Overview of Web Content Portlets

Structures, templates, and articles are the backbone of the Web Content portlet functionality.

• Structures define the type and number of content pieces, for example, text, text area, images, selection lists, and so on.

• Templates determine how content pieces will be arranged or laid out.

• Articles are where each content piece is populated with actual text and images.

The point of a structure is to unify journal articles with the same numbers and types of items. For example, a Management Bio section of a web site might have ten biographies, each requiring an image for the executive headshot, a text for the headline, and a text area for the main biography. A structure could be created with one image, one text, and one text area, each named accordingly. This structure enables writers to create the individual biographies and other texts without needing to re-create the page structure for each biography.

Designers can create several templates for one structure to allow for a variety of presentations or give writers discretion in deciding the best layout.

All specific text and images are entered when a user adds or edits an article. The user chooses the layout based on the templates affiliated with a structure. Because multiple templates can be associated to a structure, the user can select the most suitable template.