Content production planning helps you to create a workflow for the production and management of content for your new website or digital projects.
Content should be at the centre of your web or digital project. Do not treat content as an afterthought. Producing good content for a new website is a big challenge. Things will wrong.
- Projects will run late (as you wait for the content to catch up)
- Budgets are likely to increase
- Quality could suffer as content gets rushed through
- The overall user experience will be impacted
- The website’s business objectives could fail
You should
- Prioritise the content needed at launch, and publish more in follow-up phases
- Identify key people early and assign Subject Experts to content
- Archive as much of the existing site content as possible before beginning
- Minimise review points and be clear on the exact remit of each reviewer
- Stagger content production to reduce bottlenecks (like a factory assembly line)
You should not
- Underestimate the time it takes to produce content
- Migrate all of the current site’s content
- Dismiss hiring professional web Copywriters because of cost
- Start writing until we have a digital style guide
- Allow reviewers to make direct edits to the content
Website content workflow
After you have agreed on the website’s goals and established what content is required (IA), it’s time to start producing the content.
It can often feel like a factory assembly line, as each piece moves its way through the many stages towards eventual publication.
How long does it take to produce a single web page?
How long is a piece of string? Always allow more time than you initially plan for. As a rough guide, aim for the following timescales:
- Research content – 2 to 3 hours
- Write content – 2 to 4 hours
- Review content – 1 to 2 hours
- Revise content – 0 to 2 hours
- Approve content – 0 to 1 hours
- Upload to CMS – 1 to 2 hours
- Web page review and sign-off – 1 hour
- Publish web page – 0 to 1 hours
