# Basics

Platform 2 isn't just a CMS system. It's a flexible and extensible application which provides a solid base.

By default you can quickly get started by managing users, content and your settings. Creating a new theme is easy and if Platform 2 doesn't provide something you'd like to see, you can easily extend it with your own custom extensions which can be installed through Composer.

This documentation will get you quick-started with Platform 2's basic functionality and will help you build your own custom Platform 2 extensions.

## Dashboard {#dashboard}

The back-end dashboard which comes with the Platform 2 application gives you a good starting point for managing your site. It's a flexible CMS on which you can build your own functionality.

By default the dashboard provides functionality for managing pages, content, users, menus, extensions and your settings. You can add more functionality or alter functionality by adding your own extensions.


## Settings {#settings}

By default, Platform 2 offers some configuration which you can manage in the settings panel. Add your own settings through your custom extensions.

**Themes**

Here you can select your currently active front- and back-end theme. Your own custom themes will also appear in these lists. Should you have other theme areas in your extensions, they'll also be listed here.

**General Settings**

The main settings for your Platform 2 application. Here you can edit your site title and tagline as well as the email settings which your application will be using for sending external e-mails.

**Users**

The users option panel gives you a couple of user registration options like setting the type of account activation and enabling or disabling user registration.

**Pages**

The pages settings allows you to choose your default landing page for your application.

**Workshop**

The workshop settings allows you to set a default author name and email for your extensions. You can also set an optional vendor folder which will be used when generating extensions.