ISoc.link Guide Getting Started with ISoc.link Important information about ISoc.link and how to set everything up effectively so your ISoc or MSA can begin to operate at a higher level. What is ISoc.link? ISoc.link is a package of tools, websites, technologies, services and resources provided by FOSIS and managed by Aslayn Group, for university Islamic Societies and Muslim Student Associations across the UK. These tools and technologies are designed to elevate the level at which ISocs operate at, and help them better connect with their university audience. These technologies, resources, and services are provided for free to Islamic Societies, and all we ask in return is is for you to use these services, maintain a positive relationship with us, and be open to hearing new ideas. Released Tools & Services ISoc Wiki The ISoc Wiki is an online resource of information for Islamic Societies, with the purpose of providing knowledge and guidance in the various aspects of managing and running an ISoc. Pages are organised into chapters, books, and shelves, so all the content can remain organised as the ISoc Wiki grows. The Wiki includes content and contributions from Aslayn, FOSIS, and ISocs themselves, and the aim is to cover all aspects on how to successfully operate an Islamic Society. We plan to keep the Wiki continuously updated, so it would be immensely beneficial for experienced ISoc committee members to contribute. By sharing useful knowledge, ISocs can help each other grow to better benefit students across the UK. Landing Page The Landing Page is a home page that users can quickly visit to see upcoming events, prayer times, donation links, social media links and more. It works as a "mini website" and can have multiple pages, but it is recommended to keep content short and concise on the Landing Page if your ISoc already has a website, and have it as a gateway to external sources, where more in-depth content is hosted. If your ISoc does not have a website, then the Landing Page can be used as one, and although it is more limited than a traditional website, it is easier to edit and use. The Landing Page can have text, buttons, images, videos, countdown timers, and even a form to receive payment. Feel free to use the Landing Page for what best suits your ISoc's needs. URL Shortener The URL Shortener is a tool that is used to shorten URLs into the form of isn.isoc.link/example where isn is your ISoc's ISN and example is any string of characters you set, preferably a word or words relevant to link you are shortening. For example, if you are shortening a link to a fundraising page for donations, then you can shorten it to name.isoc.link/donate. The advantages of both the Landing Page and URL Shortener over other conventional ones, is that the ISoc's identity is in subdomain, so it will be shorter, easier to remember, and be more branded towards your ISoc. Your ISoc's landing page will also directly be linked in the ISoc.link homepage. Email Alias Your ISoc will also have its own isoc.link email address alias. This is beneficial if you want to mask your ISoc's email or multiple members' emails. For example, if you ISoc has an @gmail email, so you want it to be @isoc.link which will appear more professional as it is a custom domain. Another use is if you want multiple members, who have university emails for example, to all be forwarded emails to the @isoc.link email. Please note the email is only an alias that can receive emails, but does not function as a mailbox that can send emails. ISoc Short Names Your ISoc Short Name (ISN) is a shorter version of your ISoc's name that appears in the URLs for various isoc.link tools and any links shortened with the URL Shortener. We recommend choosing a short ISN that is easily associated with your ISoc. Keeping it short also means the links you create with the URL shortener are easier to type and remember for your membership, as well as yourselves for your internal tools. ISN List Table Below is a table of all the current ISoc Short Names, in case you have forgotten yours or want to discover other ISocs. Important Links The following links are important for your ISoc to have saved, as they are used to access the various ISoc.link tools. Some of them will require a login which you can contact Halaltruism about if you forget them. The links that have isn are specific to your ISoc, and you would replace isn with your ISoc Short Name. Internal links can only be shared with authorised committee members and must not be shared with your ISoc's membership or the public. External links can be shared with your ISoc's membership or the public. URL Use Purpose wiki.isoc.link Internal Access the ISoc Wiki. The information here is meant for committee members, so this link must not be shared with anyone else. isn.isoc.link External Access your ISoc's Landing Page. This should be in your Instagram bio so your followers can easily access this. isn.page.isoc.link Internal This link is where the Landing Page is actually located, but does not need to be shared with the public as isn.isoc.link is shorter and easier to remember. isn.landing.isoc.link Internal Access the editor for the landing page. isn.shortener.isoc.link Internal Access the URL Shortener to create custom links with your isoc.link domain. isn.isoc.link/example External Links created with the URL Shortener will have this format, where example can be replaced by what you choose and the link can lead to whatever URL you set. These shortened links can be shared with your membership on posters or social media. Landing Page The Landing Page is one of the services included as part of ISoc.link, provided by Halaltruism. It is a home page that users can quickly visit to see upcoming events, prayer times, donation links, social media links and more. It works as a "mini website" and can have multiple pages, but it is recommended to keep content short and concise on the Landing Page if your ISoc already has a website, and have it as a gateway to external sources, where more in-depth content is hosted. If your ISoc does not have a website, then the Landing Page can be used as one, and although it is more limited than a traditional website, it is easier to edit and use. The Landing Page can have text, buttons, images, videos, countdown timers, and even a form to receive payment. Feel free to use the Landing Page for what best suits your ISoc's needs. Accessing the Landing Page Your ISoc's Landing Page can be accessed at isn.isoc.link where isn is your ISoc Short Name. This is a short and easy to remember link that can be shared with your membership to direct them to your Landing Page, where you can post about upcoming events, prayer times, donation links, and more. Please put your Landing Page link as your primary Instagram bio link. You will notice that the URL when you are on the Landing Page is in the form isn.page.isoc.link but you only need to share the shorter and easier to remember link isn.isoc.link which redirects to this page.Accessing the Landing Page Editor To access the editor for your ISoc's landing page, go to isn.landing.isoc.link where isn is your ISoc Short Name, and log into Taplink with your ISoc's provided credentials. The Landing Page editor link is an internal link, and should only be shared with authorised committee members.Editing the Landing Page The editor uses Taplink to build the Landing Page, and a comprehensive tutorial on how to create your page can be found here. It explains how to make the page as either a link in bio page or a landing page, and you are free to edit your page as you wish; we only recommend that you keep it updated and have the link in your Instagram bio so your membership can have a quick and easy way to stay up to date with your ISoc. Basically, the editor uses a blocks system, where different types of blocks can be added, edited, and moved around. Feel free to play around with it and explore all the different blocks. Some of the most useful blocks include: Avatar: A profile picture that can be your ISoc's logo. We recommend keeping this at the top so visitors can easily identify your Landing Page. Link: A button that can link to a specified URL, such as a fundraiser page or prayer times website. Text: A way to have text on your landing page. Image Carousel: Insert an image or set of images; for example, posters for events. Social Networks: Social media buttons to have links to all your ISoc's social medias and website in one place. We recommend keeping this near the top or at the bottom of the page. Delimiter: To help divide your page into organised sections. Timer: A real-time timer that counts down to a specified date and time; for example, for an upcoming event. Map: If you want to mark important locations on a map, such as a prayer room. FAQ: Insert some frequently asked questions and their answers. Page: Insert a whole other page if you ran out of space or want to make things more organised; for example, having a page just about charity or Ramadan. You can also change the design of your Landing Page by clicking the Design tab at the top. Here you can check out a range of templates with different colours, fonts, button shapes, and backgrounds, with some that are animated. You can even create your own design from scratch, if you want to make it look even better or keep it consistent with your ISoc's theme. The possibilities are endless with the design and editing of the Landing Page, so use it to your ISoc's advantage and give your membership the quickest way to access all they need. Please don't hesitate to contact Halaltruism if you have any questions or need further support. Adding a Live Prayer Timetable to the Landing Page Taplink has the functionality to add widgets using custom HTML code. This allows you to embed externally made widgets or pages into your landing page. Using this method, live prayer timetables can be added to the landing page. For the instructions on this page, we used the widgets provided by Islamic Finder, however you can use any other provider that has HTML embeddable code. Instructions On the Taplink Landing Page Editor, click Add block. Click HTML code. Paste the following code:
In a new tab, open Islamic Finder Widgets. In the search bar at the top, search your city and click on it. Scroll down to the fourth widget called City prayer times. Click Code. You can make any additional adjustments here, such as calculation method. Copy just the URL in the code after the src="" attribute in the quotation marks. It should have a form similar to https://www.islamicfinder.org/prayer-widget/#######/1/1/0 Replace the Islamic Finder URL in src="" in the HTML code with your new URL to set it to your city and chosen settings. Click Save changes. You can make further adjustments to the code to make the widget fit in more with your landing page's design. For example, you can change the size of the border-radius to match with the button rounding you set in the design section of your landing page. Adding the Landing Page as an App Users can add your ISoc.link landing page as an app on the home screen of phone or tablet devices, allowing it to be easily accessible and function as an app rather than a website. Changing the App Icon The app icon is generated from the image used for the avatar block. Click on your avatar block, or add one, and then upload a suitable image. We recommend a high quality square logo without any transparency. The square shape is to accommodate different app shapes across devices, and transparent backgrounds can get affected by the light/dark mode settings of devices, causing the icon to display improperly. Changing the App Name On iPhone, the app name is chosen by the user when they add it. This has been reflected in the instructions below. On Android, the name of the app is whatever the page title is. You can edit this in your editor by going to the Settings tab, scrolling down to the SEO Settings section and editing the Page title, then clicking Save changes. Adding a Back Button & Navigation Depending on your device's browser, there might not be a back button when users navigate the landing page app. We recommend adding the avatar block to the top of every page, as clicking it takes the user back to the home page. You can also add a navigation menu by clicking on the down arrow next to Publish and then clicking the Navigation Menu tab. Instructions to add the Landing Page as an App You can share the following instructions with your members so they can add your landing page as an app on the phone devices. Please copy these instructions somewhere else, ideally as a page in your landing page. Do not share this page with your members. iPhone (Safari or Chrome) Go to the home page of your landing page Click the share button (usually located in the centre of the bottom of the screen or top right) Scroll down and click Add to Home Screen Change the name to something suitable, such as the ISoc's name Click Add Android (Chrome or Samsung Internet) Go to the home page of your landing page Click the menu button (three dots or hamburger icon) Scroll down and click Add to Home Screen Click Install on the Install App popup Getting Started with the URL Shortener The URL Shortener is a service included as part of ISoc.link, provided by FOSIS and managed by Aslayn Group. It is a tool to create custom links with your personalised isoc.link domain and shorten any long URLs, so they can easily be shared with your membership. Accessing the URL Shortener The URL Shortener is a tool that is used to shorten URLs into the form of isn.isoc.link/example where isn is your ISoc Short Name and example is any string of characters you set, preferably a word or words relevant to link you are shortening. For example, if you are shortening a link to a fundraising page for donations, then you can shorten it to isn.isoc.link/donate. The URL Shortener can be accessed at isn.shortener.isoc.link and you then log in with your ISoc's credentials. Using the URL Shortener Creating a Shortened Link Once you are logged into your URL Shortener page, you will see on the home page a long field to input the URL you would like to shorten. Keep the https:// when you are copying and pasting your long link into this field. In the Customize link field you can choose the characters that go after isn.isoc.link/ for the shortened link. We recommend using something short, descriptive, but still easy to remember. For example isn.isoc.link/donate or isn.isoc.link/welcome-dinner. You can click Check Availability to see if the short link is valid or it isn't already in use. Once you are happy with your short link, click Shorten. Here you can copy your new short link to put on social media captions, posters, or share on WhatsApp. You can even generate a QR code that can be printed or placed onto posters. Modifying, Disabling, and Deleting Links Through the Admin Dashboard Click on your username in the top right. Click Admin. Here you can see a list of all existing shortened links. From here you can copy them, generate QR codes, edit the target link, see how many clicks each link has received, disable, or delete links. We recommend deleting links that are no longer in use. ISoc Wiki The ISoc Wiki is an online resource of information for Islamic Societies, with the purpose of providing knowledge and guidance in the various aspects of managing and running an ISoc. Pages are organised into chapters, books, and shelves, so all the content can remain organised as the ISoc Wiki grows. The Wiki includes content and contributions from Aslayn, FOSIS, and ISocs themselves, and the aim is to cover all aspects on how to successfully operate an Islamic Society. Contributing to the ISoc Wiki If you are an ISoc committee member who would like to share their knowledge to benefit all the ISocs, then contact us. You can send us your contribution, or we can give you editor access on the Wiki.Email Forwading Using your @isoc.link email Address Utilising the Email Forwarder Email Forwarding with ISoc.link When you register with ISoc.link, your ISoc is allocated an @isoc.link forwarding address which is in the format of your ISoc short name isn@isoc.link How does it work? Any email directed to your ISoc Shortname (e.g., isn@isoc.link) is automatically forwarded to the email address you specified during sign-up. Why was this introduced?The primary purpose is to offer a concise, easy-to-remember email address. Instead of sharing a lengthy email (like islamic-society@studentsociety.ac.uk), you can now share a shorter version. FAQ Can I send emails using this address? No, this address only functions as a forwarder. If I reply to an email sent to my isn@isoc.link, what will be the displayed sender address? Replies will display your original email address, not isn@isoc.link.