# Understand how Hygraph works

Learn the concepts behind Hygraph, from content modeling and schema building blocks to content federation and the terms used across the docs.

Design a schema that's easy to extend, query, and edit by understanding the concepts behind Hygraph. Use these pages to plan your content model, learn how models, fields, and components fit together, and see how content federation brings data from other systems into one API.

New to Hygraph? Start with [Get started](https://hygraph.com/docs/getting-started), or follow the [full tutorial](https://hygraph.com/docs/getting-started/tutorial/tutorial-overview) to build your first project.

## Section contents

### Content modeling

| Document | Contents |
| --- | --- |
| [Content modeling overview](https://hygraph.com/docs/core-concepts/content-modeling/content-modeling-overview) | Learn what content modeling is, why it matters, and how to approach it before building your schema. |
| [Content modeling in Hygraph](https://hygraph.com/docs/core-concepts/content-modeling/content-modeling-in-hygraph) | Learn how Hygraph's schema building blocks work, including models, fields, references, components, enumerations, taxonomies, and system artifacts. |
| [Plan your content model](https://hygraph.com/docs/core-concepts/content-modeling/plan-your-content-model) | Research your domain, involve your stakeholders, build a domain model, and design your schema. |
| [Content modeling walkthrough](https://hygraph.com/docs/core-concepts/content-modeling/content-modeling-walkthrough) | Follow the full content modeling process step by step, from research to a finished schema in Hygraph. |
| [Content modeling best practices](https://hygraph.com/docs/core-concepts/content-modeling/content-modeling-best-practices) | Design a content model that is scalable, maintainable, and easy for editors to use. |

### Also in this section

- [Content federation](https://hygraph.com/docs/core-concepts/content-federation): Learn what content federation is, its use cases and benefits, and how it unifies content from multiple sources into a single GraphQL API.
- [Glossary](https://hygraph.com/docs/core-concepts/glossary): Look up Hygraph concepts and terms, including content stages, fields, sidebar widgets, components, and variants.

## Related resources

- [Build your Hygraph project](https://hygraph.com/docs/developer-guides): The Developer Guides, from project administration and schema to visual editing, content, assets, and webhooks.
- [API Reference](https://hygraph.com/docs/api-reference): The Content API, the Management API, and how your schema appears in GraphQL.
- [Build your schema](https://hygraph.com/docs/developer-guides/schema/schema-overview): Apply content modeling in Studio by creating models, fields, components, and other schema elements.