Content publishing
Inventory website pages before a content cleanup
Build a table with one row per public URL. Record why the page exists, who it serves, who maintains it and what should happen next. Decide on merges or removals only once the full list is in front of you.
A text to start with
Here is a list of public URLs for [site or organization]: [URLs or page titles]. For each page I will supply the visible title and a short summary: [summaries]. Draft an inventory with purpose, intended reader, likely owner, status and next action. Mark every field you are guessing and ask me about it. Do not recommend deleting anything yet.
Example request. Change the details to fit your situation.Page inventory row
Inventory date: [ ] Site section: [ ] URL: [ ] Visible page title: [ ] Purpose of the page: [ ] Intended reader: [ ] Reader task it supports: [ ] Owner and how confirmed: [ ] Status (current, outdated, unknown): [ ] Other pages that link here: [ ] Similar page and its reader task: [ ] Next action: [ ] Who approves the action: [ ] Open question: [ ]
Duplicate intent versus different tasks
Two pages can share a topic and still serve different readers. A page on how to apply and a page on who is eligible may both name the same program, yet a visitor needs each at a different moment. Test each suspected duplicate against the question a reader would be trying to answer. Look for owners assigned by guesswork, pages with no clear reader, and old announcements still sitting in navigation. Note which pages link to a page before changing it, so those links do not end up pointing nowhere.
Ask another agent to check the result
Take each pair this inventory marks as duplicate. Decide whether the two pages answer the same reader task or different ones, such as eligibility versus how to apply. Name any pair that should stay separate and quote the part of each page summary that supports your decision. For pairs you agree are duplicates, say which page's content the other would lose if merged.
Turn the list into decisions
Confirm owners by asking them directly, since a guessed owner is only a placeholder. Sort rows by next action and settle the obvious keeps first. For each suspected duplicate, write one sentence naming the reader task each page serves. Decide who approves a merge or removal. After any change, update the inventory so it matches the live site.