Start with the decisions the inventory needs to support
A content inventory is a working list of the pages in a website or digital project. It helps a team answer straightforward questions: What exists? What still needs to be written? Who can approve it? What is holding it back? It can support a redesign, a new site launch or a smaller cleanup of outdated material. The goal is not to document everything about every page. It is to make the next decision easier.
Before opening a spreadsheet or project tool, decide what belongs in the inventory. You might include every public page, or limit the first pass to pages in the current project scope. Write that boundary at the top of the document. If a freelancer is updating a five-page service site, a short list may be enough. A student team building a larger site may need to include planned pages that have no draft yet. In either case, give each page its own row so its status and owner cannot be confused with another page’s.
Record the fields people will actually use
Begin with a page name, a link to the current page or draft if one exists, and its place in the site structure. Then add a brief purpose: for example, “explain the service and help visitors make an enquiry.” That note gives reviewers a reason to assess the content, not just its wording. If the project includes a redesign, you can also record the proposed destination or note that the page may be removed.
Add separate columns for status, owner, next action and target review point. A comments field can hold context that does not fit elsewhere, such as a missing image or a decision about terminology. Keep links to supporting documents close to the relevant row rather than scattering them across messages. Avoid creating columns simply because information might be useful someday; an inventory that takes too long to update is less likely to remain reliable.
Define page status as a clear stage of work
Status should tell a reader what can happen next. A simple set might be: Not started, Drafting, Ready for review, Changes needed, Approved and Published. Define each label in a short note. “Ready for review,” for instance, could mean the draft is complete enough for its assigned reviewer to check, even if design work remains. “Approved” should mean content has been accepted, not that the page is already live.
Use status for the page’s overall progress and the next-action field for the specific task. A page marked “Changes needed” might have “confirm opening hours with the client” as its next action. This distinction prevents the status column from becoming a collection of one-off descriptions. If content, design and development move on different schedules, consider separate status columns only when the team needs to track those stages independently.
Make ownership and handoffs explicit
Give each page one primary owner: the person responsible for keeping its row current and moving its next action forward. That person does not need to write or approve everything. A small team might have a designer owning a landing page while a client contact provides the final wording. Record the reviewer or approver separately when that role matters, and agree on who has the final say before a page reaches review.
Ownership is especially helpful when work crosses roles. Suppose a freelancer has drafted an About page, but the business owner must check names and descriptions. The row could show the freelancer as page owner, “Ready for review” as status, and “Business owner to confirm team details” as the next action. Once feedback arrives, the owner updates the status and action. This makes a handoff visible without requiring everyone to search through a conversation for the latest request.
Keep the inventory useful through delivery
Build the first version by listing known pages, then check it against the site navigation, project brief and any draft folder. Where you are unsure whether a page is in scope, mark it for a decision rather than quietly leaving it out. Review the inventory together at a regular project check-in: focus on blocked pages, overdue reviews and pages whose owner is unclear. Update rows as decisions are made, and keep a brief note of major scope changes so a removed page is not mistaken for a forgotten one.
Before delivery, use the inventory as a final content checklist. Confirm that approved pages have reached their intended destination, that links to drafts are replaced or clearly labelled, and that any remaining work has an owner. After launch or handover, the same document can become a lightweight maintenance record. A current inventory gives the next person a starting point for updates, even if they were not part of the original project.
