By Gwen Ragno
Save Time and Hassle When Updating Website Content
When you manage as much website content as we do, you pick up some tricks to save time and effort. Here are a few pointers from Roger That content manager Matt Brown to make your content updates easier.
Don't start from scratch
Make a copy of an existing post or page that contains most of the same elements you want to use on your new one. As you update the images and text, you’ll be able to see the sizes of the existing content so you know what sizes to target with your new content.
That goes for both file size and dimensions – crop your new image to the dimensions of the existing one, export it as the same file type and roughly the same file size, then upload it to the media library and replace the old image on the page.
Leave text formatting behind
Your website is built with styles that determine how the text looks – from fonts and sizes to colors and formatting. When you copy text from another source and paste it into your website’s text editor, be careful not to carry over any hidden formatting. This can interfere with your website’s built-in styles, and make the page look wonky when you publish.
Whether you’re using WordPress or another content management system, there are usually two tabs in your text editor – visual and text. The visual tab comes with standard formatting tools that let you do things like bold text or format it as a list. The text tab has no tools, and sometimes includes some HTML tags related to text formatting.
The text tab is the one you want to paste content into, to make certain that no hidden code sneaks in. After you paste the content in there, you can switch over to the visual tab to format it.
Check the URL
The URL address for your post or page is automatically created from the headline or page name. If you cloned a page, as suggested in tip #1, be sure to clear out the URL field so WordPress can fill in the new one based on your new page name.
The words in the url and the headline are super important for search visibility, so make sure they are intentional and related to the actual content of the page.
Check your links
When you stripped out formatting in tip #2, you also stripped out any links that your content creator included in the draft they handed off to you. Be sure to add those links back in, so they don’t ping you on Slack as soon as you publish, asking what happened to their links. (Ahem, yes, this was written by a content creator.)
Also! Whenever linking to an external site, be sure to choose the "open in a new tab" option, so your readers aren't taken away from your site when they follow the link.
Add meta content for search and social previews
Every post and page on your site should have a meta title and meta description, which is found in the SEO section of the editor. This is important to fill in for a few reasons:
- It’s what search engines see first when indexing your site, so make sure they are intentional and related to the actual content of the page.
- It’s also what appears in search results when your page comes up as a result for someone’s search query. So, make sure it makes sense to humans, too.
- Most social media platforms use this information to generate the link preview when someone shares a link to your site.
- And last but not least, the meta title is what shows up in the tab at the top of your browser.
Content has a direct impact on performance
Websites are meant to grow over time with new content to support your mission and growth goals. Whether you frequently publish blog posts or you only add pages when you launch a new offering, follow these best practices for content management to keep your website looking good and running smoothly.
If you’re a Roger That client, ask about our WordPress Care Plans to proactively monitor your site for problems like broken links and slow load times.
Not a Roger That client yet?
If your website is sluggish or hard to update, it may be time for a redesign. Let’s talk about how Roger That can help. If you choose to work with us, you’ll gain a partner who will set you up for long-term success.