Step 2: Creating

A step by step guide to creating your first Turtl Doc

What's in this section?

Creation basics:

Before we jump in...

Through this chapter, you'll find overviews in these blue boxes, short video walkthroughs on the right, and tips to take your skills to the next level marked with ⭐️.

Get started...

Step 1.

Log into your Turtl account.

Step 2.

Go to the workspace where your Doc will be stored. Click the purple 'Create New' button in the top right-hand corner.

Step 3.

Give your Doc a name and select 'blank' or the appropriate template to start with.

How to set up a new Doc

Creating Surf pages ➜

2. Creating Surf pages

Surf page

noun

A page that introduces a section of content using large visuals. This page usually contains a ‘Read On’ button which takes your reader to the corresponding Immerse pages.

Get started...

Step 1.

Enter your heading and subheading using the right-hand menu.

Step 2.

Choose a high-quality image to upload. Your first Surf page is the cover of your Doc, so this should be striking and eye-catching.

Step 3.

Choose a heading style and position, and select your color theme. Repeat for your subsequent chapters.

How to create Surf pages

⭐ Level up

Read our blog here to learn best practices for Surf pages.

Creating Immerse pages ➜

3. Creating Immerse pages

Immerse page

noun

Immerse pages sit under your Surf pages and contain your content. You navigate from a Surf page to an Immerse page by clicking the 'Read On' button on a Surf page.

Get started...

Step 1.

Select the 'Immerse' tab in the editor, and click 'Edit content'.

Step 2.

Paste or type your text into the left-hand side of the editor. You'll see your content appear on the preview page on the right.

Step 3.

Start formatting your text and pinning images to bring your content to life.

How to create Immerse pages

⭐ Level up

Click here to learn about best practices for Immerse pages.

Using Immerse page widgets ➜

4. Adding interactive widgets

Widget

noun

Static or interactive element that can be added to an Immerse page, such as images, videos, polls, and quotes.

Get started...

Step 1.

Place your cursor at the point in your copy where you'd like to add an interactive widget.

Step 2.

Choose an interactive widget from the menu on the left-hand side and add in the required details. Your widget will appear within the page preview.

Step 3.

Hover over the element in the page preview and pin it to the page. From there, you can resize and move the widget to create your desired layout.

How to add widgets

⭐ Level up

Layer widgets on top of one another to create dynamic layouts, find out how here.

Checking mobile view ➜

5. Checking mobile view

Mobile view

noun

The way your Turtl Doc looks on mobile. Access this view by clicking the mobile icon in the top right-hand corner of the editor.

Get started...

Step 1.

In the Immerse editor, click the mobile icon next to 'Save'.

Step 2.

Reorder your content for mobile by hovering over an element in the left-hand editor and using the arrow icon to drag and drop your widgets into place.

Step 3.

Need to hide elements on mobile? Click on a widget, go to settings, and click 'mobile'. Choose 'hide' from the drop-down to show the widget on desktop mode but not mobile.

Adjusting mobile view

⭐ Level up

Optimize your Doc for mobile viewers by following our tips here.

Advanced Doc design ➜

6. Advanced Doc design

What next?

That's it - you've now learned the creation basics! But there are plenty of ways to take your content to the next level. Our guides on the right step through ways you can level up your Surf and Immerse page design.

Layout inspiration

Bold, minimalist, and editorial layout ideas for your content.

Using white space

How to use blank space to spruce up your layouts, with examples and walkthroughs.

⭐️ Level up

Want to advance your editor skills with a Turtl expert? Get in touch.

Keyboard shortcuts ➜

7. Keyboard shortcuts

Speed up your content creation

Using shortcuts while editing your Docs can help improve the speed and accuracy of your work. Use these shortcuts for your text editing.

Other resources:

Adjusting letter spacing

Image and video keyboard shortcuts ➜

The basics

Cut	Ctrl/Cmd+X
Copy	Ctrl/Cmd+C
Paste	Ctrl/Cmd+V
Undo	Ctrl/Cmd+Z, Cmd+shift+Z
Redo	Ctrl/Cmd+Y

Text editing

Bold	Ctrl/Cmd+B
Italics	Ctrl/Cmd+I
Underline	Ctrl/Cmd+U
New paragraph	Enter (return)
Line break	Shift + enter
Delete word	Ctrl/Alt+backspace

7. Keyboard shortcuts cont.

Image and video editing

Shift Immerse image or video focal point: When an image is uploaded to an Immerse page, it automatically snaps to the column. In some cases, you might want to adjust the focal point of the image so the subject (e.g. a person) is clear.	Hover over the image preview and select Alt+click+drag
Link image	Crtl/Cmd+L, Ctrl/Cmd+K

SEO in Turtl ➜

8. Optimising for search engines

Why SEO is a big deal

Optimizing your Docs for search engines is the way that you make sure your content is seen by as many people as possible. Flick through the guide to find out how to make your Turtl Docs SEO-friendly.

In the guide:

How to make sure your Docs are found by search engines
Steps to ensure your Docs are indexed efficiently
Boosting your rankings in the SERPs
Five SEO-boosters to check before you click publish

Ready to publish? Let's jump in ➜