Marching Innovations - Site Setup & Management Handbook

1. Domain Registration & Hosting Setup

Your website needs two main ingredients to be visible on the web: a Domain Name (the URL address) and a Web Host (the server that holds your web page files).

Option A: Free/Low-Cost Hosting (Recommended)

Best for speed, reliability, and low overhead costs.

Domain Registrars: Namecheap, Cloudflare, or GoDaddy (buy marchinginnovations.org for ~$10–$15/year).
Free Hosting Platforms: Netlify, Vercel, or GitHub Pages. You simply drag and drop your index.html file onto Netlify, and it goes live instantly with free SSL (HTTPS).

Option B: All-In-One Hosting

Simplest option if you prefer everything under one roof.

Providers: Hostinger, Bluehost, or Namecheap Shared Hosting (~$3–$6/month).
How it works: You purchase the domain directly through them and upload your website files using their File Manager control panel (cPanel or hPanel).

2. How to Publish Your Site (Quick 3-Step Launch)

STEP 1
Save Your Website File Download or save the generated index.html file to your computer desktop.
STEP 2
Upload to Hosting (e.g., Netlify) Create a free account at Netlify.com. Drag and drop the folder containing your index.html into their Sites dashboard. Your site will be published immediately on a temporary web link.
STEP 3
Connect Your Domain (www.marchinginnovations.org) In your hosting settings, click "Add Custom Domain", type www.marchinginnovations.org, and follow the simple on-screen instructions to set your DNS nameservers.

3. Managing Store Catalog & Custom Equipment

All your products, pricing, specs, and photos are structured clearly inside the code under the productsCatalog and equipmentCatalog arrays. You don't need databases or backend servers to edit them!

// Code Snippet Example from index.html:

{
    id: 'p1',
    title: 'APEX MODULAR STAGE TOWER',
    category: 'towers',
    price: 1850,
    badge: 'BOA / WGI APPROVED',
    image: 'https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1514525253161-7a46d19cd819?w=600',
    description: 'Heavy-duty 12ft aluminum ladder tower with safety-locked deck platform.',
    specs: ['12ft High Modular Frame', '30-second locking pins', 'Non-skid turf pads']
}

Tip: Simply open index.html in any free text editor (like Notepad or VS Code) to add new products, adjust pricing, change equipment options, or update your phone number!