DNN Platform (formerly "DotNetNuke Community Edition" content management system) is open source software distributed under an MIT License that is intended to allow management of websites without much technical knowledge, and to be extensible through a large number of third-party apps to provide functionality not included in the DNN core modules.

[10] DotNetNuke uses a three-tier architecture model with a core framework providing support to the extensible modular structure.

[11] In recent years DNN migrated from using exclusively Web Forms to also allowing Model View Controller and Single-page application architectures.

[16] The DNN framework provides basic functionality such as security, user administration, and content management, while modules are used to tailor the web site for specific deployment needs.

Pages and modules can inherit or set custom access permissions that define which groups of users can view or edit each item.

[26] However DNN's requirement for an IIS medium trust environment has prevented broader adoption[27] among some mainstream hosting companies.

DNN is supported by a community of enthusiasts notably in North America and Europe, with yearly physical events taking place on these continents.

[31] The early releases of the IBuySpy Workshop application were developed solely by Walker and distributed by his consulting company, Perpetual Motion Interactive Systems Inc.

The name "DotNetNuke" was coined by Walker by combining the term .NET with the word "nuke", which had been popular with existing frameworks such as PHP-Nuke and PostNuke.

[36] In September 2006, Shaun Walker invited 3 members of the Core Team, Joe Brinkman, Nik Kalyani, and Scott Willhite, to form DotNetNuke Corporation to oversee management and development of the project, as well as offer professional services to the community.

This project was subsequently brought under the umbrella of the .Net Foundation with DNN Corp solely focusing on their commercial Evoq platform.