What the ISP Webmaster module does is allow you to run a website design business and create izotz websites for clients or friends. Whether you do it as a business and build websites for paying customers, or do it for fun and make ad hoc things for your friends, this module makes it possible to manage a large number of izotz websites, and use the izotz tools to short circuit development time.

Key Features To Know About

• You pay izotz our standard monthly fee for each website you build. This means you pay about $20 a month for each website. What you charge your clients is entirely up to you.
• You can create a custom administration page for your clients that has only the administration tools you want to give them on it. Your clients don't use the normal izotz administration back end...that's only for you as webmaster. This means you can easily limit your clients to do things they should be doing (like maybe updating webpage content), and NOT doing things that will get them into trouble (like changing appearance skins).
• You have access to the complete menu of izotz services to help you manage your client websites. We treat your clients like they were our own, but do it through you.
• The websites you build for your clients are no different than any other izotz website. Your client can have as many websites as they want under their account, and their websites have access to all the same modules, tools,  skins and other izotz features. The primary difference is that YOU act as webmaster and access their administration page through your ISP Webmaster website. Neither you nor your client can directly access their administration page by logging into http://myizotz.net.

You use the same izotz administration tools on your client projects. You'll quickly see that professionals can use these tools to build complex websites in a fraction of the time it would take to do it by hand, in most cases without compromising the things you might want to do. Non professionals will see that it may actually be possible to have a website business, build websites for people, and not have to know a whole lot about programming. It's entirely possible for you to run a website design business using the izotz tools, and not have to know ANYTHING about writing HTML.

Enhancing the ISP Website

Besides the ISP Webmaster module, there is also an ISP Webmaster Website template. This is a pre-configured website that contains the ISP Webmaster module and a project calendar to help you keep track of deadlines. This website can be customized to make your behind the scenes ISP Webmaster tool look however you want, and you can add a lot of function modules that can help you manage your website business right from this website. Add a few modules like a calendar, bug checker module, work queue module, and a few others, and you've got a full fledge ISP INTRANET. Add the Document Library module, and your clients can even upload their content files to you right on your website.

Using ISP Webmaster


The ISP Webmaster module is designed to allow someone to create izotz websites, access the izotz administration page for those websites, and create custom administration pages that the owners of the websites can use to perform some administration tasks themselves.

Anyone who wants to create multiple izotz websites and retain control over the administration of those websites can use this module. Whether you are a professional web designer who builds websites for a living, a hobbyist who builds websites for your friends just for fun, or maybe something like the IT person at a school district who needs to build a website for each of the schools...this module makes it possible to manage a large collection of websites under one izotz account.

How it Works

Open the module and click Create New Client. Fill out the information form and select a website template to kick start the new website. Each client account can have as many websites as you want, so don't worry about chosing just the right template in the beginning. Your client account has all the same features as a standard izotz account...unlimited websites, the full module library, all the skins, etc.

Select a pay plan and pay for the website. Projects you create through this module do not have a "guest" membership period. It is assumed that you know izotz, you know your client, and they NEED a website, so guest memberships aren't offered.

Once the client account is created, you'll see it in the client list. To open the izotz administration page, click [administrate] next to the project name. The administration window will open in a pop up window. Be sure to enable popups in your browser. To view the website, click [view]. To change configuration options, click [configure].

Differences Between a Client Website and a Standard izotz Membership Website

Your client websites behave the same as a standard izotz website, and have access to all the same features. The key difference between the two is how you access the izotz administrator for the website and who can perform administration tasks.

To access the administration page for a client website, you must open your ISP Webmaster website and select the website from the client account list. Click the [adminstrate] link to open the administration page. You CANNOT open a client website by logging into http://myizotz.net/. Until you explicitly create users in the client website, and make them an administrator, the only person who can administrate the client website is you or anyone who you've give administration priviledges to in YOUR ISP Webmaster website. This allows you to retain control over who gets to do what when administrating your client projects.

Managing Administrators

The ISP Webmaster module gives you a lot of flexibility to decide how you want your client projects to be administrated. Sometimes you'll want to do it all yourself or have it be done by YOUR employees. Sometimes you'll want to enable your client to perform some duties, but not all. And maybe sometimes you'll want to let your clients do everything. The ISP module lets you set up all these scenarios.

Blocking Clients from Administration Tasks

By default, clients can't perform any adminstration tasks. They are treated just like any other website visitor. They can look, but can't touch. As long as you don't give them any administration priviledges, they can't do anything at all.

Enabling Limited Administration Tasks for Your Clients

You can enable a Client Administration page, and give your client a limited set of administration options. For example, you could allow them to update certain static webpages, or update the content in certain modules, or maybe change certain website settings. To enable the limited administration page, open the ISP module, click [configure] next to the client project, and ENABLE the client administration page. Then add administrative permissions to that page using the wizard. Once enabled, your client can access their administration page by going to the website address http://izotz.net/yourclientaccount/admin.  "Yourclientaccount" is the friendly name or account ID for the website. They then login and do whatever tasks you've allowed.

Enabling Complete Administration Priviledges for Your Clients

Create a user in the client website. Not in YOUR website, in their website. Make that user and "administrator". Make sure to enable the "Sign In" feature for the website project. This puts a "Sign In" link at the top of their website. Now the user can sign into their website by clicking that link. This will place the DirectEdit Administration Tool link at the top of the page. That allows them to access all the standard izotz administration tools from directly within their website. Your clients still cannot access the back end izotz adminstration page, but the DirectEdit menu has all the same tools.

Enabling Your Employees to Administrate Client Projects

Create a user in your ISP Webmaster website. Make that person an "Administrator". They will now be able to see the ISP module webpage, and can access the client projects just like you can.

Creating a Custom Administration Page for Your Client

If you don't want to give your client total access to all the administration tools, use the Custom Administration page to limit what they can do. You'll see the Custom Admin Page module under the Webpages section in the izotz administrator. Click that icon and chose EDIT CONTENT. From there you can drag and drop various website components onto a custom admin page. Your clients will ONLY have access to those administration tools.

Create a friendly URL for your custom admin page to make it easy for your clients to get to it. For example, you could assign the name "admin" to that page, and the client could access it by using http://izotz/net/youraccount/admin. To create a friendly URL for the page...go to ADMINISTRATION TOOLS-->SETTINGS-->CREATE FRIENDLY URL. Then select the Custom Admin page and make up whatever name you want.