Content Management System Fundamentals
Background
The new Client website is built on a content management system (CMS) called Plone. Plone is an open-source platform which runs in conjunction with an underlying platform called Zope. The previous version of the statewide website ran on Zope. In tandem with the graphical redesign of the site, the Plone layer was introduced to provide expanded management functionality and more powerful features for users. As a content manager, you will primarily be using the standard management functions provided by the Plone layer.
The Content Management "Paradigm"
The Plone CMS system is fully browser-based, which means you will be able to perform all management functions simply by accessing the site through any browser. While some types of content have been designed to go through a review/approval process, most of the content on the Client site is open to all managers. This means changes you make to content is immediately visible to other users.
Unlike the previous statewide website, there is not a separate Administrative area of the site in which the web content is managed. Instead, an administrator navigates the site just like a regular client user does. When you are logged in as a manager, however, pages will appear with a special frame allowing you to perform administrative functions. The frame is notable for a set of green "tabs" which appear above the page content.
Manager Framing
The green framing that appears around the page content - which includes tabs and drop-down menus - will change depending on who you are logged in as and where in the site you are.
The important functions for a content manager to understand are:
(Click the link for more details on each).
Roles and Permissions
The CMS has a very robust security model which supports a wide variety of roles and groups. The roles you have been assigned, and the groups into which you have been placed, determine what you are able to do on the site and how the site appears to you. Roles and groups will be more important in the Advocate, Pro Bono, and Program Sites. For the purposes of the Client site, there is only a single role of importance, the "manager" role. If you are a content administrator of any kind for the Client site, you have been given the manager role and will be able to perform all of the functions described above.