Each VCOE CMS site is made up of a hierarchical collection of pages. A skin is applied to each page to give the page its overall look and general layout. Additionally, the page is divided into one or more content panes. Within the content panes users add modules that contain the actual page content.

Pages not only are used to place content on but also are used to create the structure of your site. This structure is what CMS uses to build your sites menu. For instance, if you create a new page and assign an existing page as the parent page your new page becomes a sub-menu item of the parent page.

Skins are are similar to templates that you might find in a word processing program. Your site skin is usually choosen and applied to your site before any content is created. The use of skins means users do not have to concern themselves with general layout and can spend their time working with the actual text, images, and link that make your pages content.

Content Panes define the areas on your sites pages where content can be places by site users. Content Panes are part of your sites skin.

Modules come in different types. The type used is based on what type of content you would like to present. You can use a Links module to display a list of hyperlinks whereas the Media module can be used to display a single image.

Your site will contain one or more user accounts of with at least one account having administrative permissions. Users that have administrative permissions, when logged in, will give be able to perform site level tasks such as reorganize the site's page structure, create new user accounts, set account permissions, recover deleted content, and manage site image and document files.

Most site user accounts will only have the ability to edit content. Editing permissions for individual accounts can be given for one or more pages or even paricular sections of a single page. You can also control the display of content by either allowing all users access (even when not logged in) or limiting display to only certain specified user accounts.