Content lifecycle
The content lifecycle is the set of stages a piece of content goes through, from the need that creates it to its retirement, by way of drafting, approval, publication and updates. Each stage has an owner. That assignment, more than the list of stages, is what gives the concept its value.
Definition and how it works
After publication, oversight weakens. Authors change jobs, offers evolve and pages stay online with nobody checking whether they are still accurate. On the tooling side, check that your content management system controls retirement as closely as publication. In Jahia, unpublishing can go through an approval workflow just like publishing.
Each stage is explained in our article What is the content lifecycle? The 6 stages.
Related terms: Work In Progress · Content workflow · Content management system · CMS migration
Resources that cover this term
Content lifecycle vs content workflow: the differences
The lifecycle covers the whole existence of content. A content workflow organizes the approvals of particular stages, such as publication. A status says where content stands at a given moment.
| Notion | What distinguishes it |
|---|---|
| Content workflow | A sequence of tasks and approvals on a specific stage. The lifecycle also covers maintenance and retirement. |
| Work In Progress | A status in Jahia that blocks publication until drafting is finished. It describes a moment in the cycle. |
| Retention policy | The rule that sets how long content must be kept. It decides between archiving and deletion. |
Frequently asked questions
Who should own a page once it is published?
A person or role able to confirm the page is accurate and to decide when it is updated or retired. Assigning ownership to a role rather than a name keeps the page from becoming orphaned the first time someone leaves.
At the end of the content lifecycle, should outdated content be deleted or archived?
It depends on the retention rule that applies. Content subject to a legal obligation or useful as evidence is archived, so it leaves the site but stays available internally with its history. Content with no evidential value can be deleted. Either way, decide what happens to its public URL.