Mass Content Upload Spreadsheet Template (EDAs/Municipalities)

Purpose

Refer to this help doc if you need to send us a spreadsheet that lists specific website content related to your site's business directory, real estate properties, meeting minutes, etc.

If you're looking for a spreadsheet template for product inventory upload, refer to our article "Shopify: Importing Products".

Are you an SEM Team Member? Click here to jump to the end of this article for guidance on creating and sharing a new spreadsheet template.  

Getting Started

  1. Before you can begin, you'll need a spreadsheet file. Ask your account representative if you haven't received this file yet.

  2. Enter your data.

    1. If you already have a spreadsheet with data, it undoubtedly will not have the same order of columns/fields. In this case, I recommend rearranging the columns on your existing spreadsheet to match our template. This will likely mean adding blank columns to your existing spreadsheet. Once you have added the necessary columns and arranged the order of all your columns, you can copy all the data from the old spreadsheet directly into the new one. Once you have the data in the new spreadsheet, you can go through each record and enter any missing details. WARNING: you might get a warning/error about not being able to overwrite protected cells. Don't worry, just ignore this warning if you get it.

    2. If you don't already have the data you need for our template, you have three choices:

      1. Manually enter the data in the spreadsheet template, cell by cell.
      2. Enter each record manually into the website either via the correct submissions form or through the back-end administrator interface
      3. Have individuals interested in having their businesses or properties on your site's directories use the correct submission form on the site.
    3. Please note that the use of any submission form to enter initial site content will depend on whether or not the correct form has yet to be created and connected to your website's internal systems.

      If the form you need hasn't been created yet, and you need it for the initial mass data entry, contact your account representative for an estimated date when your submission form(s) will be ready.

Businesses/Attractions

  • TITLE/NAME: Make sure the entries you make in this column are unique. If you need to add two locations for the same business, differentiate them somehow like, "Walmart - Cumberland Road" and "Walmart - Center Street."

  • INDUSTRY: Select the Industry that best fits each business

  • STREET ADDRESS: Enter only the street number/apartment number and name of the street.

  • PHONE: For the business's phone number, enter in a ten-digit format separated by dashes.

  • WEBSITE, FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, TWITTER: Enter the URLs to each business's online profiles and website. Leave these blank, as needed.

  • ABOUT/DETAILS: The more details the better. There is no word limit on this field.

  • FEATURED IMAGE LINK/ADDITIONAL IMAGE LINKS:

    • Featured Image Minimum Size Requirements - 2100X900. Featured images will be the primary image representing each business/attraction. In most cases, the featured image will span the width of the device screen, so when visitors are using a desktop computer, we want to make sure the enlarged image doesn't look bad.
    • Additional Image Minimum Size Requirements - 800X500. Additional images generally won't be displayed as large as the featured images.
    • In many cases, we can import images directly from a link. The link you enter here can be from Google Drive, DropBox, or OneDrive, as long as the link isn't restricted, as it must be publicly accessible by anyone for us to be able to import the images. If you are using a file-sharing platform like Google, be sure the permissions are set to something like "Anyone with this link can view." For more details, click check out this help doc from Google Drive.

    • Are the images you're needing to use on a website? If you can see the image on a website without being logged in, you can probably use the link to the image in the spreadsheet. For instance, if you go to our website, right-click on our animated logo up top, and select "Copy Image Link" or "Copy Image Address" (depending on your browser), the image link will be: https://www.starryeyes.media/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/SEM-2020-Animated-Logo-No-Margin-173x80-1-1.gif

    • In some cases, this works for Facebook images, though Facebook does degrade image quality to reduce file sizes, so try to avoid Facebook images as much as possible.

    • Alternately, you can use a file-sharing platform like Google Drive to upload your images to a folder and share the folder link with us. If you choose this option, please be sure that the images are labeled appropriately so we can quickly sort them where they need to go.

Properties

  • STREET ADDRESS: This field will be used for both the full address and the property's title/name. We will generate a complete full address based on what you enter in this field and the City, State, and Zip Code fields.

  • MAP # and PARCEL #: These fields aren't strictly necessary but they are a nice touch if they can be included.

  • TYPE, STATUS, ZONING: These fields help us categorize properties so website visitors can filter search results to meet their needs. While the Type column represents what kind of structure the property is, the status designates whether it's for sale, lease, or rent-to-own. The zoning column's primary purpose is to designate whether a property is commercial, residential, mixed-use, etc.

  • SQFT and LOT SIZE (ACRES): Enter only numeric values for the Square Footage and Lot Size columns.

  • BATHROOMS, ROOMS, BEDROOMS, YEAR BUILT: Enter only numeric values for these columns, too.

  • DESCRIPTION: Enter as much detail as possible to improve the likelihood of helping sell the property. There is no size limit, with more details also increasing search engine optimization.

  • MLS ID #: If the property is listed through a Realtor, you can enter the MLS number here.

  • EXTERNAL LINK: Enter a URL here to an external webpage regarding the property, such as a real estate listing page on a Realtor's website.

  • OWNER NAME: This field isn't entirely necessary for a standard properties directory, but can be useful if your community would like a separate directory identifying vacant structures that include the owner's name.

  • FEATURED IMAGE LINK/ADDITIONAL IMAGE LINKS:

    • Featured Image Minimum Size Requirements - 2100X900. Featured images will be the primary image representing each business/attraction. In most cases, the featured image will span the width of the device screen, so when visitors are using a desktop computer, we want to make sure the enlarged image doesn't look bad.
    • Additional Image Minimum Size Requirements - 800X500. Additional images generally won't be displayed as large as the featured images.
    • In many cases, we can import images directly from a link. The link you enter here can be from Google Drive, DropBox, or OneDrive, as long as the link isn't restricted, as it must be publicly accessible by anyone for us to be able to import the images. If you are using a file-sharing platform like Google, be sure the permissions are set to something like "Anyone with this link can view." For more details, click check out this help doc from Google Drive.

    • Are the images you're needing to use on a website? If you can see the image on a website without being logged in, you can probably use the link to the image in the spreadsheet. For instance, if you go to our website, right-click on our animated logo up top, and select "Copy Image Link" or "Copy Image Address" (depending on your browser), the image link will be: https://www.starryeyes.media/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/SEM-2020-Animated-Logo-No-Margin-173x80-1-1.gif

    • In some cases, this works for Facebook images, though Facebook does degrade image quality to reduce file sizes, so try to avoid Facebook images as much as possible.

    • Alternately, you can use a file-sharing platform like Google Drive to upload your images to a folder and share the folder link with us. If you choose this option, please be sure that the images are labeled appropriately so we can quickly sort them where they need to go.

I hope this guide helps. Please let us know if you need more clarification or guidance so we can help you and update this resource for others!


SEM Team Members

Be sure to create a copy of the "Mass-Content-Upload-Template-Community," by navigating to Google Sheets main menu and opening the template gallery.





Next, select the correct template and a copy will open.












Be sure to rename the file with the appropriate project prefix and then move it to the client's folder on Google Drive.


























In the client's project folder, choose the sub-folder labeled "Submissions."




















Boom. You're done. Good job!

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