Editorial Workflow
An editorial workflow is the process content follows from creation through review, approval, publication, and ongoing maintenance.
The CMS can help formalize that process.
Common Workflow Stages
An editorial workflow might include:
- Draft
- Internal review
- Technical review
- Approval
- Scheduled
- Published
- Updated
- Archived
Not every organization needs all of these stages.
How the CMS Supports It
A CMS can support workflow through:
- Draft states
- Preview
- User roles
- Approval permissions
- Revision history
- Scheduling
- Notifications
- Content ownership
- Publication controls
More advanced systems may provide configurable approval steps. Contentful's documentation, for example, describes workflow rules that can control editing and publishing permissions.
Why It Matters
Publishing is an organizational process, not just a button.
A clear workflow helps answer:
- Who writes?
- Who reviews?
- Who can publish?
- Who owns updates?
- Which content requires approval?
- What happens when information becomes outdated?
Without those decisions, the CMS may technically support publishing while the team still relies on messages, spreadsheets, and memory.
Common Problems
Common workflow problems include:
- Everyone being an administrator
- Every change requiring one person
- Drafts remaining unpublished indefinitely
- No content owner after publication
- Reviews happening through disconnected documents
- Multiple people overwriting work
- No process for outdated content
- Approval processes being more complicated than the risk requires
How to Improve
Match workflow complexity to the organization.
A two-person business may need:
Write → Preview → Publish
A public institution may need:
Draft → Content review → Accessibility review → Approval → Publish
Document the minimum process required to maintain quality and accountability.