In addition to all the other means of support, SiteGrinder offers free live web training several times a week. You can listen to the classes via phone or by logging in to GoToMeeting. You can also view the webinars in your web browser and learn about a variety of helpful topics.
Conclusion
If you’re like me, you have tried out many different software systems and programs over the years. Speaking for myself, I can say that there is nothing that peeves me more than a company that will not support the clients that have paid good money for their product. I’m very glad that SiteGrinder is not like that, and their commitment to customer service is one of the many reasons that I am sold on the tool. Not only does it allow me to build my ecommerce websites quickly and easily, I know I can be confident that the company will help me out if I ever have the need. It’s a feature that is important to me, and I hope it gives you one more reason to give SiteGrinder a try.
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