Dylan Lopez / Wednesday, August 21, 2013 / Categories: Online Business Basecamp empowers us to keep all of our project discussions, to-do lists, and priorities in one place. Primer on using Basecamp Building a website is a collaborative process with sometimes many people working at the same time. So, naturally, communication and the organization of information are essential to completing a project efficiently. Communicating via email is extremely difficult to keep track of as most people receive multiple emails from multiple sources every day and have more than one email address to manage. Managing a project this way allows for a higher probability of miscommunication, and important information being lost. This is why it's so important that we use Basecamp. What do I put in Basecamp? When do I use email? To-Dos: A to-do is something that is actionable and someone is responsible for getting that task done. Comments on To-Dos: You can comment on tasks Discussions: A discussion can be a general question or idea that is not related to a specifc task. Files: Images, PDFs, Docs. Financial discussions. Personal or private messages unrelated to the project. The Basics Signing In Sign in to your Basecamp account through the Signin page. Please bookmark this page for future reference. Enter your user ID and password Click 'Sign In' Creating To-do's Creating a To-do in Basecamp is as easy as sending an email, the difference is that the To-do is automatically added to an online checklist that everybody can see. This allows us to keep our tasks organized and work more efficiently. It is extremely important that we use the To-do list function on Basecamp as having to keep track of emails is time-consuming and leaves open the possibility that some tasks may be overlooked. This is how you create a To-do: On your project landing page, click the 'To-do' link at the top of the page. a Choose the To-do list you would like to add a task to, scroll to the bottom of the list and click the 'Add a to-do' link. Assign To-do’s using the following format: [URL] > [Area of page] > [Concise instructions] Select the person responsible for completing the To-do Click the 'Add this to-do' button Commenting on To-do's If you have detailed instructions that will take up multiple lines and/or if you have files pertaining to the To-do you have created, you can place this information in the comments thread of the To-do in question. This is how you leave a comment: Click on the To-do Click inside the comment field Leave instructions/upload files. (You can upload files via drag and drop or by clicking 'select files from your computer...') Select project members who would like to receive an email notification of your comment. Click the 'Add this comment' button Starting Discussions If you have a question about your site, or an idea you'd like to put forward for feedback, you can start a 'Discussion' in Basecamp. This is how you start a discussion: On your project landing page, click 'Discussion' at the top of the screen. On the Discussion landing page, click the 'Post a new message' button at the top of the screen. Enter the subject, the message, and any files that may be necessary to share in the appropriate fields. Select with whom you would like to share the message with. Click the 'Post this message' button. Thanks for taking the time to review this information. By using Basecamp, we are ensuring the efficient completion of your project. If you have any questions, please ask Aaron Lopez on Basecamp. If you don't have a project set up, you can contact us directly. You can also review http://basecamp.com/help In Person Print 1146 Rate this article: No rating Dylan LopezDylan Lopez Other posts by Dylan Lopez Contact author