Content organization

  • Release version: Australia
  • Updated March 12, 2026
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Content Organization

    Before building a CMS website, it's essential to organize all the content you wish to include, which consists of both CMS site information (pages, images, menus) and system information (knowledge base articles, catalog items). Proper organization enhances user experience and ensures easy navigation.

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    Key Features

    • Content Listing: Begin by listing all content types to be hosted, such as help pages and catalog items.
    • Logical Grouping: Organize content into logical groups based on audience or purpose, and provide common names for these groups.
    • Navigation Structure: Define a clear top-down menu structure with a home page and references to parent pages.
    • Data Integration: Collaborate with application administrators to effectively leverage data from other ServiceNow applications, ensuring relevant information is accessible on CMS pages.
    • Branding Elements: Incorporate logos, color palettes, and other branding components as defined by your marketing department for consistency and design coherence.
    • Web Design Elements: Use standard elements like templates, navigation schemes, and forms to maintain a consistent appearance across the site.
    • ServiceNow Features: Analyze features such as account settings, email, workflow approvals, and filters for integration with your CMS pages.

    Key Outcomes

    By effectively organizing your CMS content and incorporating branding elements, you can create an intuitive, maintainable website that meets user needs. Collaborating with application administrators ensures that vital system information is seamlessly integrated, ultimately enhancing the overall functionality and user experience of the CMS. Consistent design will further strengthen organizational identity and improve user engagement.

    Before you begin to build the CMS website, list all the content that you want to include and take the time to organize it.

    A site created in CMS relies on two different types of content.

    • CMS site information, such as site pages, images, and menus
    • System information, such as knowledge base articles and catalog items

    CMS content

    Begin by listing all the content you want to host on the CMS pages. Examples include help pages, My Requests, My Approvals, and specific catalog items. Think about current solutions that you can implement immediately, and note ideas for future implementation phases.

    Within CMS, you group pages to define the top-down menu structure. You establish a home or starting page, and other pages in the site reference the home page in the Parent Page reference field.

    There are several ways to group, such as by audience or the purpose of the website. After listing the content to host, group it logically and identify a common name for each group, as shown in the following examples.

    Table 1. IT environment groups
    Content built for Common name
    End user End User Page
    IT professional IT Professional Page
    Table 2. General groups
    Purpose of site Common name
    Reports Reporting Page
    Help and knowledge Knowledge page

    System content

    Organize the content so the interface is easy to navigate and understandable to the user. Determine the organization based on the data that you are leveraging, both in the CMS (using sites, parent pages, pages, and navigational menus) and throughout the rest of the system. For example, within the catalog you have "category," and in the knowledge base you have "category" and "subcategory." You can use these hierarchies with filtered lists for good search results.

    Organizing CMS content logically is important for long-term maintenance of the site, however, the data typically comes from other ServiceNow applications. Communicate with the administrators for these applications, such as the knowledge base, service catalog, and business service portfolio. Work with them to offer the application data appropriately through the CMS pages you create. For example, the team that created the ServiceNow corporate website in CMS began by evaluating the naming conventions used in the corporate knowledge base.

    Branding elements

    Branding refers to the logo, name, colors, and symbols that identify an organization. It imposes consistency in design and use of terms. Your marketing department defines branding elements and can provide them to you as you plan your CMS pages. Consider how to incorporate the following branding elements.
    • Logos
    • Color palette
    • Tag line
    • Trademarked elements
    • Graphics

    Site design

    During planning, consider providing a core set of features with a standard appearance throughout the site. The following web design elements are often used to create a consistent look.

    • Page templates
    • Navigation schemes
    • Header
    • Breadcrumbs
    • Footer
    • Forms

    ServiceNow features

    Analyze and organize the following ServiceNow features in your instance if you plan on using any of them with CMS pages.

    • Account settings
    • Email
    • Workflow approvals
    • Filters