Sponsors Management

Overview

The Sponsors Management page allows administrators to create and manage advertising sponsors (also called partners or advertisers) in the ComusThumbz advertising system. Sponsors are organizations or individuals who provide banners and advertising content for the website.

Key Features

• Create and manage sponsor profiles
• Assign categories to sponsors for targeted advertising
• Track banner counts per sponsor
• Track sub-sponsor counts per sponsor
• Set partner types (affiliate, sponsor, advertiser, network)
• Configure banner limits and monthly budgets
• Enable/disable sponsors with active/inactive status

Sponsor Hierarchy

The advertising system uses a hierarchical structure:

Sponsor (Main Partner)
├── Sub-Sponsors (Individual Sites/Properties)
│   └── Banners (Ad Creatives)
└── Banners (Direct ads from main sponsor)

System Requirements

PHP Requirements

Required PHP Extensions

Required PHP Functions

Database Requirements

• MySQL 5.7+ / MariaDB 10.3+
• InnoDB engine for transaction support
• User must have SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE permissions

External Dependencies

Accessing the Page

Navigation Path

1. Log into the admin panel
2. Navigate to Advertising section in the main menu
3. Click Sponsors or Sponsor Management

Direct URL

https://yourdomain.com/ct/admin/sponsorsmanagement.php

Navigation Buttons

The page header includes navigation buttons to related advertising pages:

[Screenshot: Header with navigation buttons showing Sponsors as active]

Page Layout

Header Section

The page header contains:

[Screenshot: Page header with navigation buttons]

Controls Section

Below the header, a control bar provides:

[Screenshot: Controls section with search and add button]

Sponsor Grid

Sponsors are displayed in a responsive card grid layout:

• Desktop: Multiple columns (auto-fill, minimum 350px per card)
• Mobile: Single column layout
• Cards show sponsor details with green left border accent

[Screenshot: Sponsor grid showing multiple sponsor cards]

Sponsor Management

Sponsor Card Layout

Each sponsor card displays:

[Screenshot: Single sponsor card with all elements labeled]

Status Badges

Statistics Display

Each card shows two statistics:

• Banners - Total number of banners assigned to this sponsor
• Sub-Sponsors - Number of sub-sponsors under this sponsor

Adding a New Sponsor

Step 1: Open the Add Modal

Click the green "Add New Sponsor" button in the controls section.

[Screenshot: Add New Sponsor button highlighted]

Step 2: Fill in Sponsor Details

The modal form contains the following fields:

Basic Information

Sponsor Name (Required)

Sponsor Code (Required)

Website URL

Contact Information

Contact Email

Partner Type

Business Details

Banner Limit

Monthly Budget

Payment Processor

Additional Details

Description

Keywords

Status

Step 3: Assign Categories (Optional)

The Categories section allows assigning up to 10 categories to the sponsor:

1. Scroll down to the Categories section
2. Check the boxes next to relevant categories
3. Maximum 10 categories can be selected
4. A warning appears if you exceed the limit

[Screenshot: Categories selection grid in the modal]

Step 4: Save the Sponsor

Click "Save Sponsor" to create the sponsor.

Success Response:

• Modal closes automatically
• Sponsor grid refreshes
• Success notification appears
• New sponsor appears in the grid

Error Response:

• Error message displays
• Form remains open for correction

[Screenshot: Save Sponsor button and Cancel button]

Editing Sponsors

Accessing Edit Mode

1. Find the sponsor card in the grid
2. Click the Edit button (green with pencil icon)

[Screenshot: Edit button on sponsor card]

Edit Modal

The edit modal is identical to the add modal, pre-populated with existing data:

• All fields can be modified
• Category assignments can be updated
• Click Save Sponsor to apply changes

Deleting Sponsors

Delete Process

1. Find the sponsor card
2. Click the Delete button (red with trash icon)
3. Confirm in the popup dialog

Delete Restrictions

The system checks for associated banners before deletion:

If banners exist:
   → Error: "Cannot delete sponsor with active banners"
   → Deletion blocked

If no banners:
→ Sponsor deleted
→ Associated category mappings removed (CASCADE)

Confirmation Dialog

A JavaScript confirmation appears:

"Are you sure you want to delete this sponsor? This action cannot be undone."

[Screenshot: Delete confirmation dialog]

Category Assignment

How Categories Work

Sponsors can be assigned to categories to enable targeted advertising:

• Assigned Categories - Banners show on matching category pages
• No Categories - Banners may show site-wide (depends on configuration)
• Multiple Categories - Enables broader reach

Category Limit

Maximum 10 categories per sponsor.

If you try to select more than 10:

1. The 11th selection is automatically unchecked
2. Warning message appears: "Maximum 10 categories allowed"
3. Warning auto-hides after 3 seconds

[Screenshot: Category limit warning message]

Category Display on Cards

Sponsor cards show category assignments:

• First 3 categories displayed as tags
• Additional categories shown as "+X more"
• Hover or edit to see all categories

Best Practices

Naming Conventions

Sponsor Codes

Organization

1. Group by Partner Type - Use partner types to categorize
2. Accurate Budgets - Track monthly budgets for reporting
3. Regular Review - Deactivate inactive sponsors
4. Category Relevance - Only assign truly relevant categories

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

"Cannot delete sponsor with active banners"

Cause: The sponsor has banners assigned that must be removed first.

Solution:

1. Navigate to Banner Management
2. Filter by this sponsor
3. Delete or reassign banners
4. Return to delete sponsor

Sponsor not appearing after save

Possible Causes:

• Name or code already exists
• Database error
• CSRF token expired

Solutions:

1. Check browser console for errors
2. Refresh the page and try again
3. Use unique sponsor code
4. Check if sponsor code already exists

Categories not loading

Cause: Database connection issue or tblCategories empty.

Solution:

1. Verify database connection
2. Check if categories exist in system
3. Ensure categories have hide = 0

Search not working

Cause: JavaScript error or AJAX failure.

Solution:

1. Refresh the page
2. Check browser console for errors
3. Verify server is responding

Database Queries for Debugging

Check Sponsor Exists

SELECT id, name, sponsorcode, active
FROM tblSponsors
WHERE name LIKE '%searchterm%'
   OR sponsorcode LIKE '%searchterm%';

Count Banners by Sponsor

SELECT s.name, s.sponsorcode, COUNT(b.id) as bannercount
FROM tblSponsors s
LEFT JOIN tblBannerAssets b ON s.id = b.sponsorid
GROUP BY s.id
ORDER BY bannercount DESC;

View Sponsor Categories

SELECT s.name as sponsor, c.Category
FROM tblSponsorCategories sc
JOIN tblSponsors s ON sc.sponsorid = s.id
JOIN tblCategories c ON sc.categoryid = c.id
ORDER BY s.name, c.Category;

Translatable Strings

The following strings should be added to backendtranslations.md for internationalization:

Page Title and Navigation

sponsorsmanagementtitle = "Sponsor Management"
sponsorsmanagementsubtitle = "Manage sponsors, categories, and partner relationships"
breadcrumbsponsors = "Sponsor Management"

Buttons and Actions

btnaddsponsor = "Add New Sponsor"
btnsavesponsor = "Save Sponsor"
btnedit = "Edit"
btndelete = "Delete"
btncancel = "Cancel"

Form Labels

labelsponsorname = "Sponsor Name"
labelsponsorcode = "Sponsor Code"
labelwebsiteurl = "Website URL"
labelcontactemail = "Contact Email"
labelpartnertype = "Partner Type"
labelbannerlimit = "Banner Limit"
labelmonthlybudget = "Monthly Budget ($)"
labelpaymentprocessor = "Payment Processor"
labeldescription = "Description"
labelkeywords = "Keywords"
labelstatus = "Status"
labelcategories = "Categories"

Partner Types

partnertypeaffiliate = "Affiliate"
partnertypesponsor = "Sponsor"
partnertypeadvertiser = "Advertiser"
partnertypenetwork = "Network"

Status Options

statusactive = "Active"
statusinactive = "Inactive"

Card Labels

statbanners = "Banners"
statsubsponsors = "Sub-Sponsors"

Messages and Notifications

msgsponsorsaved = "Sponsor saved successfully"
msgsponsordeleted = "Sponsor deleted successfully"
msgconfirmdelete = "Are you sure you want to delete this sponsor? This action cannot be undone."
msgnosponsors = "No sponsors found"
msgclickadd = "Click \"Add New Sponsor\" to create your first sponsor."
msgmaxcategories = "Maximum 10 categories allowed"

Error Messages

errornamecoderequired = "Name and sponsor code are required"
errorcannotdeletebanners = "Cannot delete sponsor with active banners"
errorsponsornotfound = "Sponsor not found"
errorloadingsponsors = "Error loading sponsors"
errorsavingsponsor = "Error saving sponsor"
errordeletingsponsor = "Error deleting sponsor"
errorinvalidcsrf = "Invalid CSRF token"

Placeholders

placeholdersearch = "Search sponsors..."
placeholderprocessor = "e.g., PayPal, Stripe, Wire Transfer"
placeholderkeywords = "Comma-separated keywords"
placeholderselecttype = "Select Type"

Section Headers

sectioncategories = "Categories (Select up to 10)"

Navigation Buttons

navsponsors = "Sponsors"
navbanners = "Banners"
navaddbanner = "Add Banner"
navbannerzones = "Banner Zones"
navsubsponsors = "Sub-Sponsors"
navstatistics = "Statistics"

Related Documentation

• Banner Management - Manage banner ads
• Add Banner - Create new banners
• Banner Zones - Manage placement zones
• Sub-Sponsors - Manage sub-sponsors

Changelog

This documentation is part of the ComusThumbz Admin Guide series.