Best practices
#Overview
This document provides a concise list of dos and don'ts distilled from everything we've learned so far.
Feel free to 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 research | Begin with desk research and stakeholder interviews to define business goals and user needs. |
| Deconstruct the domain | Break down your business into key object domains and relationships to build a solid foundation. |
| Work with a cross-functional team | 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 a model that can 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 usable 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 meaningful and clear relationships | Use reference fields to link related content types (models in Hygraph), avoiding duplication and establishing clear relationships. |
| Use components when possible | Use components to create reusable groups of fields across different models, reducing redundancy. |
| Establish a taxonomy early | Work on 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, content management, and could potentially affect performance. |
| don't overlook relationships | Failing to define relationships between models leads to data duplication and missed reusability. |
| don't ignore scalability | Make sure your model is flexible enough to scale with future growth and changes. |
| don't assume editor needs | Always talk to your editors to make sure the model supports their workflow and addresses their needs. 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 and makes content harder to manage and maintain. Use references and components to connect related content efficiently. |
| don't isolate the model from your business goals | Make sure the content model is aligned with business goals to maximize its effectiveness. Also, make sure you periodically test the model against your business goals, as they change overtime. |