Add Google Friend Connect to your SynthaSite

We're pleased to announce that you can now use Google Friend Connect with your SynthaSite!

Google Friend Connect is a service that allows you to create social features for your site by allowing people to sign up and become members, right on your site! People can join with their Google, Yahoo, AIM or OpenID accounts, and interact on your site, by inviting friends, posting media or making comments. For more information, click here: http://www.google.com/friendconnect/a....

Please note that in order to use this feature on your site, your site needs to be published first. If your site is not published yet, please see our tutorial: (http://www.synthasite.com/tutorials/p....

Adding Google Friend Connect to your SynthaSite website is easy! Here are the steps:
1) Go to http://www.google.com/friendconnect/a...
2) Click the big blue button that says "Set Up a New Site"
3) You will be taken to an Overview page. Familiarize yourself with it, and then click "continue" to follow Google Friend Connect's 4-step setup process.

Step 1: On the next page you will see two boxes where you need to fill in:
1.1) Your site name: This is the name you gave your site when you created it and the default heading that appears on all your pages.
1.2) Your home URL: This is the address of your homepage. Your home URL is the domain name you used to publish your site, followed by: /index.php
Fill in these boxes. When you are done, click continue

Step 2: The next page asks you to download two files. PLEASE IGNORE THIS STEP! We have already done this for you. Simply click "continue"

Step 3: You will be taken to a page to test your set up. Simply click the "test to finalize set up" button. Google will use the URL you submitted to look for the two files, which we have already added to your site on your behalf.
When you do Step 3: "Test your setup", you should see the following message at the top of the Google page: "Your changes have been saved". That means that Google has successfully detected the two required files.

Step 4: On the next page you will be able to configure and customize your Google Friend Connect Members' Gadget and preview what it will look like. When you are happy with it, click "generate code" and copy all of the HTML embed code Google provides to your computer clipboard.

Now you need to go back to your SynthaSite to install the widget. Don't worry - we're almost done!

1) In SynthaSite, drag and drop an HTML widget onto your page. This is located in the Properties sidebar on the right of your screen, directly below the Two Column Layout widget. A dialog box will open up. Paste the code into this box and then click "ok"!
2) Click the yellow "Update My Site" button.

When adding a Members Gadget to your SynthaSite page, the gadget will not show up properly until you update (republish) your site. While you are editing or previewing your site, Google cannot match your site address to display the gadget. Do not be alarmed if you see an error message before you publish, such as: "We're sorry... This gadget is configured incorrectly. ...". Just click "Update my Site" and the gadget should appear correctly configured.

That's it! Your site is now verified with Google Friend Connect and you can start using this great new feature to grow a community on your very own website!"