> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.lekalao.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Getting started

> From an empty installation to the first campaign sent.

This road takes you from a brand new account to a first campaign, in the order Lekalao needs. The dashboard shows a **Next steps** list that ticks itself off as you go.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Create your account">
    On a self-hosted installation, the first person to open `/register` creates the administrator account and the team; everyone after that is invited. On an online offer, each registration creates a team of its own.

    Switch two-factor authentication on straight away, in **Settings → Security**. See [Profile and security](/account/profile-and-security).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add a mailer">
    Lekalao sends nothing itself: it hands e-mails to a provider. Open **Settings → Mailers → Add a mailer**, choose the kind (SMTP, Amazon SES, Postmark, Mailgun, SendGrid, Brevo or Resend), paste the credentials and, when your provider sets a rate, enter it.

    Save, then click **Send a test e-mail**. A mailer that has not passed its test cannot send a campaign.

    <Tip>On Postmark, Mailgun, SendGrid, Brevo and Resend, the **Set it up for me** button also creates the webhook that brings back deliveries, bounces and complaints. See [Mailers](/deliverability/mailers).</Tip>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set the sender and the postal address">
    In **Settings → General**, fill in the default sender address and name, and **your organisation's postal address**. That address is required in every marketing e-mail: Lekalao refuses to send a campaign while it is missing.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Verify your sending domain">
    In **Settings → Deliverability → Add a domain**, give the domain of your sender address and your provider. Lekalao shows the DNS records to create (SPF, DKIM, DMARC, and an optional tracking domain) then checks them. Without them, Gmail and Yahoo put your e-mails in the junk folder, or refuse them. See [Sending domains](/deliverability/domains).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Create a list">
    In **Contacts → New list**, give it a name, choose the list's language and decide about double opt-in. See [Lists](/contacts/lists).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add subscribers">
    Three ways to do it:

    * **Import** a CSV or Excel file from the list's **Imports** tab ([Import and export](/contacts/import-export));
    * put the **subscription form** on your site ([Forms](/contacts/subscription-forms));
    * **Add a subscriber** by hand, or go through the [API](/developers/subscribers).

    <Warning>Only import people who agreed to hear from you. A bought or scraped list brings complaints, bounces and, very soon, a campaign paused by Lekalao.</Warning>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Write your first campaign">
    **Campaigns → New campaign**: a name, the list, an editor. In the **Content** tab, write the subject and the message; the preview keeps up as you type. Two variables are essential:

    ```html theme={null}
    <a href="{{ unsubscribe_url }}">Unsubscribe</a>
    <p>{{ organisation.address }}</p>
    ```

    See [Create a campaign](/campaigns/create) and [Personalisation](/content/personalization).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Test it, then send it">
    **Send a test** to your own inbox, and check how it looks on a phone. In the **Delivery** tab, the summary lists what will go out and what is still missing; then **Send now** or **Schedule**. Follow the figures afterwards in **Statistics**. See [Send a campaign](/campaigns/sending).
  </Step>
</Steps>

## What next

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="An automatic welcome" icon="diagram-project" href="/automations/overview">
    A series of e-mails for every new subscriber.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Invite the team" icon="user-plus" href="/account/team">
    Owners, editors and viewers.
  </Card>

  <Card title="E-mails from your applications" icon="envelope" href="/transactional/overview">
    Order confirmations, password resets…
  </Card>

  <Card title="Wire up your site" icon="plug" href="/developers/introduction">
    Subscribe, tag and report sales through the API.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>