Content inventories

Catalog your web content and evaluate its value. A content audit is an act while a content inventory is an artifact, ideally a living document that is updated over time.

Varies depending on the size and number of website assets. A few hours to a few weeks. A manual content audit catalogs all information assets, which is typically a detailed process. Don't rush. While partial content audits might take a few hours, a full a content audit can take a week or two to complete.

Understanding the 'what' and 'why' of your web con tent. They can be used for:

It's important to first decide which characteristics you will inventory. Organize them in a spreadsheet, like Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets. For example, some possible characteristics include:

Determine the scope of your audit and whether or not it is best to conduct a full or partial content audit. Full content audits are complete and comprehensive while partial content audits might looks at just a few characteristics or website subcategories. For example, a partial audit might catalog:

A content inventory and content audit can be as simple or complex as you want them to be. In order to keep track of your inventory and organize your findings, you will need a spreadsheet application or data management tool, such as:

A web analytics tool such as Google Analytics and Siteimprove can help you analyze and audit your content. Check out the web analytics recipe to learn more about using these tools.

The first thing you will need to do is set up and organize your spreadsheet. Maintaining a concise, clean, and uncluttered spreadsheet is central to conducting an efficient content inventory.

Title the first row of your spreadsheet with each of your desired characteristics, such as:

Once you have your spreadsheet set up it's time to conduct your inventory!

It's finally time for you to begin your content inventory! Record all the relevant information and data into your spreadsheet. This process can be tedious but is well worth the work. The end result will be an organized, full inventory of your website content.

With your clean and concise content inventory complete, it's now time to begin your audit.

Remember a content audit is a qualitative analysis of your web content. There are many tools that can help you analyze and audit your content, such as Google Analytics and Siteimprove. Here are some different ways to analyze your content:

There are many other approaches to qualitative content analysis. Ultimately, it's important for you and your team to determine what matters most to you. Are you most concerned with outdated content? If so, an ROT analysis might be a great fit for your content audit. If you and your team are most interested in optimizing the visibility and quality of your web content, an SEO analysis might be a better plan. You can also combine multiple types of qualitative analysis to create your very own, customized content audit.

Creating a concise content inventory is the first step is establishing a sustainable content strategy. Use your new inventory to help content managers better understand your web content. Your content inventory can also help you think about new ways to update and improve upon your content strategy.

Having a living content inventory on hand can help you with a variety of tasks, such as:

Content Inventory and Auditing 101 by Nielsen Norman Group

Content Strategy for the Web by Kristina Halvorson

Content Inventory by Usability.gov