Content Management Guides

Task-oriented guides for Optimizely CMS — organized by role. Each guide walks you through a specific task with numbered steps and verification checkpoints.

For content authors

Edit Rich Text Content Format text, add links, insert media, and use keyboard shortcuts in the rich text editor.

Manage Content Versions Track version statuses, compare changes side-by-side, and restore previous versions.

Delete and Restore Content Move content to trash, restore deleted items, and manage permanent deletion.

Collaborate with Comments Add comments, @mention team members, and resolve editorial discussions.

Manage Categories Create categories, assign to content, and filter by category.

Manage Digital Assets Upload, organize, tag, and reuse images, videos, and documents.

Create Forms Build contact forms, surveys, and lead capture forms.

Work with Languages Create translations and manage multilingual content.

Use Projects Group related content changes and publish them together.

Manage Blocks Library Create shared blocks, organize in folders, reuse across pages.

Schedule Publishing Set future publish dates and content expiry.

Visual Builder Basics Drag-and-drop page composition in CMS SaaS.

Using Opal Chat in CMS Generate text, refine content, and create images with AI in the editor.

Edit Multi-Channel Content Headless-only content, multi-channel gadget, and hybrid delivery.

For administrators

Content Reports and Audit Trail Run reports for unpublished, expired, and recently changed content. Track changes with the audit trail.

Export and Import Content Data Export content packages, import between environments, and resolve conflicts.

Convert Between Content Types Convert pages to a different content type with property mapping and bulk conversion.

Configure Properties Display names, validation rules, and editor hints.

Configure Languages Enable languages, set fallback chains, assign permissions.

Manage Projects Set up projects for grouped publishing workflows.

Configure Approval Sequences Multi-step review workflows for content publishing.

Configure Search Set up Graph or Search & Navigation for site visitors.

Manage Integrated Apps Install and configure third-party add-ons.

Set Up A/B Testing CMS-native A/B testing on pages and blocks.

Connect Marketing Automation Route form data and visitor behavior to MA tools.

GEO Analytics Monitor AI-driven traffic with crawl-to-refer ratios and agent analysis.

For developers

Create a Content Type Define content types in C# with properties and attributes.

Define Properties Add and configure properties with validation and editor hints.

Custom Property Types Build a custom property type with backing model and editor.

Custom Editors Create custom editor widgets for content properties.

Initialization Modules Run code at CMS startup to register services and configure settings.

Content Events React to publishing, saving, and deleting content in code.

Custom Rendering Controllers, views, partial rendering, and display channels.

Caching Strategies Output caching, content caching, and cache dependencies.

Deploy CMS PaaS Deploy to Optimizely cloud with CLI and CI/CD.

Plugin Development Create CMS plugins that extend editor functionality.

Search Provider Configuration Replace or extend default search with a custom provider.

Develop Scheduled Jobs Build automated background tasks that run on schedule.

SaaS-specific guides

SaaS Content Types Define and deploy content types in CMS SaaS.

Deploy to CMS SaaS Deploy using CLI tools to CMS SaaS environments.