CMS Feature Specification Template

What This Template Is For

Content management features sit at the intersection of editorial needs and technical architecture. A CMS that is easy for writers but hard to extend ends up limiting the product. A CMS that is flexible for engineers but confusing for editors ends up unused. This template helps PMs navigate that tension by separating the editorial experience from the content infrastructure, specifying each with enough detail that both audiences get what they need.

Use this template when you are building or extending a CMS, adding a content type, designing editorial workflows, or specifying how content moves from draft to published. It covers content modeling, authoring UX, workflow automation, permissions, versioning, and delivery APIs.

For a broader perspective on technical product specifications, the Technical PM Handbook covers architecture decision-making and engineering collaboration. If your CMS project involves evaluating third-party tools rather than building from scratch, consider using the competitive analysis template to compare CMS vendors before writing requirements.

How to Use This Template

1. Start with the content model, not the UI. The most common CMS mistake is designing screens before defining the underlying content structure. Map your content types, fields, and relationships first. The UI follows from the model.
2. Interview both editors and developers. Editors care about the authoring experience, preview, and publishing workflow. Developers care about the API, content delivery, and extensibility. A good spec addresses both.
3. Define the workflow before building the editor. Who creates content? Who reviews it? Who publishes it? Who can unpublish? These workflow decisions shape the entire feature set.
4. Plan for content reuse. Content created once should be publishable to multiple channels (web, mobile app, email, third-party). Specify how content is delivered, not just how it is authored.
5. Validate scope with the RICE Calculator. CMS features often expand in scope as stakeholders add requirements. Score each capability independently to keep the MVP focused.

CMS Feature Specification Template

Feature Overview

One-line summary: [What this CMS feature does in plain language.]

Context: [Why this feature exists. Current pain points. Editorial team size and workflow. Content volume (posts per week/month). Distribution channels.]

Content Model

Define the content types, fields, and relationships that this feature requires.

Content Type: [Name]

Content relationships:

Editorial Workflow

Define the states content moves through from creation to publication.

Draft → In Review → Approved → Scheduled → Published
  ↑         ↓                                   ↓
  ←── Revision Requested                    Archived

Workflow states:

Reviewer assignment rules:

• ☐ Manual assignment by author (pick from reviewer list)
• ☐ Automatic assignment based on content category
• ☐ Round-robin across reviewer pool
• ☐ Manager approval required for specific content types

Authoring Experience

Define the content editor UI and authoring tools.

Rich text editor capabilities:

• ☐ Headings (H2-H4)
• ☐ Bold, italic, underline, strikethrough
• ☐ Ordered and unordered lists
• ☐ Block quotes
• ☐ Code blocks with syntax highlighting
• ☐ Inline code
• ☐ Links (internal and external, open in new tab option)
• ☐ Images (upload, URL, alt text, caption)
• ☐ Tables
• ☐ Embeds (YouTube, Twitter, custom embed codes)
• ☐ Custom blocks / components (CTA, callout, accordion)
• ☐ Markdown shortcuts (e.g., ## auto-converts to H2)

Editor UX requirements:

Versioning and History

Permissions Model

Define who can do what within the CMS. Map these roles to your RACI matrix if you have one for the content team.

Content Delivery API

Define how content is consumed by frontend applications and other services.

API style: [REST / GraphQL / Both]

Endpoints (REST):

GET    /api/content/[type]           List content (paginated, filterable)
GET    /api/content/[type]/[slug]    Get single content by slug
GET    /api/content/[type]/[id]      Get single content by ID
POST   /api/content/[type]           Create content (authenticated)
PUT    /api/content/[type]/[id]      Update content (authenticated)
DELETE /api/content/[type]/[id]      Delete content (authenticated)

Query parameters:

Response format:

{
  "data": [...],
  "meta": {
    "total": 142,
    "limit": 20,
    "offset": 0,
    "next": "/api/content/posts?offset=20&limit=20"
  }
}

Preview and Staging

Search and Discovery

Analytics and Metrics

Track content performance to inform editorial decisions. These metrics belong in your team's KPI dashboard.

Edge Cases

Dependencies

Out of Scope

• [Features explicitly excluded]
• [Future phases]
• [Adjacent systems that belong in separate specs]

Filled Example: Blog CMS for SaaS Marketing

Feature Overview

One-line summary: A headless CMS for the marketing blog that supports structured content, editorial review workflows, and API-first delivery to the Next.js frontend.

Context: The marketing team publishes 8-12 blog posts per month. The current WordPress setup has performance issues (3.2s average page load), limited SEO control, and no staging environment for content review. The team wants to move to a headless architecture that integrates with the existing Next.js site.

Content Model

Content Type: Blog Post

Out of Scope

• User comments or reactions on blog posts (use third-party like Disqus)
• Multi-language content (English only for V1)
• Content personalization based on user segments
• Video hosting within the CMS (embed from YouTube/Vimeo)