Why Content Entry Isn’t an “Intern Job” And What Really Goes Into Preparing Content for a New Website

1. Content Must Be Prepared for the Design System

A modern website doesn’t accept raw, unstructured text. It accepts content shaped to match the exact components in your design system, which means the content in your staging document must already include every required field. A CTA component, for example, doesn’t just need “a link.” It needs a title, description, button label, button URL, and sometimes color or layout options. Without these details spelled out, the content entry person simply cannot complete the page.

This is also where content strategy plays a major role. Good content isn’t lifted from an old site and dropped into a new one. It’s evaluated, rewritten, and reorganized to support your business goals, answer user needs, reinforce your SEO, GEO, and AIO efforts, as well as to support accessibility and internal linking strategy. That preparation makes the difference between a site that looks new and a site that actually performs.

Images require the same level of readiness. A hero image, a CTA image, and a card thumbnail are not interchangeable. They must be cropped to the right ratio, optimized to the right file size, named correctly, and matched to the correct component. When images are not prepared, the layout breaks and mobile rendering suffers.

For the content to drop cleanly into your design system without rework, make sure these elements are ready first:

• Identify every component used on every page
• Fill in every required field for each component
• Prepare all images to the correct size, crop, and placement

Everything else flows from here.

2. Your Structure, Strategy, and Metadata Must Be Finalized Before Entry Begins

Content entry cannot happen until the architectural decisions are fully made. This includes the sitemap, navigation hierarchy, URLs, page names, metadata, taxonomy, redirect mapping, and internal linking approach. When these decisions change midstream, the content entry team has to redo work, reformat pages, or restructure entire sections.

Even if you reuse existing content, it still must be transformed to fit new components and optimized for the user journeys your new site is built to support. A redesign is not “copying old pages into a new CMS.” It is rewriting, reshaping, and re-prioritizing content to match the experience your design system is meant to create.

A thorough content audit is a critical part of this phase. Most legacy sites contain duplicated information, outdated pages, inconsistent formatting, missing metadata, and content that no longer aligns with user needs. An audit identifies what should be kept, rewritten, merged, or removed entirely. It also surfaces structural inconsistencies in headings, page patterns, and formatting that would otherwise cause issues once mapped into new components. Without this step, teams often migrate clutter, confusion, and technical debt into their new site.

This structural clarity also ensures consistency in tone, hierarchy, scannability, and brand voice. You want your pages to feel like one website, not a collage of old and new writing styles.

Before content entry begins, these structural decisions must be fully defined and agreed upon:

• Final sitemap, page hierarchy, URLs, URL slugs, and metadata
• Confirmed component order for each page
• Clear internal linking strategy and taxonomy

Once these pieces are locked in, content entry becomes predictable and fast. Without them, it becomes a guessing game.

3. The Process Must Be Documented. Always.

Documentation is not a “nice to have.” It is essential even when only one person is entering content. A structured spreadsheet is the backbone of the workflow, keeping track of migration progress, staging content, component lists, image folders, metadata, status, and links to both staging and live environments. Without this single source of truth, pages get duplicated, components get used inconsistently, images get lost, metadata gets skipped, and QA becomes chaotic.

And QA is non-negotiable. Every page must be reviewed for component integrity, spacing, image quality, metadata completeness, link accuracy, mobile responsiveness, accessibility, and overall design cohesion, as well as typos and content accuracy from the staging document.

This is also where a RACI approach (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed) can be extremely helpful. Content entry involves copywriters, strategists, designers, developers, and stakeholders, and without clear ownership, tasks fall through the cracks. Using a RACI model helps define who is actually responsible for preparing content, who approves it, who needs to weigh in, and who must be kept informed. This prevents bottlenecks, reduces rework, and keeps the project moving even when multiple teams are involved.

Your documentation should, at a minimum, capture these core elements:

• A centralized spreadsheet for tracking every page and its migration status
• Links to staging docs, image folders, staging URLs, and live URLs
• A QA checklist to verify every page after content entry

This prevents errors and keeps the project on schedule. 

4. Accessibility Must Be Built into the Content Process

Accessibility is not something you “fix at the end.” It must be baked into content preparation and content entry from the very beginning. Modern component-based systems often include fields that directly support accessibility, such as alt text, aria labels, captions, descriptive link text, and structured headings. If these fields are skipped, rushed, or inconsistently filled out, the site may appear correct visually but fail for users who rely on assistive technologies.

Accessibility also affects how content is written and formatted. Clear headings, logical hierarchy, concise paragraphs, meaningful link labels, and correctly marked decorative versus functional images all matter. Poor formatting or vague labeling makes navigation harder for users with screen readers, cognitive differences, or visual impairments.

When accessibility is integrated into your content preparation, migration, and QA process, your new website becomes more inclusive and usable for everyone, not just those who rely on assistive technology. It is an essential part of modern content operations, not an optional layer.

Where AI helps

• Large-scale migration of structurally consistent content like blogs, articles, people profiles, and contact pages
• Reducing manual entry for repetitive page types
• Supporting developers in validating field mappings

Where AI falls short

• Unique and marketing-critical pages
• Content that needs rewriting or consolidation
• Decisions about layout, emphasis, or tone
• Accessibility and quality review

The most successful teams use AI as an accelerator, not a shortcut. Automation handles volume, while people guide strategy, experience, accessibility, and quality.

How RBA Helps

This is the part of a website where teams often feel most overwhelmed, and a steady partner makes all the difference. At RBA, we’ve helped organizations to structure, prepare, migrate, and quality-check their content, so their launch goes smoothly, and their new site performs as intended.

We can support as much or as little as you need, including:

• Content strategy and readiness planning
• Staging document creation and component mapping
• Documentation templates
• Image preparation and optimization
• Metadata and SEO/GEO/AIO alignment
• CMS content entry (full or partial support)
• QA, accessibility checks, and launch readiness
• Training and workshops so your team is confident in the process

A new website is only as strong as the content powering it. With the right preparation, your launch timeline stays on track, and your new digital experience delivers from day one. RBA’s role is simple: help you get there more smoothly, more confidently, and with fewer last-minute surprises.