Creating your account

# Part 1 — Creating your account

## 1.1 Visit the marketing site

Open the platform's home page. The marketing site has a few public pages you can browse without an account:

- **Home** (`/`) — the welcome page
- **How it works** (`/how-it-works`)
- **Our process** (`/our-process`)
- **Services** (`/services`)
- **Pricing** (`/pricing`)
- **Samples** (`/samples`)
- **FAQ** (`/faq`)
- **About** (`/about`)
- **Contact** (`/contact`)
- **Animated Portraits** (`/animated-portraits`) and its **Ethics** page (`/animated-portraits-ethics`)
- **Family Chronicle** (`/family-chronicle`) — the annual‑edition subscription

When you're ready, click **Create account** in the header (or **Get started** anywhere on the marketing pages).

## 1.2 Fill in the registration form

You'll land on the **Create account** page. The form asks for four things:

1. **Full name** *(optional but recommended — your family will see it on the memorial page and as a reviewer name)*
2. **Email address** *(required — this is your login and how invitations reach you)*
3. **Password** *(required — at least **8 characters**)*
4. **Confirm password** *(must match the password)*

By submitting, you agree to the **Privacy** terms (linked in small text under the button). The button label is **Create account**.

> **Tips for choosing a password:**
> - The form rejects anything shorter than 8 characters.
> - Use a phrase you can remember — e.g. *"two cousins, one summer"* — rather than a single word.
> - There is no "show password" toggle, so type carefully.

If the email is already on file, you'll see "**An account with that email already exists.**" Either sign in instead, or use a different address.

## 1.3 Verify your email

Once registration succeeds, the platform redirects you to a **Check your email** page (`/check-email`). You'll see:

- A confirmation that an email was sent
- The email address it was sent to (in bold so you can double‑check)
- A **Resend confirmation email** button

Open the email from **Roots We Planted** and click the **Confirm my email** button (or the long link below it). The link looks like:

```
https://[your‑site]/verify/[a‑long‑token]
```

The token is single‑use and expires after a short window (typically 24 hours).

When you click it, one of three things happens:

| What you see | What to do |
|---|---|
| You're redirected to the **Sign in** page with a green **"Email confirmed"** indicator. | Sign in with your email + password. |
| You see **"This link has expired"**. | Click **Request a new confirmation email**. A new token is sent. |
| You see **"We couldn't verify this link"**. | Click **Request a new confirmation email** — the link may have been re‑used. |

> **Demo / dev environments:** if SMTP isn't configured, the verification link is logged to the server console instead of being sent. If you're piloting, the team running the pilot will share the link with you directly.

## 1.4 First sign‑in

After your email is verified, go to **`/login`** (or use the **Sign in** link at the top of any marketing page).

The login form asks for:

1. **Email address**
2. **Password**

Click **Sign in**.

> **What happens after sign‑in:** you're redirected to **`/dashboard`** (your project home). The first time, the dashboard will be empty — that's normal. You're about to create your first project.

If you've forgotten your password, click the **Forgot password?** link to start a reset. A reset email is sent to your address with a single‑use link.

---

## Part 2 — Plans and billing

Roots We Planted is a subscription-based service. After creating your account and verifying your email, you'll be prompted to select a plan before creating your first project.

### Available plans

| Plan | Best for |
|------|---------|
| **Free** | Exploring the platform with one project and up to 50 uploaded assets. No credit card required. |
| **Pro** | Unlimited projects, the full AI pipeline, audiobook generation, animated portraits, and archiving. |
| **Enterprise** | Pro features plus dedicated support, custom integrations, and SLA guarantees. Contact us. |

### Subscribing

1. After sign-in, go to **Billing** in your profile menu.
2. Click **Activate Package** to start the checkout flow.
3. Enter your payment details on the secure checkout page.
4. On success you're returned to the dashboard with your plan active.

To cancel or switch plans, visit /subscription/manage.

### The Family Chronicle add-on

The Family Chronicle subscription (at /subscription) is an optional annual or monthly add-on that publishes a new chapter of your family story every year, with automatic memory prompts and continuous archive updates.