---
title: "Content audit"
source: 18F Guides
source_url: https://github.com/18F/guides
licence: CC0-1.0
domain: engineering
subdomain: 18f-guides
date_added: 2026-04-25
---

## How to do it{#how-content-audit}

1. Identify a specific user need or user question that you’d like to address.
1. Create an inventory of content on your website. Navigate through the site from the home page and note the following about every piece of content. (For repeated items like blog posts, consider capturing just a sample.)

    1. Title used in the site’s navigation for that page
    1. Title displayed on the page or item itself
    1. URL
    1. Parent page

1. Identify the main entry points for the user need you’re addressing. This could be external marketing, the homepage, a microsite, or another page.
1. From each entry point, trace the pages and tasks a user moves through until they address their need.
1. For every piece of content they might come across on that task flow, note:

    1. Author(s): who wrote or created the page
    1. Content owner(s): who ensures its credibility
    1. How often or when it was last updated
    1. Comments: qualitative assessment of what to change to better address your identified user need

<section class="method--section method--section--18f-example" markdown="1">

## Example{#ex-content-audit}

- [Content debt: What it is, where to find it, and how to prevent it in the first place — 18F Blog](https://18f.gsa.gov/2016/05/19/content-debt-what-it-is-where-to-find-it-and-how-to-prevent-it-in-the-first-place/){.usa-link .usa-link--external}

</section>

<section class="method--section method--section--additional-resources" markdown="1">

## Additional resources{#add-content-audit}

- [Content plays: Audit your content — USDA](https://www.usda.gov/digital-strategy/content/plays#content3){.usa-link .usa-link--external}

</section>

<section class="method--section method--section--government-considerations" markdown="1" >

## Government considerations{#con-content-audit}

No PRA implications. No information is collected from members of the public.
</section>
