How to Plan Content for a New Website

Website content should be planned around customer decisions, not around the number of pages a template happens to include. A new site needs a clear purpose for every page, reliable source material and a realistic production process. Without that preparation, design stalls, placeholder text survives into launch and several pages repeat the same vague claims.

This guide covers content planning for a new small-business website or redesign. It focuses on the launch set. Ongoing editorial and SEO content can be planned separately once the core site is accurate and useful.

Start with the questions customers need answered

Collect questions from:

• sales calls and enquiry emails;
• quotations and objections;
• customer support;
• reviews and complaints;
• staff who deliver the service;
• on-site search and Search Console, if an existing site has data;
• competitor research used carefully as a gap-finding exercise.

Group the questions by decision stage: understanding the problem, comparing options, checking suitability, trusting the business and taking action.

Give every page a distinct job

Create a page plan before writing full drafts.

Minimum content planning fields

Field	What to record
Page title	A plain working name for the page
Audience and situation	Who needs the page and why they arrive
Primary question	The main question the page must answer
Desired action	What the visitor should reasonably do next
Evidence	Facts, examples, photographs, credentials or data required
Owner	The person responsible for accuracy and approval
Relationship	Parent section and relevant related pages

If two proposed pages have the same audience, question and action, they may need to be merged.

Build the core page set first

Prioritise pages that explain the business and support the main journey:

1. home;
2. important service or product pages;
3. about and evidence;
4. contact, booking or purchase information;
5. privacy and other required notices;
6. supporting pages needed to remove a major buying concern.

Do not delay launch to fill an ambitious blog calendar while essential service pages remain weak.

Create an evidence inventory

Good copy depends on facts the writer can verify. Gather:

• accurate service scope and exclusions;
• real prices, ranges or cost factors;
• process and response times;
• qualifications and memberships that can be checked;
• case-study facts and customer permission;
• genuine reviews and their source;
• service areas, opening hours and contact details;
• delivery, returns, cancellation or booking rules;
• original photographs and usage rights;
• technical specifications and source documents.

Mark uncertain facts. Do not allow a writer or AI system to invent plausible details to fill the gap.

Plan the information hierarchy

For each page, put the information needed for the next decision before background detail. A service page might follow this order:

1. what the service is and who it helps;
2. the problem or result;
3. what is included and excluded;
4. how the process works;
5. evidence and examples;
6. price or quotation factors;
7. risks, conditions or preparation;
8. the next step.

Vary the structure when the user need differs. Do not force every article and service page into an identical template.

Write for scanning without producing fragments

Use descriptive headings, short purposeful paragraphs, lists for genuine sets and tables for comparisons. Avoid splitting every sentence into a separate paragraph or adding headings that merely repeat the title.

Explain technical terms in context. Plain English should preserve accuracy rather than remove important detail.

Plan internal relationships

Record which pages should link to each other and why. Typical relationships include:

• a service overview to specific services;
• a service page to process, pricing or evidence;
• a practical guide back to its main topic hub;
• a comparison to detailed option guides;
• a launch checklist to domain, form, backup and indexing guidance.

Links should help a reader continue a task. Do not insert the same commercial anchor repeatedly or link every occurrence of a keyword.

Assign a production status

Use clear states such as:

• planned;
• source material required;
• drafting;
• subject review;
• editorial review;
• approved;
• entered in website;
• final proofread;
• published;
• scheduled for review.

Separate “approved text” from “published correctly”. A clean document can still be entered with broken headings, missing links or the wrong metadata.

Use AI as an assistant, not a source of truth

Generative tools can help organise notes, identify repetition and produce alternative wording. They should not invent experience, legal conclusions, platform features, prices, customer results or sources. The business remains responsible for accuracy and usefulness.

Google's guidance focuses on helpful, reliable, people-first content and warns that generating many pages without adding value may breach its scaled content abuse policy. The practical answer is not to disguise how content was produced, but to add real editorial judgement, evidence and review.

Set update responsibilities

Some pages change rarely. Others need a review date because they contain:

• prices and subscriptions;
• legal or regulatory information;
• platform interfaces and features;
• opening hours and staff;
• product specifications;
• security procedures;
• delivery and return terms.

Record a content owner and review trigger rather than displaying a cosmetic “updated” date after no meaningful check.

Launch with a coherent set

A smaller group of complete, connected pages is more useful than a large set of weak drafts. Before publication, verify that every page has a distinct purpose, reliable facts, a sensible next step and at least one route from another relevant page.

Sources and further guidance

• Google Search Central: creating helpful, reliable, people-first content (checked 21 July 2026).
• Google Search Central: guidance on generative AI content (checked 21 July 2026).