First-Time User Walkthrough

1. Create Your Account

1. Go to the TrackForge website.
2. Click Join in the top navigation.
3. Enter your name, email address, artist handle, and password.
4. Submit the registration form.
5. Check your email inbox for a verification message from TrackForge.
6. Click the email verification link before attempting to log in.

Important: You must verify your email address before you can access your account.

Expected Result: Your account is created, and your email address is verified successfully.

2. Log In

1. Click Login in the top navigation.
2. Enter your email address and password.
3. Submit the login form.

If your email has not been verified, TrackForge will ask you to verify your email before continuing.

After logging in, you will see the main account navigation:

• Profile
• Messages
• Dashboard
• Upload

Expected Result: You are signed in and can access your creator tools.

3. Complete Your Artist Profile

1. Open Profile or Settings.
2. Update your artist information.
3. Save your changes.
4. Open your public artist page to confirm your profile appears correctly.

Profile information can include:

• Display name
• Artist handle
• Bio
• Profile image or avatar
• Social links
• Public profile information

Tip: A complete profile helps listeners understand who you are and makes your artist page feel more trustworthy.

Expected Result: Your public artist profile displays your updated information.

4. Upload Your First Song

1. Click Upload in the navigation.
2. Select your audio file.
3. Enter the required song details.
4. Optionally upload cover art.
5. If you do not have any albums yet, enter a new album name when prompted.
6. Start the upload.
7. Wait for the progress bar to reach 100%.

Song details include:

• Song title
• Description
• Genre
• Visibility
• Rights/Copyright information

Important: Do not close, refresh, or leave the upload page while the upload is in progress.

After the upload completes, TrackForge redirects you to the Dashboard. If you did not upload cover art, you may see an option on the Dashboard to generate a cover image.

Expected Result: Your song is uploaded successfully and appears in your Dashboard.

5. Use Your Dashboard

The Dashboard is your main creator workspace.

From the Dashboard, you can:

• View uploaded songs
• Edit song metadata
• Generate missing cover art
• Review album and artwork status
• Access monetization features, if available
• Access creator tools

Expected Result: You can manage your uploaded music and review missing information from one place.

6. Play Music

You can discover and play music from several areas of TrackForge:

• Discover
• Trending
• Artist pages
• Track pages

When you play a song, the Bottom Player appears with controls for:

• Play/Pause
• Skip
• Volume
• Like
• Open track page
• Open artist page
• Add to playlists

Expected Result: Music plays through the Bottom Player, and you can navigate to related track or artist pages from the player.

7. Like Songs and Artists

1. Open a song or artist page.
2. Click Like.
3. After liking, the button changes to Unlike.
4. Click Unlike if you want to remove your like later.

Likes help support artists and improve engagement across TrackForge.

Expected Result: The Like button updates immediately and accurately reflects your current like status.

8. Create and Manage Playlists

1. Open a song or use the playlist option from the player.
2. Add the song to an existing playlist.
3. Create a new playlist if needed.
4. Manage playlists from your library or profile area where available.

Expected Result: Songs are saved into your selected playlist and can be managed later.

9. Follow and Message Artists

1. Visit an artist page.
2. Follow or like the artist if you want to keep up with their activity.
3. Send a direct message when messaging is available.
4. Artists can view received messages through Messages.

Expected Result: You can connect with artists and send messages through the platform when available.

10. Check Notifications

1. Click the notification bell in the navigation.
2. Review your notifications.
3. Click a notification to open the related page.
4. Mark notifications as read when finished.

Notifications may include:

• New messages
• Song likes
• New releases from followed artists

Expected Result: You can stay updated on account activity, artist interactions, and new releases.

11. Report Content

1. Open the track page for the content you want to report.
2. Find the report section.
3. Select a reason for the report.
4. Add details if needed.
5. Submit the report.

Reports are sent to moderation for review.

Expected Result: Your report is submitted for review by the moderation team.

12. Manage Account Settings

1. Open Settings.
2. Update your profile, account, or security settings.
3. Save your changes.

Warning: Account deletion may be permanent. Only use the delete account option if you are certain you want to remove your account.

Expected Result: Your account settings are updated and saved successfully.

13. Get Help

1. Open the Support chat in the bottom-right corner of the website.
2. Select the topic that best matches your issue.
3. Follow the suggested troubleshooting steps.
4. If the chatbot cannot resolve the issue, submit a support ticket.

For upload issues, include:

• File type
• File size
• Browser and device
• Exact error message
• What happened with the upload progress bar

Expected Result: You receive guided help or submit enough information for support to investigate the issue.