In Drupal, each item of content is called a node (see below), and each node belongs to a single content type. Most of the time different content types have different data fields, layouts and work flows associated with that content type.
In essence a template—that describes a specific type of content. For example, an Event content type might consist of the following fields:
Title (plain text)
Description (rich text)
Speaker (plain text)
Start/End date (date range)
Contact (plain text)
Contact email (email field)
Contact phone (plain text)
A News content type might include fields for:
Headline (plain text)
Byline (plain text)
Published date (date)
Body (rich text)
Image (image field)
A Basic page might only have a Title (plain text) field and a Body (rich text) field.
Editors use the available content types to add content (i.e. ‘nodes’) to their site. Editors do not create or modify content types, but understanding the concept will facilitate discussions around functional enhancements.