The pages served from a website that uses Sitefinity CMS are not static HTML files, but are dynamically generated and populated with content from the database. The following illustration introduces Sitefinity CMS components that provide the structure and look and feel for content:
Modules are containers for reusable content types, such as news and events, blogs, and media content. Modules define the structure of content.
- Developers can modify built-in modules and can create new ones.
- Content creators store content items based on the structure defined by modules.
Widgets display content of a particular type on pages and include controls for navigation, forms, and social interaction. Widget Templates define the look and feel of content displayed by a widget.
- Developers modify how widgets display content.
- UI designers drag and drop widgets on pages to display content items.
- In the production system, content creators can also add widgets to new pages.
Page Templates define page layouts and associate themes with pages.
- Developers customize modify templates or create new ones.
- UI designers and content creators select a template when they create a page.
Themes define page appearance, such as fonts and colors. One site can use several different themes and if you have a multisite license, the same theme can be used for multiple sites.
- Developers and UI designers can modify and create themes using Sitefinity CMS tools, which include the Thunder VS plugin, or they can create their own from scratch.
- Developers and UI designers assign themes to templates.
Next, see how these components come into play during page and content creation.
Modules are containers for reusable content types, such as news and events, blogs, and media content. Modules define the structure of content.