Once a set of schemas is tested and ready to use, a skeleton of the site is built out from within the CMS. Having a basic Site Tree provides CMS users with the ability to configure and test features like navigations. It also allows the CMS to begin generating the XML that will eventually be styled by stylesheets.

For example, the site control typically appears on every page type. It should be defaulted in on page creation. To do this, you need to know the xID for the site control component. Create the site control in the site, note its xID, and then revisit each page type schema. Give the element tag an attribute of default and set its value to the xID for the site control component.

Tips for building sites:

• Delete test pages created with older versions of schemas to avoid confusion.
• Refer to the site map at the end of the specification to ensure the pages reflect business needs identified in the development of the specification.
• Create components before pages, if possible, so that they can be dragged into pages that require them.
• Make the home page the first page, and then create each node beneath it.
• Create one sample of each page type, fill in common elements with real content, and duplicate the page as needed. Rename duplicates and modify elements specific to each page, such as titles.
• If there will be duplicate content structures, create a full structure before copying it. For example, consider a site composed of section fronts, each having a handful of detail pages beneath. Create the home page, then a single section front with detail pages below. Then copy the section front so that its children are copied as well.
• In some cases, elements are populated by default on page creation. For some element types, the default value is specified by referencing an xID. This means you must create a unique instance of the default content in the site, note its xID, and update the referencing schema with the xID in the default attribute.