CMS Lite overview

Learn about CMS Lite, a custom content management tool used to manage content on www2.gov.bc.ca and other CMS Lite-based sites.

​On this page

• Overview of CMS Lite
• Site structure and navigation
• Content management and templates
• Internet browsers
• Future development
• Custom features

Overview of CMS Lite

CMS Lite is a content management system developed by Government Digital Experience (GDX) to simplify web content management for B.C. government sites, including www2.gov.bc.ca. Launched in April 2012, CMS Lite is designed for ease of use, accessibility, and efficient content management.

• Learn about the process for updating web content
• New style of gov.bc.ca
• Get CMS Lite training and support

Purpose

CMS Lite helps ministries manage and publish web content easily and consistently. It supports a wide range of features designed to meet the unique needs of government websites.

Key features

• Intuitive content creation: Use the WYSIWYG editor for simple text formatting, image embedding, and link management without needing HTML skills
• Ready-made templates: Ensure a consistent design across the site with flexible templates, such as the "Topic template," that include built-in business logic to prevent errors
• Accessibility compliance: Built-in tools help meet Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 (AA)
• Mobile-first design: Automatically optimize content for mobile devices
• SEO optimization: Improve search visibility with metadata fields, human-readable URLs (HRUs), and automated SEO features
• Version control: Track changes and revert to previous versions if needed
• Role and access management: Control access with security groups and manage who can edit specific content

Site structure and navigation

Site architecture

CMS Lite follows the "16-8-8-8" rule for organizing website content:

• Themes: The 1st level of navigation with 16 main Themes
• Sub-themes: Each Theme can have up to 8 Sub-themes (2nd level)
• Topics: Ministries manage content from the 3rd level down to the 8th level

You can create as many topic pages as needed.

Support for content placement

Work with Government Digital Experience (GDX) to find the best location for your content within this structure. Information must be placed in the appropriate section, which is determined based on the topic of your page, not your Ministry.

GDX will provide a secure area within CMS Lite for you to manage your content.

Content management and templates

The internet strategy is built on the vision: “One Domain, One Design, One High-Quality Citizen Experience.” This vision guides GDX's work to ensure a consistent and user-friendly web experience across the province.

To support this vision, we created the Topic template in CMS Lite. This template allows ministries to maintain a unified design while offering flexibility to customize content for specific needs.

Topic template

The Topic template provides many layout options such as:

• Supplementary content boxes
• Bulleted lists
• Tables
• In-page anchors

Maintaining consistency with CMS Lite templates

To maintain consistency across B.C. Government pages, you must use the provided templates from Government Digital Experience (GDX):

• Do not design or develop new templates
• Avoid modifying the existing Topic template

If you're working with a UX design firm, they may suggest creating mockups or wireframes for your content. We recommend using CMS Lite to generate these mockups directly.

Previewing and publishing content in CMS Lite

When you build a page in CMS Lite, you're working directly in the production version of the tool. After creating and saving your content, it's stored in a database that you can view on the secure QA (Quality Assurance) web server. This pre-production environment lets you preview and navigate your content using the Topic template before publishing it to gov.bc.ca.

Once all mandatory fields are complete, you can publish the page immediately or schedule it for a future date or time.

Note: A separate test or development environment is not provided. The QA and production environments are all you need to manage your content effectively.

Minimum requirements to publish

The Topic template in CMS Lite automatically enforces publishing rules to ensure content meets required standards. CMS Lite will only publish a page if you have:

• Completed all required fields marked with an asterisk (*)
• Ensured every page has a title, navigation title, content body, and metadata
• Filled in the mandatory fields for any added supplementary content boxes (up to four)

These steps ensure your page meets the criteria for publishing

Internet browsers

Only use Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome

You must install the latest version of Firefox or Chrome to your workstation to use CMS Lite. GDX will only support clients who use these browsers. 

Please ensure you upgrade your browser(s) frequently, so that you have the most stable and reliable application running.

Other browsers are not supported

Internet Explorer, Edge and Apple Safari browsers are not certified to work with CMS Lite. You must install the latest version of Firefox or Chrome to your computer to use CMS Lite.

Note: Mobile devices are not certified to work with CMS Lite.

Future development

GDX uses Agile methodologies, including daily scrums and monthly sprints, with all progress tracked in JIRA.

CMS Lite is continually evolving, with new features in development based on requests from GDX and the Internet Advisory Council (IAC). The IAC also suggests features for CMS Lite and gov.bc.ca.

Requesting new features

If you have ideas for new templates, features, or functionality, share them with the Internet Advisory Council (IAC). We will consider ideas that:

• Are scalable
• Meet business needs for other CMS Lite users
• Align with Government Communication and Public Engagement (GCPE) and Government Digital Experience (GDX) strategic web objectives, and
• Have IAC support

Custom features

CMS Lite includes many standard features of a typical content management system. However, GDX has customized it to meet the unique needs of managing the B.C. government website. You can view the release notes online.

CMS Lite features provide the following functionality: