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What is a Content Inventory?
A list of all the content on your site, the: copy, imagery, links, keywords, word counts, page length, metrics, etc. A content inventory is a tool for you, your team, and your stakeholders to understand the nature, depth & breadth of your content, and any work it needs (such as rewrites or creation), including the origin and destination of said content during a project or product lifecycle.
When to Use It
At the beginning of a project, or product lifecycle, you need to understand how much content there is, what shape it is in, and what the plan is for it. Complete a content inventory before decisions about technology and design are written in stone. Technology and design should be fitted to the content required for people to do their work, not the other way around.
You can use this template to conduct a content inventory. You can also find helpful online tools that are available and useful for large scale projects.
How to use it
The attached content inventory template may be modified and used however you need. Below are the fields provided, and how to use them.
Navigation Title
List the page name that appears in html links to that page or screen.
Unique Pageviews
If measuring content use, enter the pageviews of this content here.
Page Title
List the title of the page or screen that displays to the person using the page or screen.
Bounce Rate
If measuring content use, enter the bounce rate of this page or screen here.
Location
List the URL of the page or screen.
Status/Action Required
The most common use for this column is to use several content statuses and toggle among them as needed. Example: New, Rewrite, Migrate As Is
Content Type
Enter the format of the page or screen, such as html, pdf, and so on.
Owner
Identify the business stakeholder responsible for making final decisions about this content.
Audience
Identify the intended audience for this content.
Last Updated
Enter the date this content was last updated on the site.
User Persona
If different from the audience, list the intended persona for this content here.