Content Types

In this module, you will learn how to manage Content Types in Optimizely Content Management System (CMS) PaaS. Content types define the structure and behavior of different content elements, such as pages and blocks, by specifying their properties and settings. They form the foundation of your website’s content architecture and determine how editors create and display content. You will also explore how to view, filter, and configure content types from the CMS admin view, manage permissions, and reset changes to maintain consistency with definitions made in code.

This module is designed for CMS administrators and developers who want to understand how content types function within Optimizely Content Management System (CMS).

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

• Understand the concept and purpose of content types in Optimizely CMS.
• Identify and configure properties for different content types.
• Filter, view, and modify content type settings from the CMS admin view.
• Define child content types and control what can be created under specific pages.
• Manage permissions to control who can create specific types of content.

Content Types and Properties

For a content type, you define properties that hold information such as links to images, web pages, or editorial text. A typical website contains a set of content types that match the identified functions required on that website.

The content type acts as the foundation for creating one or many page or block instances. Each page type or block type and its properties must be mapped to the corresponding rendering to display the content to visitors.

The content concept in Optimizely CMS is based on inheritance from a generic content type, which is then used to create specific content types, such as a page type or a media folder. Using this approach, developers can create custom content types when setting up new websites.

You can define page or block types either in code or from the admin view.

• For page types defined in code and for all block types, you can define non-breaking changes of properties in the admin view.
• You will be notified if settings defined in code cannot be changed in the admin view.
• If you modify a page type defined in code, you can reset the changes to the original values defined in code.

Working with Content Types in the CMS

In the Settings view, navigate to Content Types to see all the content parts defined for your CMS.

• You can filter by type, such as Pages, to display only page types created for the website.
• Selecting a page type (e.g., Blog List Page) displays all properties relevant to that specific page type.
• You can view available groups, settings, metadata, and content tabs that apply to the selected content type.

Under Content Type Setup, you can also:

• View details such as whether the content type is from code and when it was updated.
• See default values assigned to the content type.
• View and configure child content types to define what content can be created under a specific page.
• Example: To allow a Budgeting Page under a Blog List Page, select it and save.
• You can set All to allow any content type or None to restrict child content creation.

Managing Permissions for Content Types

You can define permissions to control which users or groups can create specific types of content.

By default, permissions are set to Everyone. You can:

• Add specific users or groups (e.g., only members of the Creators group can create content of a particular type).
• Remove the Everyone option for stricter control.

This is useful for organizations with strict content governance, such as legal firms, where only authorized users should create content in specific areas.

To see a walkthrough of how to view and manage content types, watch the demo video here: