Define content types
In Optimizely Content Management System (CMS) (SaaS), a content type defines the characteristics and data model schema of a content item. It serves as the foundation for creating experiences, pages, or block instances by specifying properties that hold information, such as links to images, web pages, or editorial text. A typical application utilizes a set of content types tailored to its functional needs.
Note Before working with content types, you must understand how Visual Builder works.
Visual Builder is the editor interface in CMS (SaaS) that makes content creation and layout building intuitive.
- Content creators can design, modify, and reuse layout templates directly in the UI and create adaptable experiences for any channel without developer involvement.
- Front-end developers can set design template (style) options for the content creators to choose the style of the created content while adhering to brand guidelines.
Content types
- must be mapped to their corresponding renderings to display content to visitors in Visual Builder.
- often support the localization of data.
- include a lifecycle feature to help manage publishing.
- are registered in a corresponding graph schema within Optimizely Graph.
Content types
A content type refers to a specific type of content object within CMS (SaaS), such as a page, block, or media type. It defines the structure and properties of that content, including fields and settings that are unique to that type. For example, an image content type might include properties for file extension and dimensions.
The main models for content types are the following:
- Page Type – Content that you can display with a template and unique URL, used to represent a webpage on your application.
- Block Type – A component that makes up a portion of a web page. It is reusable content you can display with a template, and it does not have a URL. A block type is enabled at either the section or element level within Visual Builder.
- Media types – Any file you want to load into CMS (SaaS).
- Images – Example file types: .jpg, .png, .webp, .svg, .gif, .tiff, and so on.
- Video – Example file types: .mp4, .avi, .mov, .wmv, .webm, .mkv, .ogg, and so on.
- Media – Every other file type such as .pdf, .docx, .mp3, .zip, .iso, .ttf, .js, .css, and so on.
- Experience type – Extension of the page type, enhanced to work with Visual Builder.
- Section type – Helps organize your content in an experience type in Visual Builder.
Note You cannot create a section type in the Create New drop-down list like other content types. CMS (SaaS) provides it by default to help organize your content in an experience type in the Visual Builder.
Base type
The content type has a specific type, known as the base type. Each base type comes with characteristics such as how a content manager manages an instance of the content type.
A base type is a more general classification that groups similar content types together. It serves as a foundational category from which specific content types inherit common properties and behaviors. For instance, all blocks might share a base type, and all pages might share another base type. This permits common settings and templates to be applied across all content types within that base type.
Note You cannot change the base type after you create the content type.
Base types available in CMS (SaaS) are the following:
- _component (block) – A generic content type used as a field on other content items or as a standalone item. It supports multiple locale branches. Content administrators can select Available for composition in Visual Builder in the component's Settings page to enable components to be used within Visual Builder at the section and element level. See Create a block.
- _page – Represents a web page. Each content instance is unique. It supports multiple locale branches. You cannot model this field type as fields on other content types.
- _media – Represents content with associated binary data, a generic content type for binary data. Content instances based on media do not support multiple locale branches.
- _image – Used to store image binary data. Does not support multiple locale branches.
- _video – Used to store video binary data. Does not support multiple locale branches.
- _folder – Used to organize other content. Does not support multiple versions or multiple locale branches.
- _experience – Represents an experience. Each content instance is unique, supports multiple branches, and cannot be used as a field on other content types. Can contain a dynamic layout similar to a content area with nested blocks, but instead made up of sections and elements.
- _section – Represents a section, part of an experience through its layout field. Each instance is unique, supports multiple branches, and cannot be used as fields on other content types. It can contain a dynamic layout like an experience with the difference that it only can contain elements.
- _element – Represents an element, a component used within sections in Visual Builder compositions.
Standard fields
Every content type comes with many built-in, standard fields that describe the behavior of content items of that content type. These fields help define the structure and attributes of the content.
- key – The unique identifier of a content type used in the API.
- displayName – A user-friendly name for the content type used, such as in the UI for editors.
- description – A description of the content type used, such as in the UI for editors.
- baseType – The base type of the content type.
- sortOrder – A relative index used in some listings to define the order of content types.
- mayContainTypes – A list of content types that you can create under content items of the content type. It can be a content type key or the name of a base type.
- compositionBehaviors – Only relevant for block or component types. Defines if the block or component can be used within experiences or sections. Possible values are the following:
- sectionEnabled – The component or block type can be used at the section level within an experience.
- elementEnabled – The component or block type can be used as an element within a section.
- source – A string indicating the source of this content type. It is empty for content types added through the UI and set to _system for built-in content types.
- created – A timestamp indicating when someone created the content type.
- lastModified – A timestamp indicating when someone last modified the content type.
- lastModifiedBy – A string indicating the username of the person that last modified this content type.
Properties
Each content type can have properties that specify the content model. Depending on the property type, you can define different validations and editor settings for the property. Each property should have a unique string-based key within the content type. You can define properties for a content type in a Properties dictionary with the key and the property.
- type – The property's data type. Must be one of the listed in the Data types section.
- format – A reference to a predefined data format, including validation rules, an editor, and editor settings.
- displayName – A user-friendly name for the content type used, such as in the UI for editors.
- description – A description of the content type used, such as in the UI for editors.
- localized – Indicates if the property has a different value for each locale or if the same value should apply to all locales.
- required – Indicates if someone must give a value to the property.
- group – A reference to the group under which this property is organized.
- sortOrder – A relative index used in some listings to define the order of content types.
Note Validation settings have multiple API fields that apply to this property. Which ones are available depend on the data type of the property.
Property formats
The property format on a content type property references a predefined format. The format is preset that defines validation rules, which editor to use, and settings for that editor. A format is associated with a specific data type.
Read more about property format.
Data types
Every content property has a data type.
- string – A string value.
- url – A URL string value.
- boolean – A Boolean value (true, false, or not set).
- integer – A whole number.
- float – A fractional number.
- dateTime – A date and time. The API provides this value as a string formatted according to the extended ISO 8601-1:2019 profile. For example, 2023-09-26T15:47:52Z.
- contentReference – A reference to another content instance. For example cms://content/9696098b6f574cfcb6c977ae38cf0531.
- content – Represents a composition of another content item (inline or referenced).
- link – A data type containing a link.
- richText – A data type containing rich text.
- json – A JSON value for storing arbitrary structured data. Values can be nested up to eight levels.
- component – Represents a composition of another content item of a specific content type (inline only).
- array – A list of values you must specify with the item's data type in the array.
Complex data in CMS (SaaS) is defined using a content type. You can assign the content type to a property with a component or content data type. The content type of a component property is predefined and is the same, while you can assign any content type to a content property unless limited to a specific set.
Validation fields
You can apply validation fields to individual properties. The settings that are available depend on the data type of the property to which it is applied. Validation fields ignore fields that do not apply to the data type.
- maxLength (string, array) – Maximum length of a valid string or array.
- minLength (string) – Minimum character length for string properties.
- pattern (string) – The string must adhere to a regular expression pattern.
- allowedTypes (content, contentReference) – An array of content types that are allowed in the property.
- restrictedTypes (content, contentReference) – An array of content types that are not allowed in this property. It has priority over allowedTypes.
- minimum (integer, float, dateTime) – The property's minimum value. Inclusive.
- maximum (integer, float, dateTime) – The property's maximum value. Inclusive.
- minItems (array) – Minimum number of items allowed in array properties.
- maxItems (array) – Maximum number of items allowed in array properties.
- enum (string, integer, float) – A list of valid possible values for the property.
- indexingType – Controls how the property is indexed in the search engine. Values: disabled, queryable, searchable. If not set, the property uses the default indexing setting of the search engine.
Nesting limits
CMS (SaaS) limits how deeply content can be nested, in the CMS UI and through the REST API. Plan your content types so that the content editors build stays within these limits.
Content | Limit | Message when exceeded |
|---|---|---|
Inline blocks in content areas, component and content properties, arrays of components, and Visual Builder sections | Eight levels | Blocks cannot be nested more than 8 levels deep. |
Visual Builder layouts, counting the section, rows, columns, and elements | Four levels | Composition nodes cannot be nested more than 4 levels deep. |
Values in json properties | Eight levels | JSON cannot be nested more than 8 levels deep. |
REST API request bodies | 64 levels | The request exceeds the maximum allowed JSON nesting depth of 64. |
The following rules apply to the limits:
- Shared content – A shared block or shared section counts as one level. CMS (SaaS) checks the content inside it when you save the shared content itself.
- Existing content – CMS (SaaS) checks the whole content item each time you save it. You cannot save content that is nested deeper than a limit, even after an unrelated edit, until you reduce its nesting, for example by moving part of it into a shared block.
- REST API responses – A request that exceeds a limit returns 400 Bad Request with the path of the field that goes past the limit.