Overview

Petalbound is the website of a flower studio. Customers browse bouquets, choose a size and extras, and order for delivery or pickup on a day and time slot they pick. They pay by card on a secure payment page, or when the flowers arrive.

Behind the website is the staff area. This is where the team takes new orders, arranges them, sends them out with a courier, keeps the bouquets and stock up to date, edits the words and pictures on the website, and answers messages. Each person signs in with their own account and sees only the parts of the staff area they are allowed to use.

How the pieces fit together

Customers order on the website; the team works through the orders in the staff area, and customers follow the status on Track an order.

Who this manual is for

• Everyone on the team: chapters 1 to 4 (signing in, the dashboard, orders, shipping).
• Whoever looks after the shop window: chapters 5 to 7 (bouquets, pages, the media library).
• Managers: chapters 10 and 11 (settings, users and rights) and chapter 14 (installation and setup).

1. Getting Started

1.1 Signing in

Click Staff sign in at the bottom of any page of the website, or go to /AdminLogin.

1. Type your User name and Password.
2. Click Sign in. The Dashboard opens.
3. The first time you sign in with a temporary password from a manager, the card asks you to choose your own password (at least 8 characters, typed twice). Then click Sign in again.

• A wrong user name or password shows Wrong user name or password. After six wrong tries within five minutes the card shows Too many attempts. Please wait a few minutes and try again.
• You stay signed in for 8 hours after your last action. After that, any click takes you back to the sign-in page with Please sign in again.
• Click Sign out at the top right when you leave a shared computer.

1.2 Finding your way around

1.3 Confirmations and closing windows

Anything that changes an order, removes something or cannot easily be undone asks first. The button on the right goes ahead; the button on the left, Esc or a click outside the box steps back without changing anything.

• Some confirmations have a box for a reason, for example Reason (optional) when you cancel an order. The reason is saved in the order history.
• If you close an edit window with unsaved changes, it asks Leave without saving? Click Keep editing to go back to your changes.
• After every change a short message appears at the bottom of the screen, for example Order updated.

1.4 What you can see and do

A manager decides, area by area, what each person may do (see 11.3). There are three levels:

If you try something you are not allowed to do, a message says so, for example You can look at orders but not change them., and the attempt is written to the activity log as Refused. Settings and Users are for managers only.

Here is the dashboard of a shop assistant who may work with orders, shipping and messages and look at bouquets: there is no Pages, Media library, Settings or Users in the menu, and the activity log is called My activity.

With only View for Bouquets, the same person sees every bouquet with a View button, but no Add a bouquet, Publish, Hide or Delete:

1.5 On a phone or tablet

The staff area works on phones and tablets. The side menu becomes a panel that opens from the ☰ button at the top left; tap an area to open it, or the ✕ to close the panel.

The dashboard and the menu panel on a phone.

2. Dashboard

The dashboard is the first page after signing in. It greets you by name, shows today's date, and counts what needs attention. Click any tile to open the page behind it.

2.1 The tiles

A tile with something waiting is shown in the accent colour.

2.2 New orders and Running low

Under the tiles, New orders lists each new order with the customer, delivery or pickup, the day and time slot, and the total. Running low lists the bouquets that are low or sold out. All orders and Manage bouquets take you to those pages.

3. Orders

Orders lists every order placed on the website, newest first. Open an order to see who it is for, what to make, how it is paid and everything that has happened to it.

3.1 Finding an order

• Search by order number, customer name, email or recipient name. The list updates as you type.
• Status: All statuses, Open orders (everything not yet delivered or cancelled), Waiting for payment, New, Being arranged, Out for delivery, Ready for pickup, Delivered, Cancelled.
• Payment: Any payment, Paid, Not paid yet, Refunded.
• Twelve orders show per page; use Previous and Next under the list.

Each row shows the order number and when it was placed, the customer and email, the day with delivery or pickup and the time slot, the total, the status and the payment.

3.2 Opening an order

Click a row. The order opens in a window:

• Customer: name, email (click to write) and phone.
• Delivery or Pickup: the day and time slot; for deliveries also the recipient, address, delivery zone and courier.
• Card message and Notes (delivery notes) when the customer wrote them.
• Items with size and extras, the delivery fee, tax and the total. These are the prices the shop worked out when the order was placed.
• History, newest first: every step, who did it and when.

Press Esc or the ✕ to close the window.

3.3 How an order moves

The order steps. Send out, Ready for pickup, Mark delivered and Handed over are done on the shipping board.

3.4 Starting an order

1. Open a New order.
2. Click Start arranging and confirm. The order moves to Being arranged and the history shows your name.

Only new orders can be started. Needs the Change right for Orders. From here, open the shipping board with Open shipping board to send the order out or mark it ready (chapter 4).

3.5 Payment on delivery or pickup

Orders paid on delivery or pickup show Pay on delivery or Pay on pickup. When the money is collected:

• Marking the order delivered on the shipping board marks it paid at the same time.
• To record a payment earlier, open the order and click Mark as paid, then confirm. Needs the Change right.

Card orders are marked Paid by card by the payment page itself when the customer has paid; staff do not mark them.

3.6 Cancelling an order

1. Open the order and click Cancel order.
2. Type a reason if you like (it is saved in the history) and click Cancel order. Keep it steps back.

• The bouquets go back into stock.
• If the order was paid by card, the history says Paid by card: refund needed. and a Refund payment button appears.
• Delivered and cancelled orders cannot be cancelled. Needs the Extra right for Orders (cancel and refund).

3.7 Refunding a payment

1. Open a paid order and click Refund payment.
2. Confirm with Refund. The full amount is refunded; this cannot be undone.

• For card payments the refund is sent to the payment provider straight away. If the provider refuses it, its message is shown and nothing changes.
• For payments taken on delivery or pickup, the order is only marked Refunded; hand the money back yourself.
• Refunding does not cancel the order. Cancel it as well if the flowers will not be sent.

3.8 Internal notes

Under the buttons, write in Internal note, not shown to the customer and click Add note. Notes appear in the history marked internal note with your name and the time (up to 300 characters). Use them for phone calls, changes the customer asked for, or anything the next person should know.

4. Shipping

The shipping board shows one day at a time: every delivery and pickup for that day, grouped by time slot, as cards. This is where orders are sent out with a courier, marked ready for pickup and marked delivered.

4.1 Reading the board

• Use ‹ and › to move a day, pick a date, or click Today. The second box shows Deliveries and pickups, Deliveries only or Pickups only.
• The line at the top counts the day's deliveries and pickups. Card orders still waiting for payment are not shown on the board; the line says how many there are.
• Cancelled orders never appear on the board.

Each card shows the order number and status, the recipient and phone, the address and delivery zone (or Pickup at the studio), the bouquets with size and extras, the card message, the customer's notes, and, if the order is not paid yet, Collect $… on delivery (or pickup).

4.2 Choosing a courier

1. On a delivery card, choose the courier from the list. The list comes from Couriers in Settings.
2. Optionally type in Tracking or note (up to 80 characters), for example a tracking number or Leave with the concierge.

Both save as soon as you change them (Courier saved). Needs the Change right for Shipping.

4.3 Sending a delivery out

1. Choose the courier first.
2. Click Send out on the card and confirm. The order becomes Out for delivery.

Without a courier the board answers Choose a courier first. Only new or being-arranged deliveries can be sent out.

4.4 Pickups

When a pickup order is made, click Ready for pickup and confirm (The customer can collect it now.). When the customer collects it, click Handed over.

4.5 Marking delivered

When the courier has delivered, click Mark delivered and confirm. This closes the order. Orders paid on delivery are marked as paid at the same time.

Send out, Ready for pickup, Mark delivered and Handed over need the Extra right for Shipping (dispatch and deliver).

4.6 Overdue orders

When you look at today, an Overdue group at the top lists open orders whose day has already passed, with was due and the date. Send them out, hand them over or cancel them, so the list is empty at the end of each day.

The shipping board on a phone, for whoever is out with the van.

5. Bouquets

Bouquets is the shop's catalogue: every bouquet with its photos and videos, sizes and prices, stock, and whether it is on sale. A second tab, Occasions, holds the occasions customers shop by.

5.1 The list

• Search bouquets by name; filter by Published, Hidden or Low or sold out, and by occasion. Ten bouquets show per page.
• Each row shows the main photo, the name and short line, the occasions, the lowest price (From), the stock and the status: Published or Hidden, and Featured when it is shown on the home page.
• Stock is marked Sold out at 0, and highlighted when it is at or below the Low stock warning at number in Settings.

5.2 Adding or changing a bouquet

1. Click Add a bouquet, or Edit on a row.
2. Fill in the window and click Save bouquet.

A field that is not right is marked in red with the reason, and nothing is saved until it is fixed. Adding and editing need the Change right; with View only the button says View.

5.3 Photos and videos

1. In the bouquet window, click Choose photos or videos. The media library opens in a window.
2. Click the photos and videos in the order you want them; each shows its number. Click again to take one out.
3. Click Use these.

• The first item must be a photo: it is the main picture on the shop cards and in the cart. Videos can come after it.
• Up to six items. In the bouquet window, ‹ and › change the order and ✕ removes one.
• Search the library finds files by name or description. Upload new adds files from your computer without leaving the window (photos up to 8 MB, MP4 up to the limit in Settings).
• On the website, the bouquet page shows the photos and videos as a gallery; a video plays when the customer clicks it (13.3).

5.4 Publishing, hiding and deleting

• Publish puts a hidden bouquet in the shop right away.
• Hide takes it off the shop. Customers who already have it in their cart see it as unavailable and must remove it.
• Delete removes the bouquet for good, after Delete bouquet in the confirmation. Past orders keep their details.

5.5 Occasions

Click the Occasions tab. There are four occasions, each with a photo, a name and a one-line description. They appear on the home page (Shop by occasion) and as filters in the shop.

1. Change the Occasion name (2 to 30 characters) or the One-line description (3 to 80 characters).
2. Click Choose photo to pick a different photo from the media library.
3. Click Save occasions. The website shows the change straight away.

Occasions cannot be added or removed here; rename one to reuse it.

6. Pages

Pages is where the words and pictures of the website are changed. Five pages can be edited: Home, Shop, About, Track an order and Contact. You edit right on the page, then save.

6.1 How a page is built

Every page is a list of blocks, shown top to bottom on the website.

1. Choose the page with the buttons at the top: Home, Shop, About, Track an order, Contact.
2. Make your changes on the blocks.
3. Click Save page. Nothing changes on the website until you save.

While there are changes that are not saved, the page shows Unsaved changes. Switching to another page or leaving asks first (Your changes to this page will be lost.).

6.2 Changing words

Click any text on a block and type. Titles and small labels are one line; the main text of a block can have paragraphs.

• In the main text, select words to show a small toolbar: B (bold), I (italic), Link, • List and Clear.
• Text pasted from elsewhere comes in as plain text.
• Type {name} to show the shop name from Settings; it changes everywhere if the name changes.

6.3 Moving, hiding and removing blocks

Each block has a bar with its name and buttons:

• Drag the handle (⠿) at the left of the bar to move a block, or use the up and down arrows.
• Hide keeps the block in the editor but takes it off the website; Show brings it back.
• The bin removes a content block after a confirmation (It disappears from the page when you save. Use Hide to keep it for later.).

6.4 Adding a block

At the bottom of the page, Add a block lists the twelve kinds of block. Click one; it is added at the end of the page, ready to fill in. A page has 1 to 40 blocks.

Cards, steps, numbers, checklists, people and questions have items: + Add a card (or step, question…) adds one, and each item has its own arrows and remove button.

6.5 Pictures and links

• On a picture, click Change to pick a photo or video from the media library, or upload a new one in the same window. Remove clears it. Some places take photos only (people, quotes).
• Buttons and cards have a link box. A link can be a page name such as Shop or Contact, a full address starting with https://, mailto: an email address, tel: a phone number, or # and a name.
• When you save, the shop checks every link and picture. A bad link is refused with a message such as Check the link of the button “…”, and nothing is saved until it is fixed.

6.6 Blocks from your data

Blocks marked From your data are filled in by the shop itself. You can move them, hide them and change their small label and title (and their text, where the block has one), but not remove them.

6.7 Saving and earlier versions

Every save keeps the version it replaced. Click Versions to see the version that is live now and up to five earlier ones, with who saved them and when.

1. Click Restore next to a version.
2. Confirm. The page goes back to that version on the website right away, and the version you replaced is kept in the list, so you can switch back.

View page opens the page on the website in a new tab. Changing pages needs the Change right for Pages; with View only, every block is read-only.

7. Media library

The media library holds every photo and video the website uses: on the home page and other pages, on occasions and on bouquets. Upload here, then choose files wherever a picture is needed.

7.1 Finding a file

• All, Photos and Videos filter the grid; the search box finds files by name or description.
• The line above the grid counts photos and videos. The newest 240 files are shown; search to find older ones.
• Videos show a play mark on the tile.

7.2 Uploading

1. Click Upload photos or videos and choose up to 20 files at a time.
2. The files are checked and added to the top of the grid. Any file that is refused is listed with the reason.

Files are checked by what is inside them, not only by their name: a renamed document or a .mov video is refused. Uploading needs the Change right for the Media library.

7.3 Describing a file

Click Edit on a file:

• The window shows the file, its size, when it was added and by whom, and Used in: every place on the website that uses it.
• Description for screen readers (alt text): say what the picture shows in a few words. It is used wherever the photo appears.
• Note for staff (optional): only seen here.

Click Save.

7.4 Deleting a file

1. Click Delete on a tile, or Delete file in the edit window.
2. Confirm with Delete file. The file is removed from the library and the server for good.

8. Messages

Messages collects what customers send from the Contact page. Unread messages are highlighted, and the menu shows how many there are.

8.1 Reading and answering

• Each message shows the name, the topic (An order, A wedding or event, Delivery or Something else), when it was sent, the email address and the text. The newest 100 are shown, newest first.
• Click the email address to answer from your own email program. Replies are not sent from the website.
• Mark read clears the highlight and lowers the count; Mark unread brings it back, for example when someone else should answer.

8.2 Deleting a message

Click Delete and confirm with Delete message. The message is removed for good.

Marking and deleting need the Change right for Messages.

9. Activity log

The activity log records who changed what in the staff area: sign-ins, password changes, every order step, courier changes, bouquet and page saves, uploads and deletions, settings and users. Requests that were refused because someone did not have the right are recorded too.

• Columns: When, Who, Action, Target (for example the order number and customer) and Result.
• Search people, actions or orders; filter by All results, Done or Refused. Twenty-five entries show per page.
• The log keeps the most recent 5,000 entries.

Staff without the Activity log right see My activity in the menu instead: the same page, with only their own entries.

10. Settings

Settings holds the shop details, the ordering rules, delivery, tax, the video size limit and card payment. Only managers can open it. Change what you need and click Save settings at the bottom; fields that are not right are marked in red and nothing is saved until they are fixed.

10.1 Shop details

10.2 Ordering rules

How the cut-off hour, closed days and closed dates decide the days offered at checkout.

10.3 Delivery zones, extras, couriers and tax

Delivery zones: one zone per line, written as

Name | fee | free delivery over | postcodes that start with

for example Central Marlow Bay | 8 | 75 | 941, 940. The customer's postcode is matched against the start of each zone's postcodes (2 to 8 characters each). The fee is dropped when the items reach the free delivery over amount; write 0 there for never. A postcode that matches no zone cannot be delivered to; the customer is asked to choose pickup. At least one zone is needed.

• Extras customers can add: one per line as Name | price, for example Glass vase | 14. They are offered on every bouquet page.
• Couriers: one name per line. Staff pick from this list on the shipping board.
• Sales tax, percent: 0 to 30. Added to the items and the delivery fee at checkout.

10.4 Largest video upload

Largest video upload, MB sets the biggest MP4 the media library accepts: 1 to 100, 30 when the shop is new. Photos are always limited to 8 MB. Large videos load slowly on phones; keep them short.

10.5 Payment

• Let customers pay now by card (Stripe Checkout) and Let customers pay on delivery or pickup: at least one must be ticked.
• The line under them says whether a card payment key is saved. Customers see Pay now by card only when card payment is ticked and a key is saved.
• Stripe secret key: paste the secret key from your Stripe account. It is stored on the server and never shown again; leave the box empty to keep the saved key. Tick Remove the saved key to delete it.
• Currency code: three letters, such as usd. Prices on the site show a dollar sign; set the same currency here.
• Public site address: the full address of the website, starting with https://. Customers return here after paying; it is required for card payments.

See 14.3 for setting up card payments step by step.

11. Users and rights

Users lists everyone who can sign in to the staff area. Only managers can open it.

11.1 The list

Each row shows the person and job title, the user name, the role (Manager, or Staff with the areas they can use) and the status: Active, Must choose a password (has not signed in since a new or reset password) or Off.

11.2 Adding a user

1. Click Add a user.
2. Fill in Name (2 to 60 characters), Job title (up to 40) and User name (3 to 30 letters, numbers, dots, dashes or underscores). The user name cannot be changed later.
3. Tick the rights in the grid (11.3), or Manager, with every right.
4. Click Save user.

A temporary password is made and shown only now:

Give it to the person yourself. At their first sign-in they must choose their own password (1.1).

11.3 The rights grid

For every area, tick View, Change and Extra (see 1.4). Extra needs Change, and Change needs View; a tick without the one it needs is dropped when you save.

Everyone can see their own activity. A manager has every right in every area.

11.4 Resetting a password

Click Reset password on a row and confirm. The person is signed out everywhere, a new temporary password is shown once, and they must choose a new password at their next sign-in.

11.5 Switching someone off

Open the person with Edit, untick Can sign in and click Save user. They cannot sign in and their sessions end; their name stays in the order history and the activity log. Tick it again to let them back in.

12. My account

My account is for everyone. It shows What you can do, area by area, and lets you change your password.

1. Type your Current password.
2. Type the New password (at least 8 characters, different from the current one) and the New password again.
3. Click Change password.

Changing your password signs you out on every other computer and phone; you stay signed in where you are.

13. The Public Website

This chapter shows the website as customers see it, so you can answer their questions. The menu at the top leads to Home, Shop, About, Track an order and Contact; the search box finds bouquets and the bag icon opens the cart.

13.1 How a customer orders

From the shop to the order number. Staff then follow the order through Orders and Shipping.

13.2 Home and Shop

The home page is built in Pages: the page top, the favourite bouquets, shop by occasion, delivery zones and fees, and the studio's own blocks.

The shop lists every published bouquet. Customers filter by occasion, by price (Any price, Under $50, $50 to $75, Over $75) and sort by Newest or price. Search looks in the bouquet names, short lines, descriptions and colours.

13.3 The bouquet page

• The gallery shows the bouquet's photos and videos; the small pictures under the main one switch between them. A video starts playing as soon as it is clicked.
• The customer chooses a size, any extras and a quantity, and clicks Add to cart. The price updates as they choose.
• When the stock runs out the page says Sold out for now. Check back tomorrow.
• You may also like suggests other bouquets.

13.4 Cart and checkout

The cart is kept in the customer's own browser until they order. On the cart page they:

1. Choose Delivery or Pickup (pickup is at the studio address), then a day and a Time slot. Only open days are offered (10.2).
2. Fill in Your details: name, phone and email (for the receipt).
3. Under Who is it for? fill in the recipient. Ticking Same as above copies the customer's own name and phone into the recipient fields, for flowers they are buying for themselves.
4. For delivery: street, city and postcode. The delivery fee appears in the summary as soon as the postcode matches a zone.
5. Optionally a Card message (up to 200 characters, hand-written on a card) and Delivery notes.
6. Choose how to pay and click Place order.

The shop works out the prices again when the order is placed. If a bouquet sold out or changed in the meantime, the customer is asked to review the cart and nothing is ordered. Customers never type card numbers on this website.

13.5 After placing the order

Left: an order paid on delivery is confirmed at once. Right: a card order waits for the payment.

• Pay on delivery or pickup: the page says Thank you with the order number, and the order is New in the staff area.
• Pay now by card: the page says Almost there. Pay $… now opens the secure payment page. When the customer comes back after paying, the order is confirmed and becomes New; I have paid, check again checks once more if it has not come through yet.
• A card order that is not paid within 45 minutes is cancelled and its bouquets go back into stock.

13.6 Track an order

Customers type the order number and the email they used and click Find my order. They see the status, the steps done so far (Order received, Being arranged, Out for delivery or Ready for pickup, Delivered or Picked up), the payment, the items and the total. While the order is out for delivery they also see the courier and the Tracking or note text from the shipping board.

13.7 About and Contact

The contact form asks for a name, email, topic and a message of 10 to 1,000 characters. Sent messages appear in Messages. The address, phone, email and hours beside the form come from Settings; the About page is edited in Pages.

The website on a phone.

14. Installation & Setup

This chapter is for the person who puts the website on its server and looks after it.

14.1 The first sign-in

A new site has no staff accounts. The first time the sign-in page is opened on the computer the site runs on, it shows a box with the first user name, admin, and a password made just for this site:

1. Open /AdminLogin in a browser on the server itself (the address must be localhost). The box is never shown to anyone reaching the site from another computer.
2. Sign in with admin and the password in the box. The password is also in the file appConfig/initial-admin.txt.
3. Choose your own password (at least 8 characters, twice) and click Sign in.

4. The box and the file disappear. Open Users, change your name, and add an account for each person.

• Lost the first password before using it? Delete appConfig/initial-admin.txt and open the sign-in page again; a new one is made.
• Locked out of every manager account? Remove the managers from data/staff.json and open the sign-in page on the server; a new first password is made.

14.2 Run mode

appConfig/application.cfg has the line app.app.runmode:

14.3 Card payments

1. Create a Stripe account and copy the secret key (sk_test_… to try, sk_live_… to take real payments).
2. In Settings, enter the Public site address (for example https://flowers.example.com), paste the key, tick Let customers pay now by card and save.
3. Place a test order with the test key and Stripe's test card, check it becomes New and Paid by card, and refund it from the order.
4. Replace the test key with the live key.

The payment is confirmed when the customer returns to the order page after paying (or clicks I have paid, check again). The key is kept in data/payment.json on the server.

14.4 Folders and write rights

The site writes to these folders; give the application pool (or the service account) Modify rights on them:

Uploads up to 110 MB per request are allowed by the site's own settings and its web.config.

14.5 HTTPS and the privacy check

• Serve the site over HTTPS only; staff passwords and customer details travel over it.
• Open these addresses in a browser and check each one answers 404 Not Found: /data/staff.json, /data/orders.json, /data/payment.json and /appConfig/initial-admin.txt. If any opens, stop and fix the server before taking orders.

14.6 Backups and updates

• Back up data/ and images/uploads/ regularly. Together they hold everything the shop has entered.
• When publishing a new version of the site, publishing copies the project's data/ folder over the live one. Download the live data/ and images/uploads/ first and put them back, or leave them out of the publish, or the live orders, staff and pictures are lost.

15. Reference

15.1 Order and payment statuses

15.2 Limits at a glance

15.3 Keys

• Esc closes a window or steps back from a confirmation.
• Enter in a confirmation with a reason box goes ahead.

16. Quick Answers

16.1 Questions from the shop floor