Web CMS glossary: Demystifying the CMS terms

The world of content management moves fast, and so does its vocabulary. From headless and composable to structured content and Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), new terms emerge as quickly as technology evolves. What used to be a simple choice between a few web CMSs has become a complex landscape of platforms, APIs, and workflows built for an omnichannel, AI-powered world.

Today, nearly every digital experience, from websites and apps to kiosks and voice assistants, is powered by some form of content management system. As teams modernize their tech stacks and move away from legacy CMSs, it’s easy for even experienced marketers, developers, and decision-makers to get lost in the jargon.

This glossary helps you cut through the noise. Whether you're exploring the fundamentals of content management or keeping up with the newest terms shaping the future of digital experiences, you’ll find clear, practical definitions that reflect the state of content management in 2025 and beyond.

A

Accessibility regulations

Accessibility regulations are legal standards that require digital services to be usable by people with disabilities. Examples include the EU Accessibility Act 2025 or WCAG 2.2. Compliance ensures inclusivity and avoids potential penalties.

AI search

AI search describes search experiences powered by artificial intelligence that understand natural language and generate direct, conversational answers, rather than returning a list of links. Platforms such as Google’s AI Overviews and Perplexity use AI search to summarize and synthesize information, changing how brands are discovered online.

AI Overviews (Google)

AI Overviews is a Google Search feature that generates AI-based summaries to answer user queries directly, often citing supporting sources. It changes how brands appear in search results and highlights the importance of structured, authoritative content.

Application Program Interface (API)

An application programming interface (API) is an interface that defines interactions between multiple software applications. These interactions —or "calls"— follow a specific set of rules and can be extended by the user to add functionalities. API-first architectures are the backbone of composable ecosystems, enabling CMSs, analytics, ecommerce, and AI tools to integrate efficiently.

Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP)

AMP is an open source HTML framework developed by Google. AMP optimizes mobile web browsing and helps pages load faster. AMP pages can be cached by a CDN, which helps websites load faster.

A/B testing

A/B testing compares two or more versions of a page, component, or message to determine which performs better with real users. Integrated with CMS components, A/B testing enables teams to experiment continuously and use data-driven insights to optimize engagement, conversions, and user experience.

B

Best-of-breed software

Best-of-breed is an approach to building modular, interoperable technology stacks. Best-of-breed systems use the best software solution available for each of their needs. This means that a company can select a CMS to organize content, an eCommerce platform to handle the store, and a website builder to create the store.

C

Content management system (CMS)

Most people are familiar with content management systems like WordPress. At its simplest, a CMS is a content repository where all the content is stored and managed. A CMS is the backbone of your operations as it helps centralize information and serves as a hub to connect every system in your organization.

Content delivery network (CDN)

A content delivery network —also called content distribution network (CDN), is a geographically distributed network of proxy servers and data centers. A CDN enables a quick transfer of assets needed for loading content. Today, the majority of well-performing sites are served through CDNs.

Component

A component is a reusable building block within a CMS or design system that defines both structure and function, such as a hero banner, testimonial block, or product card. Components make content creation faster, more consistent, and easier to manage across pages and channels.

Composable architecture

Composable architecture describes a modular approach to building digital experiences by connecting best-of-breed tools, such as CMS, DAM, PIM, and CDP, through APIs instead of relying on one monolithic platform. It enables teams to replace or upgrade components independently and accelerate innovation.

Content debt

Content debt describes the accumulation of outdated, duplicated, or poorly maintained content that slows down teams and lowers performance. Managing content debt improves efficiency, SEO health, and long-term scalability.

Content modeling

Content modeling is the process of defining the structure, fields, and relationships between different types of content within a CMS. A well-planned content model improves consistency, reusability, and scalability across digital channels.

Content operations (ContentOps)

Content operations, often called Content Ops, refers to the workflows, governance, and technologies that manage the full content lifecycle from creation to delivery. Effective Content Ops align teams and tools to reduce friction and maintain quality at scale.

Content observability

Content observability is the ability to monitor and analyze how content behaves across platforms, channels, and systems. It tracks metrics such as performance, usage, and discoverability to help teams identify issues early and improve efficiency. In modern CMS environments, observability connects content data with analytics, SEO, and AI insights.

Content-as-a-Service (CaaS)

Content-as-a-Service (CaaS) is a cloud-based approach where content is stored centrally and delivered through APIs to any presentation layer. CaaS separates content management from design, allowing brands to publish across websites, apps, and emerging channels from a single source.

Customer experience platform (CXP)

A customer experience platform enables companies to measure and manage digital experiences. It helps with the collection of customer preferences and other relevant data so that the customer experience can be optimized for them.

D

Design system

A design system is a collection of reusable UI components, content elements, and usage guidelines that ensure consistency across products and platforms. Integrated design systems help align designers, developers, and marketers while speeding up production.

Digital asset management (DAM)

A digital asset is every piece of data your company is allowed to use. Digital asset management is the process of storing and rendering rich media for both administrative and operational tasks. DAM allows users to search for every piece of information and establish permissions to protect their information from cyber attacks.

Digital experience platform (DXP)

A DXP is a piece of technology that incorporates elements of a CMS and provides users with an extendable centralized hub that can be enhanced with other services to improve the creation, management, and delivery of digital experiences across different platforms and devices. DXPs are especially important for omnichannel marketing initiatives.

E

eCommerce

eCommerce — also known as electronic commerce or internet commerce— refers to buying and selling goods and services using the internet to complete purchases and transfer money and data. While eCommerce is often equated with online retail, it refers to every transaction of goods and services on the internet.

Enterprise CMS

An enterprise CMS is a content management platform built to handle large-scale, complex, and multi-team environments. It provides advanced features such as governance, localization, workflow automation, and API integrations to support high-traffic, multilingual, and multi-brand digital ecosystems.

G

Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)

Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is the practice of preparing content so that it can be discovered, cited, or summarized accurately by AI-powered search tools such as Google’s AI Overviews, Perplexity, or ChatGPT Browsing. GEO focuses on structured data, clear metadata, and authoritative sources to improve brand visibility in generative search results.

GraphQL

GraphQL is a query language for your APIs. It is a server-side runtime tool for executing queries that uses a type system you define. The benefit of GraphQL is that it isn't tied to any specific database or store engine and your existing data back that. A GraphQL can be created and defined by defining types and fields, then providing functions for each field on each type.

H

Headless CMS

A headless CMS has no default front-end, leaving it to be customizable for content creators to determine how they want to present their content to their audiences. In other words, imagine a traditional CMS is a body, where the “head” would be the front-end layer (meaning the template and framework), thus a headless CMS.

Hybrid content management system

A hybrid CMS combines the simplified ease of use of a traditional CMS and a headless CMS's omnichannel delivery capabilities. A hybrid CMS is oriented towards non-technical users while at the same time catering to developers and IT teams. A hybrid CMS usually has templates and a visual editor that simplifies content creation and delivery.

I

Interoperability

In the context of software development, interoperability is the capability a software solution has of starting from a common base or feature set and being able to extend that functionality over time without losing the functionalities that composed the feature in the first place.

Intranet portal

An intranet is a communication network that can be used to improve communication, collaboration, and engagement within a company. An intranet portal is where workers can come together and get information about the company. It includes a centralized knowledge base, personalized information for every worker to increase productivity and proactivity.

J

Jamstack

Jamstack is a term initially coined by Netlify and refers to a modern web development architecture based on three key components. JavaScript, APIs, and Markup. Just like other tech stacks like LAMP combine complementary pieces, the 'JAM' in Jamstack refers to its three components. JavaScript handles the dynamic functionality of websites, APIs handle server-side functionality, and websites serve markup files at build time to reduce time to paint.

JavaScript Object Notation (JSON)

JSON is a data-interchange format that's easy for humans to read and write; it's also easy for machines to parse and generate. JSON uses language and naming conventions that are familiar to every developer of the C family of programming languages, making it an ideal data-interchange format.

Joyful Headless™
At Storyblok, we call it Joyful Headless™ because it frees users from slow, frustrating workflows that hold them back and gives them access to the speed, agility, and control they need to deliver better customer experiences.

• Marketers love it because it empowers them to bring their ideas, campaigns, and digital experiences to life faster without relying on developers for every change.
• Developers love it because it gives them the freedom to work with their preferred tools and frameworks while enabling marketers to work independently. Together, this collaboration creates exceptional digital experiences.

K

Knowledge management

Knowledge management is the process of capturing, distributing, and managing company information. Knowledge management centralizes all your data and makes it accessible to every person in your company. Knowledge management is beneficial for organizations with large and dispersed amounts of data.

L

Large Language Model (LLM)

A Large Language Model (LLM) is an advanced AI system trained on vast amounts of text to understand and generate human-like language. LLMs power tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude, enabling new content workflows, intelligent search, and conversational interfaces.

Localization

Localization is the practice of translating and adapting content, so it is suitable for different audiences, even to those who seemingly speak the same language. For example, marketers can localize British content for American audiences or Spanish content for Mexican audiences and vice versa to ensure that they get the message and benefits from the content.

M

Marketing automation

Marketing automation is a subset of automation technologies that enhance marketing practices and improve marketing initiatives' effectiveness across channels and devices. Marketing automation enables companies to streamline their processes and ensure a better buyer journey across every touchpoint.

Microservice architecture

A microservices architecture structures applications as a collection of small, independent services that communicate via APIs. In content management, this allows teams to update, scale, or replace parts of their digital ecosystem without affecting the whole system. It supports agility, performance, and faster deployment cycles.

Mobile CMS

A CMS for managing mobile apps and experiences. This means managing the content used on a native mobile app and for websites specially optimized for mobile experiences. For example, if you have an online shop and sell your products through an app, all the product information and everything else that shapes your storefront will be managed through a CMS.

N

No-code / Low-code

No-code and low-code platforms allow users to build and manage digital experiences with minimal or no programming. In CMSs, these capabilities empower marketers and editors to launch pages, automate workflows, and integrate tools independently while maintaining developer flexibility through APIs.

O

Omnichannel marketing

Omnichannel marketing is a marketing technique that focuses on creating a seamless customer experience across every channel. Unlike multichannel marketing where you send the same content to multiple devices, omnichannel creates a single journey across multiple devices to offer continuous interactions and personalized marketing experiences.

Online shopping

Online shopping is a form of electronic commerce where customers can purchase goods or services from a seller over the internet using a web browser or a mobile app.

P

Payment gateway

A payment gateway is a service that an eCommerce store provides where a third-party merchant authorizes credit card transactions or direct payments for an eCommerce store. Payment gateways aren't restricted to eCommerce stores and can be used by hybrid retailers and brick-and-mortar shops.

Progressive Web App (PWA)

A PWA is a type of application that works just like a regular application, but it's served through the web, and it's built using common web technologies and code like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. The benefit of PWAs is that they can work on any browser, including desktop and mobile, which means that users get an app-like experience within their browser.

Personalization

Personalization is the practice of using data to deliver personalized messages to an individual prospect. Personalization differs from traditional marketing because it emphasizes the quality of the interaction over the quantity of people reached. As the amount of data marketers can get from customers grows, personalization will become increasingly important in the marketing landscape.

Product Information Management (PIM)

Product Information Management (PIM) systems store and manage detailed product data, such as specifications and assets, across channels. Combined with a CMS, a PIM ensures consistent product information for ecommerce experiences.

R

Responsive design

Responsive design is a design approach that considers that design and development practices should adapt and respond to the users' behavior and devices; that means that the way websites are presented needs to change based on the screen size, platform, and orientation of the screen the user has. The main points of a responsive design are fluid grids, CSS media queries, and flexible media.

RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation)

Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) is an AI technique that improves answer accuracy by retrieving relevant documents before generating a response. Many organizations use RAG to power chatbots and knowledge bases built on CMS content.

Representational state transfer (REST)

REST is a software architecture style that uses a subset of HTTP to create interactive applications. REST isn't a protocol or a standard; instead, it is a set of constraints that enables developers to program software in a particular way and transfer information in a language-agnostic manner that's readable both by humans and machines using JSON.

S

Single-page Application (SPA)

An SPA is a single webpage that acts as an application because even after the user refreshes or scrolls, most of the information stays the same, and only a limited number of elements change and are updated at a time. For instance, when you browse through Gmail, parts of your page remain unchanged because the SPA only renders what you need with each click.

Structured content

Structured content refers to information that is organized into predefined fields such as title, summary, body, author, or image, rather than stored as unstructured text. This format allows the same content to be reused and displayed consistently across multiple channels. Structured content makes it easier to deliver personalized, localized, and AI-readable digital experiences.

Schema markup (JSON-LD)

Schema markup is structured data added to a page (commonly in JSON-LD) that describes its entities (such as articles, products, events, and FAQsin a machine-readable format. Using Schema.org types helps search engines and AI systems understand, surface, and cite your content, improving rich results and visibility in generative search.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

SEO is the process of improving a website’s visibility in search results. In 2025, SEO extends beyond traditional rankings to include Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) ensuring content is structured, credible, and recognized by AI-powered search tools such as Google AI Overviews, Perplexity, and ChatGPT. Structured content and entity-based SEO help brands remain discoverable in the AI search era.

T

Traditional CMS

A traditional CMS, like WordPress or Drupal, is a CMS where the frontend and the backend are coupled, which means that the way you present your content is linked to the database, and you can only present content following the rules and norms that the CMS has in place. Traditional CMSs usually use templates to help users build digital content.

Taxonomy

In software development, taxonomy is the formal structure of classes and types of objects within a domain. Taxonomy organizes knowledge using a particular vocabulary that makes things easier to find using related information. Taxonomy enables the organization of data into categories and displays it in a sitemap for easier access.

U

User experience (UX)

User experience is the way a user or visitor interacts with a website or app. The experience is the attitude and behavior a person has towards a specific software product and system. It measures how users feel about the product and how well they perceive said experience.

V

Version Control

Version control is a system that records every change to a file or folder over a period of time so a user can recall a specific version of that file at a later date, preventing other users from doing destructive editing or retrieving lost data after someone rewrote that information.

Visual Editor

A visual editor enables content editors to edit website content and get contextual previews of how the website is looking after each edit. The visual editor solves native content previewing, which is one of the main issues most headless CMS users face when building digital experiences.

W

Web CMS

A web CMS is similar to a hybrid CMS because it allows non-technical users to create and publish content without an in-depth knowledge of CMS infrastructure or code. Web CMSs are cloud-based and don't require on-premise hosting or installation, and can be used by different people as long as they have an internet connection and a web browser.

Web Accessibility
Web accessibility refers to the design and development of websites, applications, and digital content that can be used by people with disabilities. It ensures that all users, regardless of visual, auditory, cognitive, or motor abilities, can perceive, understand, navigate, and interact with digital interfaces. Web accessibility adheres to standards such as WCAG 2.2 to foster inclusive and compliant online experiences.

Web Analytics

Web analytics refers to the gathering, analysis, and reporting of website data. Web analytics focuses on identifying trends and patterns based on both your organization and user goals. Web analytics use website data to determine how successful the website is and how well it is accomplishing its goals. Proper handling of web analytics can drive strategy to enhance the user's experience.

Workflow

A workflow is the sequence of steps required to create, review, and publish content. Modern CMS workflows are automated, role-based, and integrated with analytics and approval tools. Clear workflows reduce bottlenecks, improve collaboration, and support governance and compliance efforts.

X

XML Sitemap

An XML sitemap is your website's roadmap. It helps search engines find every page on your website. Having a good sitemap can work wonders for your SEO as it allows search engines to find all the essential information within your pages.

Keeping up with new CMS terminology with Storyblok

For newbies and experienced campaigners alike, the CMS landscape can at times be incredibly overwhelming, but it shouldn't be. This CMS glossary will help you make sense of all these abbreviations and phrases thrown around in online discussions about content management systems.

For more information about CMS terminology and trends, take a look at the content on our blog.