CMS Guide
This document explains the Sanity CMS platform we use to create a joint, interactive space to modify and manage your website content with ease.
Whilst we aim to service requests very quickly, sometimes being able to make instant adjustments to your website is far more convenient for certain tasks; such as changing images, updating your image gallery, adding new testimonials or modifying other content.
We aim to make this as simple as possible and therefore have created a bespoke Sanity CMS studio for your website. This means when you visit the Sanity CMS you can interact directly with your content, without the bloat found on other editors, CMS and WYSIWYG systems such as Wix, WordPress and so on.
Accessing Sanity
You can log in to Sanity using your email
address. An invite will have been sent already
before you received this guide. To access
Sanity, simply visit /admin on your website. This will redirect you to the
correct address for the CMS.
You can log in and will be greeted with a simple interface for managing the website content.
Views
Sanity has two main views available: Media and Structure
Media
allows you to view all uploaded media (images and videos) that are used by the website
Structure
allows you to edit content on the website. We pre-prepare structures that best represent your website content (such as pages, events, testimonials and so on)
Media
The media section allows you to manage all of the uploaded assets necessary for your website. We provide plenty of storage space for you, and if we come close to any limits you will be informed in advance.
Structure
Within the structure view, you will be able to view and modify various object types (such as page data) throughout the website. These are conveniently and clearly named to reflect certain data sets, such as pages, testimonials, events, images and more. The specific structures and fields you see here will be tailored to your website.
Common Questions
What content is primarily managed by the CMS?
Typically we aim for dynamic content, this could include:
- Blogs
- Testimonials
- Case Studies / Projects
- Image Galleries
- News
- Events
- Or anything else that you require to change regularly
We also use the CMS for assigning images to static pages too, so within the Structure section you may see every page on your website listed. Inside each of the structures, you'll see the ability to change the images associated with each section.
How do I upload new images?
There is an "Upload assets" link in the top right of the Media tab page, or you can drag files directly into the page. We recommend clicking into new uploads and filling out meta information such as the Description and Alt Text.
How does my site's image gallery work?
If your website includes an image gallery, this is populated via the Media section. The image gallery will automatically load all images that are assigned a media tag. You can do this by clicking into an image (within the Media view), assigning a new or existing tag and clicking Save. Each individual media tag is automatically displayed as a category on your image gallery page.
I have edited the content in Sanity, but I cannot see the changes on my website
For optimised performance, we aim to serve most websites statically. This means that content is "printed" into your website during deployment. By default Sanity is NOT in sync in real-time with your website.
To see your changes live, you must first:
- Ensure items you change are "Published" (this refers to Structure item changes, Media item changes are automatically published).
- Then click Deploy (shown in the top centre of the interface).
Within a minute or so, the changes will become viewable on the live website. For On-Demand clients, data in Sanity will always be instantly reflected immediately.
How does Draft and Publishing work?
This is a feature of Sanity which allows you to preview your content before it is published. You can read more about Sanity's specific features here via their user guide:
Can I modify the structures myself?
If you would like to manage specific data sets that aren't currently available, please make a request for which data you wish to amend on the website and we will modify the Sanity structure on your behalf.
Need Help?
If you have any questions or require further assistance with your Sanity CMS, please don't hesitate to contact us at hello@purplebird.agency