How to build a content inventory before a migration
Scope. For large sites, NN/g suggests starting with the content that is accessed most or supports top tasks.
Collection. Parts of the inventory can be automated with crawling tools and CMS exports of titles, dates, authors and metadata.
Format. Whatever the scope, spreadsheets are usually the best format for inventories and audits.
Upkeep. Without maintenance, inventories and audits quickly become outdated and hard to use.
The exported fields show how content is structured today. To plan how they fit the new CMS, see what content modeling is.
Inventory vs audit, and what the list protects
A content audit is the separate step that evaluates the quality of the items listed in the inventory. An inventory alone shows what exists but says little about quality or how to improve it, so NN/g recommends doing both. CMS tools can keep the inventory part updated automatically, while the audit still needs a human owner. B.C. guidance says audits should happen at the start of a site redesign and regularly as part of maintenance.
The list has three more jobs:
URL mapping. Google calls mapping every old URL to its new URL an important step. The inventory is where the old URLs come from.
Dependencies. Recording dependencies such as linked forms or campaigns in the inventory helps prevent accidental broken links.
Accuracy. The B.C. guide says inventories and audits lower the risk of search engines or AI tools surfacing wrong information.
For the full sequence, read how to plan a CMS-to-CMS migration or the WordPress to headless CMS migration guide.
From URL list to redirect map at Pagepro
Before a launch, Pagepro builds the URL inventory from several sources, such as the sitemap, a crawl and Search Console exports, because a list from one source misses URLs. The redirect map is built from that inventory. The map comes with a redirect manager in Sanity that editors use, so SEO fixes need no developer.
Sources
- Content Inventory and Auditing 101Nielsen Norman Group · nngroup.com
- Content inventory and audit (Web Style Guide)Government of British Columbia · www2.gov.bc.ca
- Site Moves and MigrationsGoogle · developers.google.com