Problems seeing new components in first template

I'm new to CQ, and have created my first template.  I've been working on adapting some Geometrixx components to make them my own, but I can see them in neither the Sidekick, nor the in Design Mode's edit option. 

The component has:

-dialog node

-componentGroup set

-jcr:primaryType as cq:Component

(which are some things that this forum has shown people to have forgotten.)  I should say that no Components, even defaults, show up in the Sidekick, so there may be more general config issues as well.

Is it absolutely necessray for each component to have each of these properties and child nodes?

http://dev.day.com/docs/en/cq/current/developing/components.html#Properties%20and%20Child% 20Nodes%20of%20a%20Component

Thanks.