Tutorial for a Simple Format

Ok, so you have a great idea for a checklist everyone is gonna love. Now what? On any page on Checklist.com, click on the orange PUBLISH button on the top navigation bar and select the SIMPLE format from the drop down.

Welcome to the Simple format creation page. All you need to create a simple checklist template is here. Just continue following the instructions below.

If your Checklist is not in English, switch to any of the available languages from the language selector at the bottom right of the screen. You can switch the language at any time.

The language you choose does not mean the checklist will be automatically translated into that language. It only assigns your template to the selected language section on Checklist.com.

Check out our Checklist Translations page if your lanaguage is not available.

A great title says it all! This is the first impression of your template, so make sure you take time to craft an engaging title which will entice people and drive them to click on your template name from the channel, tag or search result pages.

The intro does just that: introduce your readers to the checklist template. It is the 2nd most important right after the template title. You want to leave people hanging for some more:
... keep on reading .. it is coming up!

This is the main part of your checklist: the tasks! Simply enter one task per line hitting ENTER at the end of the line. You can easily cut and paste or drag-n-drop with your mouse.

Tip: feel free to copy and paste tasks from outside your browser into this text box (e.g. Word documents, PDFs).

Sub tasks. To make a task into a sub task of the task above it, simply enter TAB at the start of the line. You can have up to 4 sub task levels.
Tip: use shift-Tab instead of Tab for the opposite effect

Notes. You can also add a note for each task. End the task name with a dot ( '.' ) and a space. Everything after the space will be automatically converted into a note.
Tip: after publishing your template (see below), make sure your notes are properly formatted.

The Simple format is powerful yet restrictive. For more flexibility, we have added a Description section at the bottom of the checklist. Here you can use free-text format to add tips, explanation, further reading etc.

Tip: include a good and detailed description to support your checklist. Users value this extra effort!

Each checklist template requires a single picture. The picture is the #3 in importance (after a great title and intro) as pictures speak louder than words. We recommend using a "landscape" picture of at least 250 pixels in width. We support jpg, jpeg and png files with a maximum size of 3MB.

To add a picture simply click on the Upload Picture on the top right of the screen and select one from your local computer. You can also drag a picture and drop it onto the "Drop Area" (will turn green while dragging a valid file).

To update a picture, use the "Upload Picture" button again.

Tip: while uploading a large picture, the screen will turn white and the Uploading icon will be shown. Once uploaded, this will be hidden.

Important! Only upload pictures you have the rights to. Copyright violations should be reported to us. We will remove offending content. Please consider the hard work people have put into creating pictures.

Tags are very useful to help our users find your template. Carefully select the appropriate tag checkboxes. Use the provided tags as those are the "hottest" tags on our site.

Need more flexible tags? Use the "Additional Tags" textbox to enter comma separated tags of your own.

You're almost there. Click on the "Save" button (bottom right) to save your work. You will be redirected to your "My Templates" page where you can see all your checklist templates.

Tip: Save your work often to avoid losing it due to internet connectivity issues.

Check out your newly published Checklist Template by clicking on the "View Public" button. You can use the action menu to: Un-Publish, Delete or Edit your template.

Tip: Ensure your public profile is up to date . On the My Templates page you can find links to Edit and View your channel. People love to know who's behind that great checklist! And if you enter your website address on your profile, your templates will include a link to your site! More visitors!

Let the world know of your newly published checklist template! On the public view of the checklist, you will find social sharing buttons (Facebook, Twitter and Google+).

Why not add an interactive checklist to your website? Once published, you can easily embed the checklist on your site. Simply click on the "Embed" icon on the published checklist and follow the instructions. Read more about embed.

Tip: grow your audiences by making your site more "sticky" with visitors. Placing a checklist at the end of a great blog helps them summarize it and have a "Call To Action". They will appreciate it, save the checklist and remember you every time they use it.

Each day, we select the best published checklists and feature them on our home page, blog or newsletter. If you published a checklist you feel is worth featuring, send us a message and we would gladly consider it.

Tip: We only feature high quality checklist templates. Make sure you have uploaded stunning pictures, tagged your template properly and added supporting description.