Access Classic CMS from the Admin Console

3 min

Important

Classic CMS reached end-of-life in January 2025 and is no longer receiving feature updates or bug fixes. You should [migrate to Spire CMS](../../End user docs/spire-cms/get-started-with-spire-cms/migrate-from-classic-cms-to-spire-cms.mdx).

While in the Optimizely Configured Commerce Admin Console, you may need to view content changes or product updates or test user permissions on the website. Access Classic CMS from the Admin Console with Site Preview.

Users who want to make full use of Classic CMS must be logged in to the Admin Console with an ISC_ContentAdmin, ISC_ContentEditor, or ISC_ContentApprover role assigned. The user may also want to have customer user credentials available so they can log in to the website.

Note

The CMS shell is only accessible through the Admin Console. Users with the proper roles to modify the CMS must first log in to the Admin Console to access it. This lets content admins and editors log in to the site using any account or remain unauthenticated to provide a unique content experience pertaining to personas, languages, and devices.

Once you launch Classic CMS, log in to the website with a customer user profile. This allows for accurate simulation of the user experience for multiple roles, customers, and personas. CMS capabilities are exposed based on how the user is logged in to the Admin Console, not the website. For example, if the user is logged in to the Admin Console as an ISC_ContentAdmin but impersonates a user who does not have the ability to edit the CMS, the user still sees the CMS tools.

Note

While published CMS pages can be viewed responsively across Mobile, Tablet, and Desktop devices, the CMS editing shell is disabled for Mobile and Tablet. Editing and creation of CMS content is intended to be done on a Desktop.

Access site preview

In the Primary Navigation header, click Site Preview.

Enable the Content Editor by clicking the ON/OFF toggle to show ON. If the website does not need to be modified, only viewed, leave this toggle as OFF.

Select the desired website from the list of available sites.

The website opens in a new browser tab.