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

# Set up your project

> A detailed walkthrough of every step in the Citd onboarding flow — from entering your store URL to launching your first tracking run.

This guide walks you through every step of the Citd onboarding flow in detail. If you want the short version first, see the [Quickstart](/quickstart).

```mermaid theme={null}
flowchart LR
  S1[Step 1<br/>Project details] --> S2[Step 2<br/>Connect integrations]
  S2 --> S3[Step 3<br/>Analyse store]
  S3 --> S4[Step 4<br/>Review topics]
  S4 --> S5[Step 5<br/>Review prompts]
  S5 --> S6[Step 6<br/>Build workspace]
```

## Why onboarding matters

Onboarding is where Citd learns what your brand sells, which product categories it competes in, and which buyer questions it should track. The topics and prompts you confirm here become the measurement set that drives every metric — [Visibility](/concepts/visibility), rank, share of voice, and more.

Taking a few extra minutes at this stage to clean up the suggested topics and prompts will pay off for every report you look at afterward.

***

## Step 1 — Add project details

<Steps>
  <Step title="Enter your site URL">
    Type your storefront address into the **Site URL** field — for example, `trailpeak.com`. Do not include `https://`; Citd adds it automatically.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Enter your brand name">
    Type the brand name as you want it to appear in your reports and tracked results — for example, "TrailPeak Gear".
  </Step>

  <Step title="Answer the Shopify question">
    Tell Citd whether your store runs on Shopify. Choose **Yes**, **No**, or **Not sure**. If you choose **Yes** or **Not sure**, Citd will scan the site to confirm and show the Shopify connection card in the next step.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set location, language, and time zone">
    Choose the market you primarily sell to. Citd uses this to run tracking queries in the right locale. You can change this later in [Project Settings](/features/project-settings).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Click Next">
    When both the URL and brand name are filled in, the **Next** button activates. Click it to move on.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Info>
  Citd may pre-fill the URL and brand name if it can infer them from your account. Check the pre-filled values before clicking Next.
</Info>

***

## Step 2 — Connect integrations

Both integrations are labeled **Highly Recommended** in the interface. Neither is required to continue — you can click **Skip for now** — but connecting them makes the analysis in the next step significantly better.

See [Connect Shopify & Search Console](/setup/integrations) for the detailed connection steps for each integration.

### What each integration adds

| Integration           | What it unlocks                                                                                                                         |
| --------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Google Search Console | Real search-demand signals flow into prompt suggestions, so the topics and prompts Citd generates match what buyers actually search for |
| Shopify               | Catalog data enriches [Readiness](/features/analysis) scoring; richer product context also improves topic and prompt suggestions        |

<Tip>
  If you are a Shopify merchant who installed Citd from the Shopify App Store, your store access is already connected. You will see "Store access was granted during install" on this step instead of the connection form.
</Tip>

### Continuing without integrations

If you prefer to skip for now, click **Skip for now**. Citd will still analyse your store from the public URL. You can connect integrations at any time from [Project Settings](/features/project-settings).

***

## Step 3 — Analyse your store

Citd scans your storefront automatically as soon as you reach this step. You do not need to do anything.

It reads:

* **Homepage and navigation** — your brand positioning and category structure
* **Product and collection pages** (for Shopify stores) or **offerings and service pages** — what you actually sell
* **Brand story and FAQs** — how you describe yourself and your key claims

The scan generates a brand summary, a suggested list of [Topics](/concepts/topics), and a set of [Prompts](/concepts/prompts) for each topic.

If you connected Google Search Console in the previous step and the initial sync is still running, Citd waits for it to finish before generating topics and prompts. This produces better suggestions.

### If the analysis fails

Click **Retry analysis** to try again. If it fails a second time, click **Set up manually** to proceed to the topics step and build your set by hand.

<Warning>
  Do not close the browser tab while the analysis is running. It runs in the background, but navigating away from the onboarding flow may interrupt the process.
</Warning>

***

## Step 4 — Review topics

Topics are the product areas, use cases, or competitive themes you want Citd to monitor. Good topics match how buyers think about the category, not just how you categorize your catalog.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Read through the suggested topics">
    Citd pre-fills topics based on what it found on your site. For a hiking gear store, you might see topics like "Trail Running Shoes", "Hiking Boots", and "Waterproof Jackets".
  </Step>

  <Step title="Rename any topic that does not match your language">
    Click into any topic name to edit it inline. Use the terms buyers would say, not internal product-code names.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Remove topics that do not apply">
    Custom topics you added have a remove button (×). AI-suggested topics can be renamed; if a topic is completely wrong, rename it to reflect the category you actually want to track.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add any missing topics">
    Use the **Add topic** field at the bottom to add categories that did not appear. Type a name and click **Add**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Click Next">
    You need at least one topic to continue. Once you have a clean list, click **Next**.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Info>
  You can manage topics after onboarding from the [Prompt Workspace](/features/prompts). This step is about getting a reasonable starting set — it does not need to be perfect.
</Info>

***

## Step 5 — Review prompts

[Prompts](/concepts/prompts) are the exact buyer questions Citd submits to AI assistants on your behalf. The prompts you activate here become your initial tracking set.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Browse prompts by topic">
    The topic dropdown at the top of the panel filters the list to one topic at a time. Click through each topic to review its prompts.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Check the prompts you want to track">
    Each prompt has a checkbox. Checked prompts will start **active** after onboarding, meaning they get tracked immediately on the first run.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Stay within the active-prompt limit">
    On the Free plan, up to **5 prompts** can start active during onboarding. The counter in the panel shows your current selection (for example, `3/5`). Prompts you do not activate become **Suggested** — they stay in your workspace and you can activate them later.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Edit any prompt text">
    Click into any prompt text to edit it inline before activating it.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add a custom prompt">
    Use the **Add custom** field at the bottom to add a prompt that Citd did not suggest. It gets added to the currently selected topic.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Click Build workspace">
    Once you have at least one prompt selected, click **Build workspace**. Citd saves your topic and prompt choices and moves to the final step.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Note>
  Any prompts you do not activate now land in the **Suggested** tab of your [Prompt Workspace](/features/prompts). You can activate them at any time after onboarding.
</Note>

***

## Step 6 — Build your workspace

Citd now builds your workspace in the background. You will see four stages complete in sequence:

1. **Syncing brand profile** — saves your brand details and market settings
2. **Locking selected topics** — finalizes your topic set
3. **Preparing prompt monitor** — sets up the active tracking queue
4. **Composing first overview screen** — runs the first [tracking run](/quickstart) so your workspace opens with real data

When all four stages are complete and the progress bar reaches 100%, the **Open prompts** button activates. Click it to go straight to your [Prompt Workspace](/features/prompts).

<Check>
  If the first tracking run fails, a **Retry build** button appears. Click it to try again — it only retries the tracking run, not the whole onboarding flow.
</Check>

***

## Next steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Connect integrations" icon="plug" href="/setup/integrations">
    Connect Shopify or Google Search Console now or after onboarding for richer analysis.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Prompt Workspace" icon="message-square" href="/features/prompts">
    Activate more prompts, add topics, and keep the tracked set clean over time.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Overview" icon="layout-dashboard" href="/features/overview">
    Learn how to read your workspace after the first tracking run completes.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Quickstart" icon="zap" href="/quickstart">
    Read the short version of setup end to end.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>