🌱 The big idea

This app manages your entire admissions waitlist in one place. Instead of 5 separate pages with 5 separate passwords, every family gets one unique code (like "OLIVER-2027"). You control what stage they're at from your dashboard. Families type their code on the home page to see exactly where they are in the journey.

👨‍👩‍👧 Adding a new family

1. Go to Families tab
2. Click + Add Family in the top right
3. Enter their child's name, parent name, email, and program interest
4. The app generates a unique code for them automatically (or you can customize)
5. Click Save — they start at Stage 1 by default
6. Click the 📋 icon in their row to copy their code and send it to them

➡️ Moving a family to the next stage

1. Find the family in the Families tab
2. Click the ➡️ Advance button in their row
3. Confirm the stage change — an email is auto-sent to the family
4. Next time they open the app with their code, they'll see the new stage

Prefer to jump multiple stages? Click the family row to open their profile and pick any stage from the dropdown.

🔢 About the waitlist numbers

The waitlist position families see is set BY YOU per family — it's not automatic. This means you can display any number that makes sense. For example, if you have 3 real families waiting but want it to look like the program is in demand, you can set positions like "#7 of 15" for one family and "#3 of 15" for another. Update these anytime from the family's profile.

🔐 Changing the password

1. Go to Settings tab
2. Type your new password in the "Change director password" field
3. Click Save Settings
4. Next time you log in, use the new password

✏️ Renaming stages or changing descriptions

1. Go to Stages tab
2. Edit any field directly — name, emoji, description, what happens, what's next
3. Changes save automatically as you type
4. Families see updates the next time they open the app

💾 Backing up your data

The app stores everything in your browser. If you switch devices or your browser clears storage, you'll lose the data. Prevent this by exporting a backup periodically:

1. Go to Settings tab
2. Click 📥 Export All Data — a JSON file downloads
3. Save that file somewhere safe (Google Drive, Dropbox)
4. If you ever need to restore: use 📤 Import from Backup

📧 About auto-emails

When you advance a family to a new stage, the app sends them an email via Web3Forms so they know to check their portal. Emails also get CC'd to hello@brightstepsca.com so you have a record. The Web3Forms access key lives in Settings and is already filled in for you.

✉️ Editing message templates

The emails families receive at each stage are fully editable in the Message Templates tab. Each stage has its own template with a subject line and body.

Use these placeholders anywhere in the subject or body — they'll be replaced with real values when the email sends:

• [Parent Name] — the parent's name
• [Child Name] — the child's name
• [Program] — the program they're interested in
• [Stage] — the name of the new stage
• [Position] — their waitlist number
• [Total] — the total shown to them
• [Portal Link] — their direct link to the portal

Changes save as you type. The next family who advances gets the updated email.

🎬 Adding videos for families

1. Go to the Video Library tab
2. Click + Add Video
3. Give it a title, description, and paste a YouTube or Vimeo embed URL
4. Check which stages should see this video (tour walkthrough for inquiry stage, orientation prep for enrolled families, etc.)
5. Families see relevant videos on their portal automatically

How to get a YouTube embed URL: On any YouTube video, click Share → Embed → copy the URL that starts with https://www.youtube.com/embed/…

🌐 Sharing the family portal link

Send families this URL along with their code:

— will fill in after you publish —

Or send them the direct link (includes their code): click the 🔗 icon in their family row to copy it.