Part 1- Getting Started with Sitecore CMP
👋 Hello Sitecorians! I recently ran an experiment to validate how Sitecore CMP (Content Marketing Platform) can act as an upstream factory for structured content creation, ensuring governance, linking assets from DAM and generating a predictable JSON payload that downstream systems can consume.
The main objective was to validate how CMP can manage and publish website content, including both text and assets, entirely from within Content Hub.
Before getting into content types, it’s important to first understand what CMP actually is, how it fits inside Content Hub, and what areas you should explore once you log in.
🌟 What is CMP?
Sitecore CMP is a content marketing platform that lets you plan, author, collaborate, curate, and distribute the different content types that drive the execution of a content marketing strategy.
CMP brings together the upstream marketing process, everything that happens before content reaches your delivery channels.
It allows you to:
- Plan and author marketing content.
- Collaborate through workflows and approvals.
- Link assets from DAM to maintain consistency.
- Publish approved, structured content to downstream systems or headless front-ends.
In short, CMP is the workspace where all content creation begins.
Exploring CMP Inside Content Hub
After logging in to Sitecore Content Hub, you’ll find CMP under the Content section of the top navigation bar.
This workspace is where authors, editors, and strategists perform their day-to-day tasks.
The standard CMP workspace includes these pages:
| Menu Item | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Work | Shows assigned tasks and approvals for ongoing content. |
| Search | Lets you locate existing content items quickly. |
| Calendar | Displays upcoming content deadlines and publishing schedules. |
| Strategy | Helps align content with campaigns, audiences, and channels. |
| Ideas | Used for brainstorming and capturing early-stage concepts. |
| Content collections | Groups related content assets for a campaign or channel. |
| Reporting | Provides metrics and workflow performance analytics. |
If the Content Menu Is Not Visible
Sometimes the Content option (or its sub-pages) may not appear in your navigation bar.
This is controlled through page configuration and user roles.
To check this:
- Go to Manage → Configuration → Pages.
- In the left panel, locate and select Content.
- Under the Info tab, ensure the following are enabled:
- ✅ Visible
- ✅ Appears in menu (this determines whether the “Content” section appears in the top menu).
- Save your changes and refresh the instance.
Now Let’s Check the Page We Want to Structure
With CMP accessible and your workspace visible, the next step is to examine the actual website page you want to structure.
This analysis is crucial because every marketing page contains multiple content elements — hero banners, feature sections, testimonials, CTAs, and footer components. Before creating any content type in CMP, it’s important to:
- Identify each section of the page and its purpose.
- Separate static elements (e.g., brand logo or address) from dynamic ones (e.g., text blocks or campaign banners).
- Understand dependencies — for example, does a CTA need a linked asset or taxonomy tag?
- Evaluate reusability — is this element unique to a page or shared across many pages?
This early content audit helps you avoid redundancy and ensures your CMP content types mirror real business structures, a practice Sitecore recommends in its guidelines for content governance and reuse.
First Steps When Exploring CMP
- Begin with Work to see your assigned tasks.
- Use Search to find existing content before creating new items.
- Review Ideas and Strategy to grasp planning context.
- Check Content collections to understand grouped assets.
- If you’re an admin, ensure Appears in menu is enabled for visibility.
🏁 Conclusion
Sitecore CMP is the starting point of content creation in Content Hub, the place where governed, structured, and collaborative content takes shape before it flows to delivery systems.
Getting comfortable with its workspace and navigation is the first step toward building a scalable content governance model.
Once you understand where your content lives and how to access it, you’re ready to move on to the next step: structuring real web pages into reusable content blocks.