Overview

Optimizely CMS (SaaS) is a versatile headless content management system (CMS) that lets you manage and distribute content across multiple platforms. By separating content management from the presentation layer, you can deliver rich digital experiences on any device or platform. CMS (SaaS) provides the flexibility and scalability needed to meet diverse business requirements.

Features overview

CMS (SaaS) features an interactive UI where you can author content and view a live preview using Optimizely's Visual Builder. Additionally, CMS (SaaS) offers a REST API for configuring your instances and Optimizely Graph to easily retrieve content. Managing content in CMS (SaaS) lets you focus on delivering business value on the front end.

Key tools

• Visual Builder – Provides an intuitive, drag-and-drop interface where you can create and organize content with real-time previews.
• REST API – Lets developers programmatically configure CMS instances, set up content types, and manage other resources.
• Optimizely Graph – Facilitates efficient content retrieval across platforms for consistent, structured digital experiences.

Content

Content in CMS (SaaS) can be

• simple or complex as needed, from basic text blocks to intricate page layouts.
• flexible, allowing for text, images, videos, and custom components tailored to your needs.
• organized using content types and properties that define structure and presentation.

Headless

Headless refers to a system architecture where the back end and front end of an application are separated. This lets each part of the application operate independently. You can easily adapt CMSs to headless architectures by separating the presentation layer(front end) from the content (back end).

Advantages of going headless

• Scalability – Configure multiple websites and applications without affecting the functionality of your current sites.
• Enhanced security – Separate the content from the presentation layer to reduce vulnerability to potential attacks.
• Future-proofing – Maintain a flexible architecture that lets your website or app adapt to technological changes.
• Fast speed – Achieve faster load times and greater stability with headless platforms.
• Customization – Customize both the front and back ends of your app for tailored experiences.

Workflow overview

In CMS (SaaS), different user roles such as developers, content managers, and content administrators have specific tasks tailored to their expertise. For detailed insights into these roles, see CMS users and related tasks.

📘

Note

Before beginning with CMS (SaaS), review the Glossary and Frequently asked questions.

Developers

Developers are tasked with configuring CMS (SaaS) and typically follow an iterative workflow following three stages:

1. Plan content – Developers architect the structure of the content in a platform-agnostic way. They use the CMS (SaaS) REST API or the configuration UI to create content types in CMS (SaaS) that map to base types in Optimizely Graph.
2. Build content – Developers define and construct content based on the content model previously created during the plan stage. They can configure display templates to create styles to design the visual aspects of the experiences.
3. Render content – Developers use Optimizely Graph to retrieve and render the content.

Content managers

Content managers Create content and Manage content through the Visual Builder. They also control assets in CMS (SaaS), which include media files, images, documents, and blocks.

Content administrators

Content administrators configure system settings from the administration user interface. They manage search, languages, personalization, and user access. Administrators usually have extended access rights compared to other user groups and can access all parts of the Optimizely platform. They may also have administration access to integrated third-party systems.