Best practices
#Overview
This document provides a concise list of dos and don'ts distilled from everything we've learned so far. You can use them as checklists for a final review of every step of your content modeling process to make sure you're on the right track.
#Content modeling Dos
| Guideline | Description |
|---|
| Start with thorough research | Begin with desk research and stakeholder interviews to define business goals and user needs. |
| Deconstruct the domain | Break down your business into key content types and relationships to build a solid foundation. |
| Engage cross-functional teams | Collaborate with team members from various departments to align the model with business needs. Efficient modeling requires multiple voices and points of view. |
| Prioritize flexibility | Design your model to adapt to new content types and changes in the business. |
| Keep structure separate from design | Base your content model on relationships and meaning, not how it will appear visually. |
| Simplify when possible | Focus on a simple model that is easier to maintain and more efficient for content creators. In a headless CMS such as Hygraph the content is decoupled from the frontend, so you can simplify your models to make editorial teams' day-to-day work easier. |
| Define clear relationships | Use reference fields to link related content types, avoiding duplication. |
| Leverage modular components | Use components to create reusable groups of fields across different models, reducing redundancy. |
| Establish a taxonomy early | Define a classification system at the start to improve content discovery and management. |
#Content modeling don'ts
| Don't | Description |
|---|
| don't work on the model alone | Content modeling should be done by a cross-functional team. |
| don't overcomplicate the model | Avoid adding unnecessary complexity. Complex models slow down development and content management. |
| don't overlook relationships | Failing to define relationships between models leads to data duplication and missed reusability. |
| don't ignore scalability | Ensure your model is flexible enough to scale with future growth and changes. |
| don't assume editor needs | Always consult editors to make sure the model supports their workflow efficiently. Never assume when you can interview someone and find out. |
| don't use inconsistent taxonomy | Avoid inconsistent categorization and tagging, as it creates confusion and makes content hard to manage. Team collaboration when establishing taxonomy for your project ensures you're all on the same page regarding which terms to use. |
| don't duplicate content unnecessarily | Duplicating content increases the workload. Use references and components to connect related content efficiently. |
| don't isolate the model from your business goals | Ensure the content model is aligned with business objectives to maximize its effectiveness. |