Managing Content

This guide walks you through using LightNap’s Content Management System (CMS) web interface to create, edit, and publish content. You’ll learn how to work with both zones and pages, manage multilingual content, and configure access controls through the admin interface.

Prerequisites

  • Understanding of Content Management System concepts
  • User account in the Administrator or ContentEditor role
  • Access to the content management interface
  • Basic knowledge of Markdown or HTML formatting

Accessing the Content Management Interface

  1. Log in to your LightNap application with an account that has content editing permissions
  2. Navigate to the Admin section Accessible from the **Content Manage** sidebar menu
  3. You’ll see the content management dashboard with options to create, edit, and manage content

Creating Your First Content

Step 1: Create an Instructions Landing Page

Let’s start by creating a simple instructions landing page that can be sent out in email to new users.

  1. Click the Create button in the content management interface
  2. Set the key to landing-instructions in the dialog and press Create
  3. Click the newly created key in the list of Contents available

Step 2: Add English Language Content

After creating the content item, you’ll be redirected to the content editor:

  1. Select the Languages Tab: Choose “English (en)” to start with the default language
  2. Click “Create Language Content” to create a default language stub
  3. Choose Content Format: Select “Markdown” for easy formatting

  4. Enter Your Content:

    # Welcome to Our Application

We're glad you're here!

[Get Started](/home)
  5. Review the preview at the bottom of the page
  6. Save the Content: Click “Save” to store the English version

Step 3: Publish the Content

Once you’re satisfied with your content:

  1. Navigate back to the landing-instructions editor page
  2. Change the “Status” from Draft to Published
  3. Change the “Read Access” from Explicit to Public
  4. Save the changes

The content is now live and accessible to everyone with access to your site.

Step 4: Test the page

Visit /content/landing-instructions.

  1. Copy the URL displayed below the Type
  2. Open a private browser window and navigate to the URL created for your page
  3. Review the content that matches your markdown and try the link, which should ask you to log in since it’s to a secured part of the app

Configuring Access Control

Creating Private Content for Authenticated Users

To create content that only logged-in users can see:

  1. Return to the landing-instructions editor if not already there
  2. In the Settings tab update Read Access to Authenticated
  3. Save the content
  4. Visit the page from a private window to confirm that it now asks you to log in before you can see the page

This content will only be visible to users who are logged into your application.

Restricting Read Access for Specific Users

For content restricted to specific users:

  1. Return to the landing-instructions editor if not already there
  2. In the Settings tab update Read Access to Explicit
  3. Save the content
  4. In the Readers tab use the Add User form to locate and add the specific users you want to grant read access to

Only those users (and those with edit permission for this item) will be able to see this item.

Allowing Editor Access for Specific Users

Just like the Readers tab, the Editors tab allows specific users to have editor access to this item. This is useful for scenarios where they need the ability to manage the specific item as well as its language content.

Allowing edit access to specific users should be used sparingly. If there are many content items they should have edit access for, consider adding them to the ContentEditor role.

Content Management Workflow

Content Lifecycle

Understanding the content lifecycle helps you manage content effectively:

  1. Draft: Content is being worked on, not visible to end users
  2. Published: Content is live and accessible based on permissions
  3. Archived: Content is no longer active but preserved

Organizing Your Content

Use Clear, Descriptive Keys:

  • ✅ Good: privacy-policy, marketing-hero-banner, help-getting-started
  • ❌ Avoid: page1, content_2, banner

Group Related Content and Consider Locations for Zones:

public-index-banner
public-index-welcome
public-index-footer

Plan Content Types:

  • Zones for reusable content blocks (welcome messages, announcements)
  • Pages for standalone content (terms of service, help pages)

Working with Multiple Languages

  1. Start with your primary language (usually English)
  2. Create and publish content in the primary language first
  3. Add translations by clicking “Add Language” for each content item
  4. Consider cultural differences, not just direct translations
  5. Test language switching to ensure proper fallbacks

Content Formats

Choose the right format for your content:

  • Markdown: Best for most content, easy to write and maintain
  • HTML: When you need complex formatting or custom styling
  • Plain Text: For simple messages and notifications

Searching and Managing Content

Using the Content Search

  1. Access the search function in the content management interface
  2. Enter search terms to find content by key, title, or content text
  3. Filter results by:
    • Content type (Pages, Zones)
    • Status (Draft, Published, Archived)
    • Language
    • Access level
  4. Sort results by creation date, modification date, or alphabetically

Best Practices

Content Creation

  1. Write clear, concise content that serves your users’ needs
  2. Use consistent styling and formatting across similar content types
  3. Include relevant links to other pages or resources
  4. Keep content up-to-date with regular reviews
  5. Test content in different contexts before publishing

Organization and Maintenance

  1. Regular content audits to identify outdated or unused content
  2. Consistent naming conventions for easy searching and management
  3. Document your content strategy for team members
  4. Plan translation workflows for multilingual content
  5. Back up important content before major changes

Performance Considerations

  1. Keep individual content pieces reasonably sized for fast loading
  2. Use zones appropriately - they’re cached for better performance
  3. Optimize images and media included in HTML content
  4. Monitor page load times for content-heavy pages

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Content not appearing on the website

Check these items:

  • Is the content status set to “Published”?
  • Does the user have the required permissions to view the content?
  • Is the content key correctly referenced in your templates?
  • Are you using the correct language code?

Can’t edit content

Possible solutions:

  • Verify you have ContentEditor or Administrator role
  • Check if you have specific edit permissions for that content
  • Ensure you’re logged in with the correct account
  • Clear your browser cache and try again

Translation not showing

Troubleshooting steps:

  • Confirm the language file was created and saved
  • Check the language code matches what your application expects
  • Verify the content is published, not just saved as draft
  • Test with a different language to isolate the issue

Getting Help

When you encounter issues:

  1. Check the application logs for any error messages
  2. Verify your user permissions with an administrator
  3. Test with a simple content item to isolate complex issues
  4. Document the steps that led to the problem for easier troubleshooting

The CMS interface is designed to be intuitive and user-friendly, making content management accessible to non-technical team members while providing the power and flexibility needed for complex content scenarios.