Build a Business Website with Editable Products and News: Setup Checklist

Build a business website with editable products and news in five stages: agree the page journeys, design the entry structure, connect the theme, enter sample records, and test the handover. Website staff first connect products and news to the CMS. Company editors then add records, change copy and images, and check the public results. For acceptance, have the future editor personally add one product and one news article and follow each through to the public page.

This guide is for companies commissioning their first website, connecting static pages to an admin system, or buying a website delivery service. It focuses on establishing a sustainable content structure. For tool selection, see the business website CMS selection guide. Teams with a live site can use the ongoing maintenance and handover checklist.

1. Agree the customer journeys and minimum page types

Start with common customer tasks: finding a product type, checking a specific model, reading company news or practical articles, and contacting sales. A suggested first release covers the homepage, About, product listing, product detail, news listing, news detail and Contact. These are page types; determine actual category and page counts from the business materials.

• Product journey: homepage or navigation → product category and listing → product detail → enquiry entry.
• News journey: homepage or navigation → news listing → article → related product or Contact page.
• Editing journey: sign in → choose the correct site, category and language → add or update a record → read back saved values → inspect the public page.

Assign a material owner and reviewer to each page type. Specify what a listing shows and where each link goes. Featured products and latest news on the homepage require corresponding theme queries and ordering rules; include these positions in the delivery checklist. Use the website materials checklist to prepare copy and images.

2. Map categories, models, records and templates

Categories organize content entry points. Content models define the entry structure for similar content. A record stores one product or news article. Templates determine the public presentation. Map pages to their data before configuring the admin system.

Use separate models when product and news fields differ substantially. Similar structures can reuse a configured model and use categories for organization. The CatchCMS official website currently uses its “Official Website Content” model across several categories; that is this site's actual configuration. Choose each client's structure from its materials and editing habits, and have website staff confirm valid model, category and template mappings.

3. Define fields with one product and one news article

Choose complete samples first. Titles, body copy and covers can use base fields. Add dynamic fields for model numbers, specifications or other business data as needed. Give fields names editors understand and define their meaning, units, required values, validation and translation settings. Verify types and rules against the project's current model definition.

• Product sample: name, model, applications, images, specification names and units, applicable conditions, document links and enquiry entry. Parameters edited individually can have dedicated fields where useful; keep equivalent specifications in a consistent display order.
• News sample: title, actual publication date, body, cover and image captions. For company news, also verify when the event happened. For practical articles, record source materials and the reviewer; check the source and permitted use of reproduced or quoted material. Agree whether the theme derives a listing introduction from existing content or the project adds a summary field. Document the source at handover.
• Language agreement: prepare complete Chinese and English titles, body copy, search descriptions and translatable fields. Review models, numbers, units and document applicability together.

CatchCMS supports configurable dynamic fields, choices, required values and validation, with field-level translation settings. Missing field translations fall back to base values under the runtime rules, so inspect the English output individually. See content models and dynamic fields for configuration and the product catalog guide for detailed classification and specification planning.

4. Connect the theme to saved records

Website staff connect real data to the homepage, category listings and detail pages. Listings retrieve records for the intended category; details retrieve the corresponding record; specification areas read agreed fields. Connect titles, covers, body copy, dates and related links to their actual sources. New records appear according to the queries implemented for those positions.

The CatchCMS frontend uses Blade themes and retrieves data through CMS components or helpers. Technical staff implement templates, styling, pagination and required interactions; company editors maintain configured content. Verify every saved field against its display position. Public product filtering, complex relationships and special layouts require theme or project development, with conditions and result pages tested together.

For Chinese and English, check corresponding language destinations, navigation and related links, plus long titles, image crops and specification tables on mobile. An enquiry form also needs field configuration, theme integration and a notification environment. Make a submission clearly marked “test” and check the record in the correct site's admin area and the expected email. See the theme development and launch checklist.

5. Use these fictional samples for first-entry acceptance

Fictional implementation example: an equipment company starts with PX-100 and an article called “How to prepare equipment selection materials.” The names, paths and specifications below illustrate acceptance. Each client project generates its actual addresses from its configuration and verifies its product facts.

1. Configure the structure: website staff agree product and news categories, models, fields and templates. Record each field's display position in the team acceptance sheet.
2. Enter the product: the editor adds PX-100, confirmed copy, images and an illustrative power value of 5 kW. Where the project provides a parameter field, enter the value there and keep the displayed unit consistent with the field agreement.
3. Enter the article: the editor supplies a complete title, body, cover and actual publication date, plus a relevant link to the product. Explain the selection information using real source materials.
4. Check addresses: a project might use /products/px-100 and /news/selection-materials. Record the actual Chinese and English URLs, and check that listing links and language switching reach the corresponding content. Keep those URLs and actual publication dates for routine copy updates. If an address must change, have technical staff handle the old link destination.
5. Make one change: suppose the business owner confirms the power should be 6 kW. Preserve the old values, update the relevant data and Chinese and English explanations, then read back and inspect the listing, detail and other positions using that parameter.

This checks whether editors can find the right fields, templates read the right values and both languages preserve the same facts. Additional products should follow the same entry process. Technical staff handle new layouts, business fields and interactions through configuration and page changes.

6. Accept delivery with a verifiable checklist

• Entry works: the everyday account adds a product and news article in the correct site and can locate their categories, fields and language controls.
• Output is traceable: read back saved data and open actual URLs. Check listings, details and agreed homepage positions. Define behavior for empty listings, long titles and missing images.
• Languages match: verify Chinese and English titles, body copy, descriptions, models, units, images and document links. Language switching reaches the corresponding content.
• Customers can use it: inspect mobile layout, images, downloads and enquiry entries. Confirm successful page responses, titles, descriptions, canonical URLs, language links and applicable structured data.
• Technical ownership is clear: hand over domain and hosting responsibilities, deployment instructions, account permissions, database and attachment backup locations, recovery procedures and an upgrade contact.
• Content can be restored: editors preserve original copy, translations, fields and file copies and rehearse restoring them manually. Technical staff separately test system backup recovery.

Record each item as passed, awaiting materials or awaiting technical work, with its public URL, check time and owner. Verify formal approvals, scheduled automatic publication, automatic file versioning and CRM connections as separate project requirements. Confirm implementation scope individually for online purchases, orders and payments.

7. Deliver a working small scope, then expand

Start with one product category, one complete product and one complete news article in Chinese and English. Confirm company editors can make changes before preparing the remaining records in volume. Product counts, language counts and field complexity determine the material-entry and page-checking workload. Include deployment, theme development and maintenance responsibilities in the delivery scope.

CatchCMS provides content models, dynamic fields, multilingual content and admin content management. Theme implementation and project configuration connect that data to customer-facing pages. Prepare your page list, sample product, sample article, languages and deployment requirements, then use project enquiries to agree configuration, theme work and handover. Make successful entry and publication of both content types an explicit acceptance task.