Site URLs
Overview of URLs
A URL is an address that you type in your browser's address bar, and every item that you publish in Brightspot has its own unique URL. The base portion of a URL typically starts with http:// or https:// followed by a domain name. The following table describes the different types of base URLs you can assign to each of your sites.
Type of base URL | Description |
|---|---|
Site URL | Base portion of a URL a visitor uses to retrieve one of your published items. |
Preview URL | Base portion of a URL used to preview content when using a headless environment. |
Tool URL | Base portion of a URL that editors use to log in to Brightspot. |
For example, Sally is a voracious reader and an even more voracious writer. She was hired by Extraterrestrial Cuisine, a media giant that has three publications—Moon Munchies, Venus Victuals, and Martian Menus—and Sally is publishing content to all three. The following table shows how Extraterrestrial Cuisine has set up its domain names:
Site | Base URL | Type |
|---|---|---|
Brightspot |
| Tool URL |
Moon Munchies |
| Site URL |
Venus Victuals |
| Site URL |
Martian Menus |
| Site URL |
When Sally comes to work every morning, she logs in to Brightspot using the address http://editors.extraterrestrial.com/cms. Whenever she works on an article, she sees URLs similar to the following in her browser—regardless to which site she is publishing content.
Visitors who want to read one of her articles see a URL similar to the following in their browsers.
Configuring base URLs
The following table describes when you need to configure base URLs for your sites as well as associated default values.
Type of base URL | When to set | Default if not set |
|---|---|---|
Site URL | As needed; as a best practice, assign a different Site URL to each of your sites. |
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Preview URL | You are using Brightspot in a headless environment. Available for the Global site only. |
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Tool URL | If both of the following conditions are true:
Otherwise, configuring a Tool URL is optional. | Same as the site URL. |
From the Navigation Menu, expand Admin, and select Sites & Settings.
In the Sites & Settings widget, click the site for which you want to configure base URLs. The Edit Global or Edit Site widget appears.
Click Main, and enter base URLs in the Default Tool URL field.
Click Save.
URLs and trailing slashes
Brightspot retrieves assets using a permalink. For example, a visitor wants to view the URL http://example.com/menus, so Brightspot retrieves the asset whose permalink is menus.
URLs with a trailing slash can be ambiguous. If a visitor wants to view http://example.com/menus/, Brightspot can do one of the following:
Remove the trailing slash, and retrieve the asset at the permalink
menus.Retain the trailing slash, and retrieve the asset at the permalink
menus/.
Additionally, if a visitor wants to view http://example.com/menus, Brightspot can add a trailing slash and retrieve the asset at the permalink menus/.
You can configure how Brightspot appends or removes trailing slashes to incoming URLs.
In the Sites widget, select Global. The Edit Global widget appears.
Under CMS, expand Advanced.
From the Trailing Slash Configuration list, select one of the following.
Do Not Change—Incoming URLs not changed.
Remove—Removes trailing slashes from incoming URLs unless an asset already exists at the modified URL.
Normalize—Changes the incoming URL to an existing one (if possible).
See the table Options for configuring trailing slashes for examples of each option.
Click Save.
Suppose your site has assets at the following URLs:
http://example.com/menus/http://example.com/menus/breakfasthttp://example.com/menus/lunchhttp://example.com/menus/lunch/
The following table describes how Brightspot can modify URLs by appending or removing trailing slashes.
Original URL | Modified URL |
|---|---|
Do Not Change—Brightspot does not modify the incoming URL. | |
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In this example, there is no asset at this URL, so Brightspot returns a not found (error 404). |
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In this example, there is no asset at this URL, so Brightspot returns a not found (error 404). |
Remove—Brightspot removes a trailing slash unless an asset exists at the modified URL. | |
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In this example, there is no asset at this URL, so Brightspot returns a not found (error 404). |
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In this example, there is no asset at this URL, so Brightspot returns a not found (error 404). |
Normalize—Brightspot changes the incoming URL to an existing one. | |
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In this example, there is no asset at this URL, so Brightspot returns a not found (error 404). |
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In this example, there is no asset at this URL, so Brightspot returns a not found (error 404). |