The Basics of a Content Entry Plan

So you’re building a new website? Exciting! Maybe you’re getting a brand-new design. Perhaps you’re refreshing an existing look. Or maybe this is a simple update to fine-tune your strategy. The purpose could be one of a hundred different things, leading to a faster, more accessible, and definitely more beautiful website.

So, there’s just one additional question: what does your content plan look like?

Defining a content plan.

You can design and build anything you want, but understanding how your content will be handled on the new site is crucial to launching a quality web experience.

Whether it’s a standard automated migration, a complete rewrite of all web content, or somewhere in between, your content needs an entry plan. How will all of this get over into the new site, and what will you be responsible for recreating?

This is called a “content entry plan,” and it serves as a centralized tool that helps ensure there’s enough time and resources to get content into the new site in time for launch. Beyond timelines and staffing assignments, a content entry plan includes:

• Documentation of which pages will move over as is and which pages to rewrite
• Documentation of which pages will migrate using some kind of automation and which ones will need to be manually moved over by an editorial team
• Assignment of who will be the final word on any content issue
• Assignment of who will be responsible for moving specific sections of the site
• Prioritization of which pages are crucial and which ones can come over later in the process

A well-thought-out content entry plan ensures that editors add content in a logical order, which can prevent issues leading up to launch. It also ensures that your development team gives you the pieces you need earlier in the process so you can build the most tedious pages first. Most importantly, it ensures that your content is consistent across the site, whether that’s maintaining tone, style, or branding to help craft a cohesive user experience. 

The best time to start is yesterday.

Much like the best time to plan a tree was 20 years ago, the best time to create a content entry plan is almost always “a few weeks ago,” with the second best time being “right now.”

More pragmatically, you should have a basic understanding of your content entry plan by the time your implementation team builds things like pages and blocks.

At Blend, we encourage you to enter content at every step in the implementation process for two reasons:

1. It keeps your team on track, so you don’t wait until you have all the pieces before you start utilizing the platform.
2. It enables your development team to find any bugs or functionality gaps in the website’s build. 

There are a few ways you can go about content entry. Suppose your site has a lot of news, articles, or blogs. In that case, your development team can utilize a migration tool to pull all that content into the new site without requiring manual content entry. However, this will often require manual work to check the work and tweak keywords, meta descriptions, and other SEO elements. On the other hand, while automated migration can often pull over a majority of structured content, we’ve found that most sites still need manual content refresh for landing pages and top-of-funnel content. You’ll need to build capacity into your editorial team — or look for outside content help from a trusted partner.

Do it yourself — or ask for help.

If you’re overwhelmed by the thought of where to start, we can help.

Blend works closely with local partners who understand your industry to help craft a cohesive content entry plan. This streamlines workflow by defining roles and responsibilities for content creation, setting expectations for approval and entry, and giving you a partner versed in content strategy and management. It also lays the groundwork for future content updates—this process does not end at launch, so the content entry plan essentially lives on as guidelines for how content should be added and maintained over time.

So, as you’re getting your new website off the ground, ensure a content entry plan is part of your web plan. It will save you a big headache when it comes time to send your new website out into the world and will help you ensure it is well-organized, thoughtfully curated, and supports your goals now and into the future.