Begin with dotCMS: Explore the Future of CMS Technology

Thinking about building your next website with dotCMS?

You're in the right place! Begins with dotCMS is the first step in a new generation of flexible, modern websites to handle the demands of today's digital world. DotCMS is a universal hybrid CMS, but what's the best way to start it?

In this blog, we’ll walk you through the basics of dotCMS and share a simple setup guide to help you build your website using this powerful platform.

What is dotCMS?

A hybrid and universal content management system, dotCMS allows the easy management and delivery of content across various platforms and channels. When it begins with dotCMS, whether as a developer or marketer offers flexibility and scalability. It effectively builds websites, manages content, and personalizes user experiences. If you want to optimize your implementation of dotCMS, you can always hire dotCMS expert to ensure a smooth setup and customization that aligns with your project needs.

Why Choose dotCMS?

• Hybrid CMS: Using dotCMS you can target content to legacy websites and headless systems, ideal for today's digital strategy.
• Flexibility and Scalability: DotCMS can manage challenging demands and scales as does your content.
• User-Friendly Interface: No matter whether you're a developer or not, dotCMS is quite convenient to handle. However, for users looking for more sophisticated functions, of course, there is a great deal for developers.
• Multi-Channel Support: DotCMS enables you to build and roll out content across the web, apps, and even Internet Of Things devices.
• Open Source: As an open-source platform, dotCMS allows developers to adapt and extend its features. dotCMS for developers enables full control to meet specific project needs.

Core Product of dotCMS

Before deep into the context of dotCMS website development, let's briefly approach the main components of what moves dotCMS. These essential building blocks will serve as your dotCMS website creation guide, helping you design your website and organize content efficiently.

• Content

Content represents the data/information that is put into the content type itself. After you configure a content type (e.g., Blog Post), you can place individual pieces of content (e.g., a blog post with title, image, tags, author name, and blog content).

Example: In the image below, both blogs are individual pieces of content.

• Content Type

A Content Type defines the necessary information required to create content. For example, to create a blog, you need a blog title, image, tags, writer name, and blog text.

The contents are created from the Content-Type. In the above image, both blogs are pieces of content, but they are created from the same structure (Content Type).

• Field Types

Each Content Type contains one or more fields that represent individual pieces of information for each content. Fields may hold a variety of content types (string, integer, floating point), and accept multiple entry formats (text box, drop-down list, multi-select list, radio choices, etc. ). Examples: Text area, Date, and time, Time, Radio, Checkbox, etc.

• Container

A Container is a region or area within a page where content is placed. Containers help define different sections of the page, such as the header, main content area, sidebar, and footer.

In the layout below, there are two containers. Each container will only allow specific types of content, which are set during the container’s creation. For example, Container 1 will only allow blog content.

• Template

A Template defines the overall structure and layout of a page. It controls how containers are arranged and displayed on the page. Templates typically include regions such as the header, footer, sidebar, and main body.

• Pages

A Page is the front-end representation of content in dotCMS. Pages are built using templates, and the content displayed on each page is based on the content types you’ve previously defined. Each page corresponds to a unique browser URL, such as /home or /contact-us.

How to Create a Website Using dotCMS

Now that you’re familiar with the core components of dotCMS, let’s go through a step-by-step dotCMS website creation guide to creating your website:

Step 1: Set Up dotCMS

To begin with dotCMS, first, ensure that your environment is ready. You need to install dotCMS. You can either download and install it locally, use an on-premise setup, or opt for a cloud-hosted version.

For local setup with Docker, here’s a simple command to get started with demo content:

1) Run the command below if you want to start dotCMS with demo content and data

2) If you want to start fresh, you can also start up a clean installation with no dat

Login to DotCMS :

Open the administrative console, go to “https://local.dotcms.site:8443/dotAdmin”

User credential:-

  Email: [email protected]

Password: admin

Step 2: Create a Site

Go to System from the sidebar in DotCMS.

Click on the Sites tab.

Select Add New Site.

Fill in the site details (name, base URL, etc.).

Click Save / Activate to create the site.

Step 3: Design the Templates

Templates define the overall structure of your site. Like a Blue-Print of Web-page

Go to the Site → Templates section.

Create a new template and select Template Designer if you don’t want to customize much and enter details like title, description, etc.

If you want to have code-based customization using Velocity. Then select Template Advance. Enter details like title, description, etc

Assign the template to your website.

Step 4: Create a Theme

Go to Site → Browser and navigate to application → themes.

Create a folder of your theme name like travel.

In that travel folder create folders like CSS, JS, and Images.

Step 5: Create a Page.

To add a new page:

Go to Site → Browser and click on Add New Page from the top right ＋ icon.

Enter the page details like title and URL as shown in the below image.

Select a template for the page.

Add content blocks (like text, images, or forms) using the drag-and-drop editor.

Save and publish the page.

Step 6: Create a Content-Type

Go to the Content Model → Content Types section to create structured content types (like blogs, articles, or products).

Add all required fields for the content type using the drag and drop feature.

Step 7: Create a Content 

Under the Content tab, create actual content items based on the content types you defined.

Step 8: View your website

Once everything is set up, open the index file in the browser folder to preview your site. You can visit to https://local.dotcms.site:8443.

Summary

In dotCMS, you get every bit of a tool for creating a robust, scalable, and flexible website. From platform configuration through template design, content type creation, and site publishing, dotCMS streamlines the website creation process. 

You can set up your website easily by following the guidelines presented in this guide. No matter where you sit in an organizational scheme, as a developer, designer, or content engineer, dotCMS provides a foundation to build modern digital experiences. 

If you want to get your dotCMS website up and running smoothly without the hassle, contact our team of experts, so you can focus on growing your business while we handle the technical details!