CMS architecture
Headless CMS guide
Back to Headless CMS guide

How to create, extend and change a content data model using a headless CMS

image of developers for How to create, extend, and change a content data model using a headless CMS

As a technical leader, you’re in charge of finding the right CMS for your organization, but it’s never quite a “one size fits all.” You’ll always need to make adjustments to the platform to match your specific requirements, and that isn’t always easy for some platforms.

The Brightspot CMS was designed with an extensible architecture which naturally enables you to add your business logic and workflow. Companies today serve an ever dynamic audience with intense competitive pressure to go to market faster and create authentic experiences with their customers. That means they need technology that’s flexible and built to scale.

Brightspot default data models
Brightspot comes with a number of different content types out-of-the-box to help customers quickly migrate or replatform to the Brightspot CMS.

With default data models for content types like Articles, Blog Posts, Pages, Blog Posts, Galleries, Videos—and many more—our customers have immediate access to the tools they need to best present their content to online audiences.

Creating data models
Sometimes, this won’t be enough, however. What if there are content types you need that don’t yet exist in Brightspot’s data model? An engineer (on our side or your side—whatever best works for you) can create the content type and its underlying data model, and then you’ll have what you need.

Extending data models
Let’s say that we have almost exactly what you need, though. If that’s the case, we can simply extend pre-existing content types to better meet individual needs and requirements.

Any content type can be re-modeled for any purpose you may need. We can handle this process on our end after discussions with your team about your requirements, but if you feel more comfortable handing the data modeling yourself, no problem—you have that freedom, too.

Adding or Removing Fields
Let’s take the Article content type. Each Article, by default, comes with a Headline, Subheadline, Slug, Author(s), etc. For your purposes, you may want an extra field.

Once our Delivery Team understands your requirements, they can write the necessary code to include this field along with the other content offerings that come out-of-the-box with Article. Or, as mentioned above, your developers can handle it either by themselves or in tandem with ours—whatever works best.

Let’s take a look at what this looks like in the code. Below is a screenshot where the Author field has been added to the Blog content type.

Now that the Author field has been added, it appears toward the bottom of the interface. Let’s move it higher.

Now, let’s take a look at how the field appears in Brightspot.

Removing fields from our standard data models is even easier using Content Forms.

Content Forms allow you to control the UI of an asset, like:

  • The order of fields on the content type
  • The labels of fields on the content type
  • Whether a field is editable or is read-only on the content type
  • Whether a field is displayed or is hidden on the content type

You have choices with Content Forms as far as "where you want them to appear." With Content Forms, you have two choices:

  • Global: The changes you make to a content type in your Content Form become the default for all CMS users.
  • By Role: The Content Form you create must then be associated with a given Role.

So whatever data model you need, Brightspot has you covered. A new content type can be created in its entirety, or we can simply extend an existing one. And since Brightspot was designed to be so extendible, you’ll enjoy a smooth process getting to that point.

Share

Related headless CMS resources

Learn the difference between traditional (or coupled) CMS, decoupled CMS, and headless CMS architecture, as well as the pros and cons for each.
GraphQL is the programming language that enables flexible connection with programming APIs that support headless CMS integrations like the one offered through Brightspot.
Learn what a headless content management system (CMS) is, how it differs from traditional CMS architectures and how the flexibility of Brightspot's hybrid-headless CMS approach can future-proof your business.
Learn about headless CMS: a modern architecture that allows digital teams to adapt to new technology and deliver content across multiple channels.
Headless CMS offers a future-proofed framework in our evolving digital age, and the developer flexibility, personalized content capabilities and speedy content delivery offered through headless give companies a competitive edge. Here are 10 things to consider as you consider shifting to headless CMS.
Here are five benefits developers—and, by extension, their projects—get from a headless CMS.
To be successful, brands must provide great digital customer experiences. A headless CMS solution simplifies programming efforts by removing front- and back-end dependencies, freeing up teams to work in parallel on projects that bring quickest value to both customers and the business.
Modern headless content management system platforms can give you the flexibility you need to change—but there are four things to consider first.
Discover the pros and cons of a headless CMS with GraphQL and learn how Brightspot has developed innovative solutions to tackle four primary issues associated with it.
While headless CMS is not a new concept in the digital space, today it’s an increasingly attractive proposition for businesses looking to move their digital transformation efforts forward in an impactful way.
With today's always-on technology, a headless CMS approach offers the benefits of flexibility, speed and scalability for digital and editorial leads at media companies.
Is a headless CMS the superior content management system solution? The answer, of course, depends, but ignore the hype and get the information you need to make the most informed decision to suit your exact business needs.

Let us give you a demo

Hear how Brightspot can turn your digital strategy goals into a reality and see how the lives of your content creators and developers will be changed using our platform.

Request Demo