Content inventories

Tag(s)

Content strategy

Cook(s)

Emma Gould

Nutrition profile

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.

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A content inventory is a quantitative analysis. A content audit is a qualitative analysis.

Cooking 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.

Perfect for

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

The initial stages of creating a sustainable website content strategy
Helping you identify your content problems
Ongoing tracking and management of your web content

Prep work

Outline categories

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:

Page ID (representing its place in the information architecture)
Page title
URL
Content expert/provider
Content manager
Audience
Creation date
Last updated date
Page views

Decide what to audit

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:

Events
New stories
PDFs
Tutorials

Example of a partial content audit of news stories from the University of Arizona Main Library

Ingredients

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.

Directions

Set up your spreadsheet

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:

Page ID (representing its place in the information architecture)
Page title
URL

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Freeze the top row of your spreadsheet to keep your titles visible while you scroll throughout the rest of your document.

Example of a blank content inventory in Google Sheets

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

Conduct an inventory of your content

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.

Screenshot of a living content inventory of the University of Arizona's Main Library website in Notion

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

Analyze your content

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:

Search engine optimization (SEO) analysis
ROT (redundant, outdated, trivial) analysis
Heat map analysis
Accessibility analysis

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.

Plating

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:

Planning for where new content will live
Updating information architecture design
Assessing the resourcing needed to keep content up-to-date
Tracking use of content over time
Planning for a content migration to a new site
Preparing for a website redesign

Pro tips

Take your time and don't rush. A content inventory can be a daunting thing, especially if you haven't conducted one in the past. Creating a detailed content inventory is the first step in creating a content strategy and establishing good website governance, both of which are important steps in creating quality content for your users.
Keep your scope narrow to start. While a content inventory has the ability to be as detailed and lengthy as you want, brevity is the key to success during your first content inventory. Make sure your characteristics are easily identifiable and consistent.

Gallery

Screenshot of a past content inventory of the University of Arizona's Main Library website in Microsoft Excel

Screenshot of a partial content audit of PDFs on the Main Library website in Excel

Resources

Content Inventory and Auditing 101 by Nielsen Norman Group

Content Strategy for the Web by Kristina Halvorson

Content Inventory by Usability.gov