# N00b question - not sure where to start on identity

**URL:** <https://answers.netlify.com/t/n00b-question-not-sure-where-to-start-on-identity/14217>\
**Category:** Support\
**Tags:** identity, netlify-newbie\
**Created:** [May 7, 2020, 3:32pm UTC](https://answers.netlify.com/t/n00b-question-not-sure-where-to-start-on-identity/14217 "2020-05-07T15:32:42Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![paulmil11](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/netlify/user_avatar/answers.netlify.com/paulmil11/32/10404_2.png) [@paulmil11](https://answers.netlify.com/u/paulmil11)\
**Post date:** [May 7, 2020, 3:32pm UTC](https://answers.netlify.com/t/n00b-question-not-sure-where-to-start-on-identity/14217/1 "2020-05-07T15:32:42Z")

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Hey there,

This is going to be an embarassing question I think but I’ve spent about 3 hours trying to login to the backend of a gatsby install on netlify. I am missing something obvious but am not sure what it is. The current site is: [indieconsultant.co](http://indieconsultant.co)

I activated idenity, enabled git gateway, did invite only. When I get the invite emails it goes to the site and nothing pops up.

What do I have wrong here?

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**Author:** ![tomrutgers](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/netlify/user_avatar/answers.netlify.com/tomrutgers/32/107_2.png) [@tomrutgers](https://answers.netlify.com/u/tomrutgers)\
**Post date:** [May 7, 2020, 4:39pm UTC](https://answers.netlify.com/t/n00b-question-not-sure-where-to-start-on-identity/14217/2 "2020-05-07T16:39:12Z")

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Hi, welcome to the Netlify community forum. Netlify Identity itself is not a backend or a CMS, it’s an authentication service! It allows you to add user management to your website. It’s used by [Netlify CMS](https://www.netlifycms.org/), for instance.

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**Author:** ![Dennis](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/netlify/user_avatar/answers.netlify.com/dennis/32/34_2.png) [@Dennis](https://answers.netlify.com/u/Dennis)\
**Post date:** [May 7, 2020, 4:49pm UTC](https://answers.netlify.com/t/n00b-question-not-sure-where-to-start-on-identity/14217/3 "2020-05-07T16:49:52Z")

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To add to @tomrutgers’s response, it looks like your Gatsby starter is meant to be used with a headless Ghost CMS. If you want to use it with Netlify CMS, you can take a look here: [Gatsby | Netlify CMS | Open-Source Content Management System](https://www.netlifycms.org/docs/gatsby/). Hope that helps.

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**Author:** ![paulmil11](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/netlify/user_avatar/answers.netlify.com/paulmil11/32/10404_2.png) [@paulmil11](https://answers.netlify.com/u/paulmil11)\
**Post date:** [May 7, 2020, 6:48pm UTC](https://answers.netlify.com/t/n00b-question-not-sure-where-to-start-on-identity/14217/4 "2020-05-07T18:48:53Z")

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> [@Dennis](#):
>
> Gatsby

oh wow ok dont know how i missed it haha