Create and publish content

This guide will help you create new content, upload photos, fill in the necessary fields, and publish your article in the CMS. Additionally, you can create different types of content, such as articles, video stories, obituaries, and horoscopes.

Step-by-Step Guide to Creating Content

1. Accessing the Content Creation Interface

To begin creating new content in your CMS:

Navigate to the ‘Content’ Section: From the main dashboard, on the left-hand side, select the Content option under the Publisher section. This will display a list of all existing content types.
Create a New Content Type: In the upper-right corner, click on the Create Article button. Depending on your needs, you can also choose from other content types like Video Story, Obituary, or Horoscope. After selecting the appropriate content type, you’ll be taken to the content creation form.

2. Editing the Main Article Body

Once you have selected the content type, the next step is to create the actual content using the text editor.

Title Section: Start by filling in your article title. This will be the main heading of your content.
Summary Section: In this section, write an introductory paragraph to grab the reader’s attention. This is often referred to as the “lead” of your article.
Main Article Body: Write the core of your content in this section. The editor provides various text formatting tools such as bold, italics, bullet points, links, and headings (e.g., H2, H3). You can also insert images and embed links if necessary. For multi-part content like a series or in-depth stories, structure your article using the available formatting tools to improve readability.

3. Filling Out the Metadata Fields

After creating the content, it’s time to fill in the metadata to organize your article within the CMS. Metadata helps categorize and enhance the visibility of your article.

URL and Short URL: These fields are automatically generated once the article is saved, so no input is required here.
Categories: Choose the most relevant category for your content. Proper categorization helps readers navigate your site and discover similar content.
Title: Ensure that the Title field matches the main heading of your article.
Teaser: Write a brief teaser or summary to provide a short introduction to your article. This may appear on category pages or your site’s homepage.
Publish Date: Set the desired publication date, or leave this field empty for automatic scheduling when the article is published.
Last Update: (Optional) If relevant, you can add a date to indicate the last time the article was updated.
Author: Select or input the author’s name. If your CMS is pre-populated with user accounts, choose the appropriate author from the list.
Source: If the article was sourced externally or from a partner, input the source here.
Keywords: Add keywords to optimize your article for search engines (SEO) and internal search tools within your CMS. You can use the suggestions tool for automatic keyword recommendations.
Descriptive Summary: Summarize the main points of your article to provide readers and search engines with a concise overview of the content.
Related Content: Link your article to other relevant articles by using the related content feature.

4. Adding Media and Attachments

To enhance your content with images or attachments:

Upload Media: In the Media and Attachments section, drag and drop your files into the provided upload area, or click Browse to select files from your computer.
Choose Media from Library: If the image or media already exists in your CMS’s library, click Choose media from library and select the appropriate media from the database.
Add Title and Description for Media: After uploading media, provide a Title and Description for better SEO optimization and to ensure accessibility. This title and description will help search engines and visually impaired users understand the content of the media.

5. Setting Visibility and Priority

Before saving or publishing your content, configure the visibility and priority settings. These options can differ based on your customized fields.

Free (Unmetered): Select this option if the content is free and should not count against metered access for readers.
Subscribers Only: Enable this option to restrict content to paying subscribers.
Priority: Choose the priority level to indicate the importance of this article (e.g., 2 - Normal). Higher-priority articles may appear more prominently on your site.

6. Saving and Publishing the Article

Once all fields are filled out, you can save and publish your content:

Save Draft: If you’re not ready to publish the article yet, click Save at the top right. This will keep the article in Draft mode, allowing you to continue editing later.
Select Publishing Status:
- Draft: Work in progress, not visible to readers.
- Editing: The content is under review or being revised.
- Editor in Chief: Awaiting approval from higher editorial levels.
- Correction: The article requires additional edits.
- Approved: The article is finalized and ready for publishing.
- Published: The content will be live and available to your readers.
Publish the Article: Once everything is complete, select Published from the status dropdown, and click Save. The article will now be live on your website and accessible to readers.

7. Managing Published Articles

You can manage and edit your published content from the Content section. Use the filter options to search for articles by title, publication date, author, or category. This feature helps keep your content organized and easy to manage.

Real-Time Collaborative Editing

One of the standout features of your CMS is the real-time collaborative editor, enabling seamless teamwork when creating content. Much like tools such as Google Docs, this editor allows multiple users to work on the same article simultaneously, making content creation more dynamic and efficient.

As you and your team edit, you can see each other’s cursors in real-time, complete with user names and color indicators, ensuring you know exactly who is making changes and where. This functionality helps avoid conflicts and duplication of effort, enabling everyone to work together smoothly, no matter where they are located.

Whether you’re brainstorming, drafting, or making final revisions, this collaboration feature fosters a truly interactive editing environment. It streamlines communication, allowing for quicker approvals, and ensures that your content is up-to-date and accurate. This real-time capability transforms content creation from a solitary task into a cooperative process, empowering your team to produce high-quality work more efficiently than ever.

Version History: Track and Restore Changes

The Version History tab allows you to keep track of every change made to your content. It enables you to view, compare, and restore previous versions of an article or any other content type.

Timeline of Edits: The Version History displays a chronological timeline of all edits made to the content. Each version is labeled with the time of the change and the user who made the edit. This feature ensures full transparency and accountability by showing a detailed log of who made what changes and when.
Visual Comparison: When viewing a version, the tab highlights the changes made between different versions. Text that has been added, modified, or removed is color-coded, making it easy to identify exactly what has changed. This visual representation helps editors quickly assess the evolution of the article or content.
Real-Time Collaboration Insight: If multiple users are working on the content simultaneously, the Version History allows you to see how each collaborator contributed in real time. The collaborative efforts of all users are recorded, and you can easily track the adjustments or additions made by each team member.
Restoring Previous Versions: If you want to undo recent changes or return to a previous version of your content, simply select the desired version from the history and click the Restore button. This allows you to roll back any unwanted edits and ensures that no work is ever lost, even if a mistake is made.

This feature is essential for content editors and teams, giving them full control over their content and ensuring that they can easily track and restore any version if needed.

Conclusion

This guide covers the essential steps to create, edit, and publish content using your CMS. Whether you are writing articles, creating video stories, or working on other content types, following these steps will ensure a smooth workflow from drafting to publication.