Overview of CMS (SaaS)

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

Headless architecture

Headless architecture separates the back end of an application from the front end. This lets each part of the application operate independently. You can adapt CMSs to headless architectures by separating the presentation layer (front end) from the content (back end).

The advantages of going headless are as follows:

• 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.
• Speed – Achieve faster load times and greater stability with headless platforms.
• Customization – Customize the front and back ends of your app for tailored experiences.

Features of CMS (SaaS)

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

The key tools in CMS (SaaS) are as follows:

• 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.

Platform updates

Ring deployments give you control over when your environments receive CMS (SaaS) platform releases. Each account is assigned to a ring by default, and each release advances to the next ring only after passing validation. Accounts in later rings benefit from a natural buffer: by the time a release reaches production, it has already been validated in earlier rings.

Deployment rings

Four rollout rings determine when platform releases reach your environments:

• Canary – Internal Optimizely accounts only. Optimizely uses this ring for internal testing and validation.
• Early Adopter – Access new features and updates before most customers. Trial accounts are automatically assigned to this ring.
• Main – The default ring for most customer accounts. Releases arrive after validation in earlier rings.
• Conservative – For risk-averse production workloads. Updates arrive after validation in all earlier rings.

Ring placement

Each account contains one or more projects, and each project contains three environments (two for testing and one for production). By default, all projects within an account share the account's ring, and all environments within a project share the project's ring. You can assign different projects or environments to different rings to balance stability and early access. For example, keep production in the Main ring for maximum stability, and move staging to the Early Adopter ring for earlier validation.

To change your ring assignment, contact Optimizely support.

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Warning

If you place lower environments and production in separate rings, the export and import tool breaks your implementation when you export from a newer-ring environment to an older-ring environment.

Content in CMS (SaaS)

CMS (SaaS) content has these characteristics:

• Simple or complex – Ranges from basic text blocks to intricate page layouts.
• Flexible – Supports text, images, videos, and custom components tailored to your needs.
• Organized – Uses content types and properties that define structure and presentation.

Workflow roles in CMS (SaaS)

In CMS (SaaS), roles such as content managers, content administrators, and developers have tasks specific to their expertise. See CMS users and related tasks.

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Note

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

Content managers

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

Content administrators

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

Developers

Developers configure CMS (SaaS) and typically follow a three-stage iterative workflow:

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.

Self-training

See CMS (SaaS) courses at Optimizely Academy for self-paced training.