> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.morpht.com/convivial-for-govcms/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.morpht.com/convivial-for-govcms/site-structure/content-types.md).

# Content types

![Choosing a content type](https://3733701002-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F3fBWwpuJPUqPpT2ulMXp%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-933995705b613ed9f9a122edeb3315994cf15727%2Fnode-add.png?alt=media)

Every page on the site is one of these types. Choose by purpose, not by appearance — the type controls which fields you get, how the page is listed elsewhere on the site, and what metadata search engines receive.

See a test page of each content type on the demo site: <https://govcms.convivial.io/demo/content>

| Type               | Use it for                                                                                                                              |
| ------------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Page**           | Site structure and static content. Most of the site is Pages, arranged in the main menu.                                                |
| **Section**        | Landing pages that introduce an area of the site and link down into it.                                                                 |
| **Article**        | Time-based information: news, announcements, blog posts, presentations. Has a **Published date** and is classified by **Article type**. |
| **Resource**       | Evergreen information such as guides, policies and publications. Listed by **Topic** and **Audience**.                                  |
| **Event**          | Events with a **Start**, **End**, **Location** and optional **Series**.                                                                 |
| **Person**         | Staff profiles and content authors.                                                                                                     |
| **Alert**          | Time-sensitive, dismissible site-wide notices with a **Start date**, **End date** and a **Type** that sets the colour.                  |
| **Collection**     | A curated list of content.                                                                                                              |
| **FOI disclosure** | A record of an FOI request.                                                                                                             |

The remaining types — **Topic**, **Audience**, **Article type** and **Language** — are lightweight pages used to group other content. Create them sparingly and reuse them.

## How the types relate

The types fall into three kinds, and knowing which is which tells you where a new piece of content will appear:

* **Structural** — *Page*, *Section*, *Collection*, *Article type*. They form the site hierarchy: you place them in the menu, and other content sits beneath them.
* **Items** — *Article*, *Event*, *Resource*, *FOI disclosure*, *Alert*. Dated, and listed automatically: an Article appears under News and beneath its Article type, an Event under Events, a Resource under Resources beneath its type, an FOI disclosure under FOI. You do not add them to the menu.
* **Classifiers** — *Topic* and *Audience*. Every Topic and Audience page lists the Articles and Events that reference it, automatically. A Person page lists the Articles that name them as author in the same way.

So the listings on the site look after themselves: create an Article with the right type, topics and audiences, and it shows up in five places without anyone editing a list.

## Listing pages

The site's landing pages are ordinary content that editors can open and adjust:

* **Home**, **News**, **Events** and **People** are *Sections* whose listing is an **Embedded View** component — recent articles, upcoming events, people cards — with other components around it. Edit the introduction and the components around the view as on any page; the view itself is configured by a Site administrator.
* **Search**, **Resources** and **FOI** are *Collections*: faceted search pages whose filters sit beside the results. Their layout is a Site administrator's job; editors normally change only the title and introduction.

## Shared fields

All the main types share the same building blocks, so once you know how to edit a Page you can edit anything:

* **Title**, **Description** and **Thumbnail** — used wherever the page appears as a card, teaser or search result.
* **Header** — introduction, banner image, banner palette and featured links.
* **Content** — the rich text body.
* **Components** — structured blocks such as accordions, cards, tabs and statistics; see [Component types](/convivial-for-govcms/site-structure/component-types.md).
* **Attachments** — files for download.
* **Metadata** — owner, review-by date, stage, goal, intent, and the taxonomy terms that classify the page; see [Taxonomies](/convivial-for-govcms/site-structure/taxonomies.md).

The fields are described one by one in [Editing a page](/convivial-for-govcms/content-editing/editing-a-page.md).