First Steps

Last Updated: Feb 11, 2022
documentation for the dotCMS Content Management System

Whether you are new to content management, or just new to the dotCMS, these tutorials will get you up and running quickly on all the basics of content authoring. Each of the tutorials builds upon the previous lesson, so it's a good idea to view each tutorial in the order listed below. The best way to demo dotCMS, when possible, is to download and install it on your local computer. This gives you full access to the front-end (where your users see and browse your site), back-end (where content is created and edited) and the server files (including configuration properties and plugins).

Want to give it a try?

No problem, we've got you covered. We make it easy to get started by providing you with a dotCMS demo site that anyone can log into and modify. Other tutorials also show how to install dotCMS, but for simple content contribution, the demo site is available 24 hours a day*. ### dotCMS Demo Site {#DemoSite} Check out our live demo site or download and get started now:

  • Site URL:

  • Login Credentials:

    • Email address: admin@dotcms.com
    • Password: admin
  • Availability:

    • 24 Hours a day, 365 days a year.
    • Resets at 12PM and 12AM EST (GMT-5) daily.
      • The site will be unavailable for 5-15 minutes after each reset.
  • Important:

    • All work done on the site will be lost each time the site resets.
      • Therefore you should only do short-term testing and evaluation on the demo site.
    • To avoid losing any work done on the demo site, you may save your work as a bundle.

Once you begin working with dotCMS, it may help to have a better understanding of the different types of content in dotCMS and how Pages are displayed. For more information on how content is organized in dotCMS, please see the Architecture Overview documentation.

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