Everything You Need to
Use This Platform
Whether you are a client booking your first consultation, or an admin managing the entire operation — this guide walks you through every feature, step by step.
What is Balubuild Connect?
Balubuild Connect is the official online platform of Balubuild Projects Nigeria Limited. It allows clients to browse services, explore completed projects, book consultations, and track active construction or renovation projects — all in one place, from any device.
Administrators use the same platform to receive and manage booking requests — approving, rescheduling, or cancelling them with a single click.
Who Does What?
There are two types of users on Balubuild Connect:
| Feature | Client | Admin |
|---|---|---|
| Browse services & projects | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Create an account | ✅ Yes | Account created via setup |
| Book a consultation | ✅ Yes | ❌ Not applicable |
| View personal booking history | ✅ In My Dashboard | ❌ Not applicable |
| Track active project progress | ✅ In My Dashboard | ❌ Not applicable |
| Approve or cancel bookings | ❌ No | ✅ In Admin Panel |
| Add notes to bookings | ❌ No | ✅ Visible to client |
| See all client bookings | ❌ No | ✅ In Admin Panel |
| "Book Consultation" button visible | ✅ Yes | ❌ Hidden for admins |
Creating an Account
You need an account to book consultations and view your booking history. Creating one is free and takes under a minute.
Click "Sign In" in the top navigation bar
Located in the top-right corner of every page on the website.
Switch to the "Create Account" tab
The Sign In popup has two tabs — click Create Account.
Fill in your details
Enter your first name, last name, email address, phone number, and a password of at least 8 characters.
Accept the Terms of Service
Tick the checkbox to agree to the Terms of Service.
Click "Create Account"
You are immediately logged in. The navigation bar updates to show your name, a My Bookings button, and a Book Consultation button.
Exploring the Website
The website is divided into clearly labelled sections accessible from the navigation bar at the top.
| Section | What You Will Find |
|---|---|
| Services | Overview of all 6 services: Building Construction, Renovation, Interior Design, Landscaping, Furniture Specification, and Post-Construction Cleaning. Click "Explore →" on any card for more. |
| Projects | Portfolio of completed and ongoing projects. Use the filter buttons — All, Construction, Renovation, Interior, Landscape — to narrow results. Hover over any card to see project details. |
| Catalog | Remodeling inspiration by room type (Living Room, Kitchen, Exterior, Bedroom). Click Get This Look on any card to open the booking form. |
| About | Company story, values, and why Balubuild has earned its reputation over 12 years. |
| Project Tracker | A live example of the project tracking widget. Sign in to see your real active projects. |
Booking a Consultation
A consultation is a free initial inspection at your property — the first step before any project begins. Here is how to book one.
How to Start a Booking
You can start a booking from three places:
- Click "Book Consultation" in the top navigation bar
- Click "Schedule Inspection" in the hero section on the home page
- Click "Get This Look" on any catalog card
The 4-Step Booking Process
Select your service type
Choose one of the six services: Building Construction, Renovation, Interior Design, Landscaping, Furniture Specification, or Post-Construction Cleaning. Then click Continue.
Enter your project details
Fill in your full name, phone number, email address, property address (where the inspection will take place), and a brief description of what you need. Then click Continue.
Choose a date and time
Select any available date from the calendar. Only weekdays are available — weekends and past dates are disabled automatically. Then pick a time slot. Click Continue.
Review and confirm
Check your booking summary — service, date, and time. If everything looks correct, click Confirm Booking. You will receive a booking reference number (e.g. BLB-0001).
Your Dashboard
Your personal dashboard shows all your bookings and any active construction or renovation projects assigned to your account.
How to Access Your Dashboard
Sign in to your account
Click "Sign In" in the nav bar and enter your email and password.
Click "My Bookings" in the nav bar
After signing in, a My Bookings button appears in the top navigation bar. Click it.
You are now in your dashboard
Your dashboard shows two sections: Active Projects at the top, and My Bookings below.
What You Can See in Your Dashboard
| Section | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Active Projects | Any construction or renovation projects currently being managed for you. Shows a progress bar (% complete), milestones (Foundation, Roofing, Interior, etc.), and each milestone's status. |
| My Bookings | All consultations you have booked. Shows the reference number, service, date, time, status, and any note the admin has left for you. |
Understanding Booking Statuses
Each booking has a coloured status badge. Here is what each one means and what you should do.
| Status | Meaning | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Pending | Your booking has been received and is waiting for admin review. | Nothing — wait for the admin to respond, usually within 24 hours. |
| Confirmed | Your inspection has been approved. | Prepare for the site visit on the date you selected. Check the Admin Note for any instructions. |
| Rescheduled | The admin has changed the inspection date. | Check the Admin Note column for the new date or reason. You may need to rebook. |
| Cancelled | Your booking has been declined. | Check the Admin Note for the reason. You can book again at any time. |
| Completed | The inspection has taken place. | A Balubuild team member will contact you about next steps. |
First Time Setup
Before the platform can be used, you need to complete a one-time setup. This takes about 3 minutes and involves three things: checking the server, connecting the database, and creating the admin account.
http://localhost/YourFolderName/setup_admin.phpThe setup wizard guides you through everything automatically — system checks, database connection, and admin account creation — with instructions shown at each step. You do not need to edit any files manually.
Manual Setup (if needed)
Extract the ZIP and place in Laragon
Unzip the downloaded project and place the folder in C:\laragon\www\. You can name the folder anything, e.g. Balubuild.
Start Laragon
Open Laragon and click Start All. Both Apache (web server) and MySQL (database) should show green lights.
Create the database in HeidiSQL
Open HeidiSQL from the Laragon menu. Right-click in the sidebar → Create new → Database. Name it exactly balubuild_connect.
Import database.sql
Select the balubuild_connect database. Click File → Run SQL file → select database.sql from your project folder → click Execute (F9).
Open the website
Go to http://localhost/Balubuild/ in your browser. The site should load with images visible.
Run setup_admin.php to create the admin account
Visit http://localhost/Balubuild/setup_admin.php. Complete the 4-step wizard. Then delete setup_admin.php from your project folder immediately after.
The Admin Panel
The admin panel is where all consultation bookings are managed. It is only accessible to users with the admin role.
How to Access the Admin Panel
Go to the login page
Visit http://localhost/YourFolder/login.php or click Sign In on the main website.
Sign in with admin credentials
Enter the email and password you created during setup.
Click "Admin Panel"
After signing in, your nav bar shows Admin Panel and Sign Out — no booking buttons. Click Admin Panel.
What You See in the Admin Panel
At the top of the admin panel are four summary cards:
| Card | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Pending Bookings | How many bookings are waiting for your action right now. |
| Confirmed | How many approved upcoming consultations are scheduled. |
| Active Projects | How many construction projects are currently in progress. |
| Registered Clients | Total number of client accounts on the platform. |
Below the cards is the full booking table — the most recent 30 bookings, sorted newest first. Each row shows: booking reference, client name and email, service requested, inspection date, current status, and an Update button.
Managing Bookings
When a client submits a booking, it arrives as Pending. Your job is to review it and update the status.
How to Update a Booking
Find the booking in the table
Look for the booking you want to update. Pending bookings (in orange) need your attention. The most recent are at the top.
Click "Update"
The Update button is on the right side of every booking row.
Choose a new status
A popup appears with four options: Confirmed, Rescheduled, Cancelled, Completed. Choose the appropriate one.
Add a note (optional but recommended)
Type a message in the Notes field. This message is displayed to the client in their dashboard under "Admin Note". For example: "Please bring property ownership documents" or "Rescheduled — new date is 15 July."
Click "Save Changes"
The status is updated immediately. The client sees the change in their dashboard within 30 seconds without needing to reload.
Which Status to Use — Decision Guide
| Situation | Status to Use | Suggested Note |
|---|---|---|
| Booking looks valid, date works for your team | Confirmed | "Our team will contact you the day before the inspection." |
| Date requested is not available for your engineer | Rescheduled | "We are unavailable on that date. Please rebook for [new date]." |
| Property is outside your service area | Cancelled | "Sorry, this location is outside our current service coverage." |
| Client did not respond to follow-up calls | Cancelled | "No response received. Please rebook when you are ready." |
| Physical inspection has taken place | Completed | "Thank you — our team will be in touch with next steps." |
File Structure
This is what the project folder looks like and what each file does.
├── index.html ← Main website (HTML + CSS + JS in one file)
├── index.php ← Redirects Laragon to index.html
├── login.php ← Sign in page for clients and admin
├── register.php ← Account creation page
├── setup_admin.php ← First-time setup wizard (delete after use)
├── guide.html ← This guide
├── config.php ← Database settings (edit DB credentials here)
├── database.sql ← Import once in HeidiSQL to create all tables
├── .htaccess ← Apache rules
├── img/ ← 15 local image files (hero, projects, catalog, about)
├── api/
│ ├── register.php ← Handles account creation
│ ├── login.php ← Handles sign-in
│ ├── logout.php ← Destroys session, redirects home
│ ├── book.php ← Saves consultation bookings
│ └── me.php ← Returns logged-in user's data
├── includes/
│ ├── boot.php ← Shared setup for all API files
│ ├── db.php ← Database connection helper
│ └── auth.php ← Session, login, register, role checking
├── admin/
│ └── dashboard.php ← Admin panel (approve/cancel bookings)
└── dashboard/
└── index.php ← Client portal (bookings + project tracker)
Troubleshooting
Common problems and how to fix them.
index.html. The folder must be named exactly img in lowercase.http://localhost/... address — not by double-clicking index.html directly in Windows Explorer. The file:// protocol blocks the JavaScript from working correctly.database.sql into HeidiSQL. If you see a specific error about the database, open config.php and verify DB_NAME, DB_USER, and DB_PASS match your Laragon setup.setup_admin.php. Client accounts cannot access the admin panel.api/logout.php) is visited directly in the browser in a way that bypasses normal flow. Make sure you are always navigating through the correct pages. If you see JSON on the logout page, it means you followed an old direct link — update your bookmarks to use /login.php instead.setup_admin.php to your project folder (copy it back from the ZIP). Visit http://localhost/YourFolder/setup_admin.php. Complete the setup again with a new password — it will update the existing admin account. Then delete setup_admin.php again immediately.C:\laragon\www\. The URLs auto-detect the folder name — no config changes are needed. For example, renaming to BalubuildNG means the site will be at http://localhost/BalubuildNG/.Quick Reference
Keep these handy for day-to-day use.
Client Key Pages
- Home page —
index.html - Sign In —
login.php - Register —
register.php - My Bookings —
dashboard/index.php
Admin Key Pages
- Sign In —
login.php - Admin Panel —
admin/dashboard.php - Setup (once) —
setup_admin.php - This Guide —
guide.html
Client Actions
- Book a consultation → "Book Consultation" button
- View bookings → Sign in → "My Bookings"
- Track project → My Bookings dashboard
- Sign out → "Sign Out" in the nav
Admin Actions
- Approve booking → Admin Panel → Update → Confirmed
- Cancel booking → Admin Panel → Update → Cancelled
- Reschedule → Admin Panel → Update → Rescheduled + note
- Message client → Add text in the Notes field
📍 Abuja, FCT, Nigeria · 📞 +234 800 BALUBUILD · ✉️ hello@balubuild.ng · 🕐 Mon–Sat, 8am–6pm