Glossary

Administration

The Xperience administration interface is a graphical interface for Xperience functionality that allows you to set up and configure websites and manage their content. Users manage websites via applications within the interface. In the background, the administration application accesses and modifies the database shared with the live site application.

Application

Applications group together features and related functionality. They display information related to the encapsulated functionality and enable related tasks and configuration. For example, the Languages application allows you to manage and configure languages for the content of your project’s channels.

Application dashboard

The application dashboard is the first page you see when signing in to the Xperience administration. The dashboard provides quick access to applications. Applications and objects on the dashboard have the form of tiles. You can return to the dashboard from any part of the system by clicking the Home icon in the administration header.

ASP.NET Core

ASP.NET Core is an open-source framework for building web applications. ASP.NET Core framework supports the MVC architecture and other modern approaches.

Code name

A code name refers to text that serves as a unique identifier of an object in Xperience. Most objects also have a Display name – human-readable text displayed in the administration. Code names for certain objects can be pre-filled by a value generated from the Display name or, alternatively, can be set manually.

Continuous Integration

Continuous Integration allows users (usually developers) to serialize data from the database into XML files on the file system. These files can then be added to a source control system and used to synchronize database data between different Xperience instances.

Cookie level

The cookie level is a scale used to implement cookie policy in Xperience. The cookie level set for each visitor controls which cookies get stored in their browser, as different cookies used by the Xperience system require different cookie levels.

Dancing Goat

Dancing Goat is a sample website project that showcases the features of the Xperience platform. Suitable for evaluating or demonstrating the capabilities of the system.

Display name

A display name refers to the text displayed in the administration interface to identify an object or interface element. Most objects also have a Code name – a unique identifier for the object in the system.

Event log

The event log is an application that allows administrators to view important actions and events that happen in the system, for example, authentication attempts or various errors.

Live site application

An application that provides a presentation layer for the content managed by Xperience.

Notification

Messages that provide information to administration users about various events in the system. In the current version of Xperience by Kentico, notifications are system emails providing information about user management events, such as password reset emails or multi-factor authentication.

Notification email template

Notification email templates define the overall layout of notifications and add fixed content, such as a header or footer. You can reuse a single template for any number of notifications. They contain macros that serve as placeholders for certain elements, such as basic data types. Notification email templates serve a distinct purpose from email templates related to email channels, focusing specifically on structuring and styling notification emails.

SaaS

Though SaaS commonly stands for Software-as-a-Service, in the documentation, the term is generally used for Kentico’s Xperience by Kentico as SaaS offering and the underlying cloud services that support the SaaS environment and deployed projects. The term is also used when discussing related topics such as:

• Kentico-managed deployment environment for Xperience applications – SaaS environment
• Xperience projects that are deployed to the SaaS environment – SaaS projects
• Deployment of an Xperience project to a specific SaaS environment – SaaS deployment

Deployment environment

You can deploy your SaaS projects to either QA, UAT, or PROD SaaS environment. Each deployment environment holds a single isolated instance of your Xperience application.

Xperience Portal

Xperience Portal, available at xperience-portal.com, is a Kentico-managed application that enables you to access and manage your Xperience Portal projects.

Xperience Portal project

An Xperience Portal project enables you to access and manage Xperience applications deployed in the SaaS environment.

Website channel

Website channels encapsulate websites managed by Xperience. Each channel is an independent entity with its own domain name configuration and content management. Channels store content in pages and linked content items.

Every website channel has its own application in the Xperience administration, where content editors create and edit pages.

Content model

A content model documents all the content that an organization produces. It should cover every piece of content used for your online presence: content used on your website, applications, different marketing channels, etc.

Content folder

A hierarchy of content folders can be used to organize and efficiently navigate through content items in the Content hub application. Content items are placed into content folders manually, and each item can only be located in one content folder.

Content type

Content types define a blueprint for any piece of content that editors produce. Each content type defines a specific structure and fields for inputting and storing data. 

Typical content type examples are articles, news, or product pages. Website structure can also contain content types that represent much smaller pieces of information, such as videos, addresses of offices, or user testimonials. These content types are often repeated in different places or contexts across the website, thus making the content reusable.

In Xperience, content types also enable page features of content items, such as content tree-based routing or Page Builder.

Content item

Content items are a universal and reusable way of working with content managed in the Content hub application. Content items are pieces of structured content (text, images, other linked content items, etc.). Each content item is based on a content type, which specifies the fields and features of the content item.

Content item asset

Content item assets are content items of certain content types that allow content editors to upload and store various types of files, for example, photos, pictures, sound files, videos, package files, presentations, or documents. You can reuse assets stored in the Content hub throughout the system.

Headless channel

Headless channels encapsulate content that is intended to be served using HTTP requests and GraphQL. Such headless content can be displayed or otherwise consumed by various types of applications, services or websites (e.g., mobile apps, external websites, single-page applications running within Xperience, etc.).

Every headless channel has its own GraphQL API endpoint, which is secured by one or more API keys. Each channel also has its own application in the Xperience administration, where editors can manage content intended for headless distribution. 

Headless content item

Headless items store content that is intended for distribution through a headless API (GraphQL). The items may also reuse content from Content hub that is shared between all types of channels.

Item status

Each page, content item, headless item and email has a status that describes its current position within the content life cycle. This can be a specific workflow step, another status such as Untranslated or Unpublished, or a sending status for regular emails.

Language

Languages are system objects that enable content editors to create multilingual content. Once languages are configured in the Languages application, content can be translated in the Content hub or in channel applications.

Instances of content items (pages, emails, reusable content) translated into various languages are referred to as language variants of said content item.

Media library

Media libraries allow you to store various types of files, for example, photos, pictures, sound files, videos, package files, presentations, or documents. You can reuse files stored in media libraries throughout the system.

Microchannel

Microchannels represent channels which can only contain a limited number of content items of the specific channel type:

• Website channels – at most 20 pages.
• Headless channels – at most 20 headless items.
• Email channels – at most 5 emails. The limit restricts the maximum number of email content items allowed in the microchannel, but not how many times these emails can be sent to recipients. Email microchannels are available in all license tiers (standard size email channels require the Advanced license tier).

Individual microchannel items of any type can link an unlimited number of reusable content items.

Page

Pages are a special type of content item created in a website channel. A page in the system usually corresponds to a page on your website. Pages can contain Page Builder content or structured content within their fields and can be accessed via a URL.

Smart folder

Smart folders provide a way for users to dynamically organize and filter content items in the Content hub application. Developers can also retrieve content from smart folders, which allows editors to control delivery of content that is displayed or otherwise used in channels (e.g., on the live website).

Each smart folder is based on a filtering condition, such as “items modified in the last 7 days”, “items with the Acme tag”, etc. The condition is evaluated dynamically, so items move in and out of smart folders as their fields and metadata change. A single content item can belong into any number of smart folders.

System URL

System URLs are default URLs generated from the page’s position in the content tree using the page’s URL slug and URL slugs of the page’s ancestors.

Rich text widget

The Rich text widget allows editors to add styled content to Page Builder pages.

Tag

Tags are keywords assigned to individual pieces of data. Tags can be assigned to individual pieces of content for multiple purposes including but not limited to modeling relationships, categorization, and organization and classification of data. Tags are defined in a hierarchical structure in a taxonomy.

Taxonomy

Taxonomies are structured collections of tags that organize and categorize data into hierarchical relationships. Each taxonomy contains a hierarchical structure of related tags. Examples of taxonomies are clothing colors (white, black, blue…), car fuel types (petrol, diesel, hybrid…), and PC features (external GPU, disc drive, tower size…).

Vanity URL

Vanity URLs are alternative URLs that can be configured and customized by marketers. Vanity URLs allow marketers to specify short and recognizable URLs for marketing, sharing, and branding purposes.

Workflow

Worklows allow you to customize the life cycle of content types by adding custom workflow steps between the default Draft and Published steps. You can use workflows to set up content approval processes tailored specifically to your editing flow.

Workflow step

A step represents a specific phase within a workflow, which can include both custom steps and predefined steps such as Draft and Published.

Component

Page Builder components are the building blocks of the Page Builder interface. They include widgets, page templates, sections, and personalization condition types.

Component configuration properties

Component properties are variables that allow content editors to customize a component’s behavior or modify its content directly in the Page Builder interface. Developers define these properties when developing individual Page Builder components.

Editable area

Editable areas are the top-level layout elements that limit where the Page Builder interface is available. Developers define editable areas in the code of page or template views.

Editing component

The documentation uses the term editing components when referring to UI form components used as editors for the values of other component properties. For example, a text input form component becomes an editing component when used to edit a widget property via the widget’s configuration dialog.

Inline editor

Inline editors are interactive Page Builder elements that allow content editors to enter or select the values of widget properties within the output of the related widget. They can be used as an alternative to or in combination with the property configuration dialog. For example, inline editors can range from simple value inputs to more advanced options, such as file uploaders or text areas with rich formatting options.

Landing page

Landing pages are one of the primary use cases for Page Builder. Landing pages are created specifically for marketing purposes. They are places where potential customers get redirected after clicking a link in an email or on a social network.

Page Builder

Page Builder is a graphical interface for designing and editing pages in Xperience. It uses widgets, modular components prepared by the developers, and other features to set the page layout and content.

Page template

Page templates allow content editors to choose from predefined layouts for new pages.

Personalization condition

Personalization conditions are a digital marketing feature supported by Page Builder widgets. The conditions allow editors to display different content per visitor. For example, you can show modified text or additional offers to visitors from a specific contact group.

Section

Sections are reusable Page Builder components that determine where widget zones can be placed. Sections are fully customizable, and developers control each section’s layout. In the Page Builder interface, content editors can choose which sections to add to a page and adjust the structure that way. A section may contain multiple widget zones.

Widget

Widgets are reusable Page Builder components that content editors and other non-technical users can easily manipulate. Widgets give non-technical users more flexibility when creating pages or adjusting existing content.

Widget zone

Widget zones are individual areas within a Page Builder section where content editors can place widgets.

Form Builder

The Xperience form builder offers an intuitive graphical editor that allows content creators and marketers to compose online forms. It is available on the Form builder tab of the Forms application when editing a form.

Form component

Form components are reusable elements used to create and edit forms in Form Builder. Each component represents a form input type, such as a text box or a group of radio buttons. Users can add, remove, or reorder individual form components and specify their properties via the form builder interface in the Forms application.

Form section

Form sections define the layout of forms. They represent reusable pieces of markup that can store any number of form zones – areas where content editors can place form fields.

Form widget

The form widget is provided in Kentico Xperience by default. It allows editors to place forms into the content of pages that use Page Builder. The Form widget can be found only when editing pages in the Page Builder within a website channel application.

Activity

Activities represent actions that website visitors perform on the live site. For example, the system logs activities when visitors view pages or submit forms.

Contact

Contacts represent individual visitors who view your websites. Contacts include anonymous visitors and users who provide personal information by registering, filling in a form, subscribing, etc. The system automatically gathers data about contacts based on the actions and input of the associated visitors.

Contact group

Contact groups are segmentation units that enable you to sort contacts. The system populates groups automatically based on dynamically evaluated conditions.

Email channel

Email channels are a dedicated medium of communication between you and your audience. Each project may contain multiple email channels, focusing on different content strategies, languages and audience engagement techniques.

Every email channel has its own application in the Xperience administration, where marketers create and send emails.

Channels allow for clean separation of your organization’s emails. The defining property of every email channel is a sending domain, which represents your company or brand, and is used in all sender addresses for the channel’s emails.

Email

The system allows marketers to create and send emails with various different purposes, such as form autoresponders or regular emails sent to subscribed recipients.

Every email belongs under an email channel, and is based on an email content type and email template. 

Email template

Templates define the overall layout of emails and add fixed content, such as a header or footer. You can reuse a single template for any number of emails.

Templates contain macros that serve as placeholders for the fields of email content types, as well as system elements, such as a regular email’s unsubscribe link URL.

Recipient list

A mailing list containing contacts who opt in to receive regular emails. Marketers select a recipient list when sending out emails.

Configuration dialog

The configuration dialog is a modal dialog that allows content editors to configure components. Developers define what input elements (editing components) are used to edit individual properties. Content editors manage these properties (e.g., widget properties) in the element’s configuration dialog.

Content item query

Content item query is an API that enables developers to retrieve page and content item data from the database using fluent syntax.

Editing component

A specific use case for UI form components. The term applies to UI form components assigned to provide the editing interface for a property used to configure another administration element. For example, a date-time input form component can be set to edit a widget property in the Page Builder configuration dialog.

InfoProvider

InfoProviders enable CRUD operations over objects managed by the system.

ObjectQuery

The ObjectQuery API provides an abstraction layer over the project’s database. It enables developers to manipulate object types using a fluent API similar to LINQ. The API is directly used by InfoProvider classes.

Object type

Object types store metadata and configuration related to the system’s database entities, such as users, contacts, and roles.

Object type data class

The object-relational mapping (ORM) framework uses data classes to map database entities to objects.

Provider

Provider classes expose various management APIs usable when customizing the system. You can find different types of providers, such as info, email, or file system providers.

UI form components

All form elements in the Xperience administration are composed using UI form components. Each component provides an input interface for one field in the form. UI form components are built using a different underlying technology than Form Builder form components and are not interchangeable. 

UI page

UI page refers to an individual page in the administration interface. Each page is accessible under a specific URL a provides discrete functionality (object listings, editing interfaces, settings, system information and statistics, etc.). UI pages derive their layout from templates in the client application and their functionality from classes that represent them on the back end. To learn more about UI pages and their structure, see UI pages.

UI page command

UI page commands enable the execution of arbitrary code on the server back end from within UI pages rendered by the client-side application. For example, page commands are used to handle interactive elements (buttons) or navigation. 

UI page extender

UI page extenders allow you to modify the back-end definition of existing UI pages without directly editing their source code. You can use them to add new UI page commands, or change the initial configuration of the page’s client properties.