Standard Content Fields in DSS

Last Updated: October 2018

As you navigate the content sections of DSS, you will see many of the same content fields for each section. Here, we’ll go through those fields and describe their functions, where you will see them reflected on your live site, and best practices for filling out those fields.

Title

The Title field is required for nearly every content item on your site. The page title appears in the browser's title bar and is prominently displayed in search engine results. It is one of the most important elements on a page! This is what a page title field looks like in DSS, and what it looks like on a live site:

Learn about best practices for creating page titles here.

Meta Description

The meta description is shown just below the link title on search engine results pages and should describe what users can expect to learn on the page. This is what the meta description field looks like in DSS, and what it looks like in search engine results:

Author On This Page

Assigning an author to a page is optional, but we encourage it on pages that may showcase your expertise. For example, if a user is reading a blog post about medical malpractice and they see your author tag at the end of the post, they may click on your bio to learn more about you or connect with you on social media. This is what an author field looks like in DSS, and what it looks like on a live site:

To assign an author to a page, you must have a bio page set up, and the author tag details must be set to display:

Learn more about setting up your bio page and author tag here.

Headline

Like the page title, the headline is required for nearly every page and plays an important role in SEO. Ideally, the headline should contain keywords, but it should also be unique and descriptive. This is what the headline field looks like in DSS, and what it looks like on a live site:

Titles, headlines, and meta descriptions are crucial elements when optimizing content for SEO. Learn how to create excellent titles, headlines, and meta descriptions here.

Rich Content Editor

The rich content editor is where you can create “body” content for each page. This is what the rich content editor field looks like in DSS, and what it looks like on a live site:

Videos On This Page

If you have videos loaded to DSS, you will see the option to assign them to the page. Click the plus button to add a video, and the x button to remove it. You can assign multiple videos and drag and drop them into the order for which you want them to play. Use the search filter to find a video easily, and you will also see the option to edit the video, view the thumbnail, or preview the video. Any videos marked “(internal)” have been set not to display on the site and will not show up when assigned to a page. Assigned videos will appear below the headline of the page, and above the body content. This is what the rich available videos field looks like in DSS, and what it looks like on a live site:

You can learn more about video options here.

Offers On This Page

This section works just like the video section with a few key differences. If you have offer pages in DSS, you will see the option to assign them to the page. Click the plus button to add an offer, and the x button to remove it. You can assign multiple offers and drag and drop them into the order which you want them to display. The search, edit, thumbnail, and preview options work the same here as they do in the video section.

There are two important notes here:

1. There are two ways to display an offer on your page. The offer module must be assigned, OR there are no modules assigned, and the parent page (i.e., blog overview is the parent page of a single blog post) has an offer module assigned that is inheriting onto the single blog post page.

2. If the offer page is set to “do not display” or the offer type is “PPC,” it will not display. This is done to prevent you from accidentally assigning the wrong offer to a page.

This is what the Offers On This Page field looks like in DSS, and what it looks like on a live site:

A quick note on this: It’s important to understand how your content is organized. The Overview Page for all of your different content types acts as a “parent page,” and the individual pages within that section may inherit some features assigned to the parent page. For example, below you can see the modules assigned to the article library overview page, and below that, you can see where those modules automatically populate on individual articles.

You can manage these on a page-by-page basis, giving you full control over which modules appear on which pages.

Templates On This Page

The next field you’ll see is the Templates field. You can create any number of header or footer templates to assign to different pages. Learn more about templates here.

Assign To A Service Area Or Category

Assigning your content to service areas or categories helps to keep things organized so search engines (and humans!) can easily scan your content. This also points people to related content. If, for example, you assign your page to the “Traffic Accidents” service area, DSS will populate your modules with links to other blog posts assigned to the “Traffic Accidents” service area.

Publish Status

Save your page to draft if you are not ready to publish, or set it live here. All of your draft content can be found by selecting “Content” from the navigation, and then “Search Draft Content.”

Scheduled Publish Date

This feature allows you to schedule your content to post on a specific date and time.

Display Option

Leave this section enabled to include and display this page on the overview page of this section, associated link module, and sitemap, along with all your other published content. If disabled, the link to this page will be removed from all these elements or areas. The only way a user would be able to access this page is by receiving a direct link from you or your staff.

Indexing Option

By default, this option is turned off which allows this page to be crawled and indexed by the search engines so a link to it can be provided on search results pages. When this option is enabled, this page will block search engines from indexing it and including a link to it on search results pages.

Regenerate URL

When creating a page in DSS, the URL will take on the title of the page. For example, the title of this page is “Standard Content Fields in DSS” so the URL is “/library/standard-content-fields-in-dss.cfm.” This field allows you to specify a custom URL for this page, so if I wanted, I could change the URL to “/library/example-regenerate-url.cfm.” This will create a 301 redirect, so any links pointing to the old URL will point users to the new URL.

Document Security Options

The Secure Area in DSS allows you to create user access levels to restrict or limit access to certain pages. The Document Security Options field is where you specify which users can access this page based on their security level. Learn how to use the Secure Area here.

Revision History

For almost every content section in DSS, you will see the Revision History field. DSS stores a copy of your content every time a page is saved, giving you the ability to restore a previous version of that page. Please Note: Restoring previous versions will not restore every setting on the page. Some of the items that are not restored include modules, offer and video assignments, file attachments or category selections.

Modules Available For This Page

This is where you can assign modules to a page. By default, each page will inherit the module settings from the overview page. To change the assigned modules, click the plus sign to add the module to the page, the x to delete it, or use the drag and drop feature to set the order. To remove all modules from the page and allow the body content to span the full width of the page’s content container, unassign all modules, and then assign the “Blank” module. This will stop the page from inheriting the modules that have been assigned to the overview page. If you simply remove all of the modules from the page, DSS will still display the inherited modules, so you must apply “Blank” here.

Delete This Item

Use this option to delete a page in DSS. This action is permanent, and cannot be undone! We recommend creating a 301 redirect for any page you plan to delete. Check out this blog post to learn more about 301 redirects.

Are You A Lawyer Or podiatrist Who Wants To Learn How Solid Content Can Earn You More Clients?

If you are seeking a trusted, authoriative partner to help you write content that not only attracts but actually converts into clients, Foster Web Marketing is here to help. Contact us online or call our office directly at 888.866.0939 to schedule your free consultation. We have been helping clients throughout the United States and internationally since 1998 are confident we can help you not only reach, but exceed your goals.