CMS Publishing and Operations
A CMS is only as good as the way your team uses it. I set up the publishing workflows, templates, checklists and release schedules that move pages from draft to live reliably, then hand them to the people who run the site.
CMS publishing and operations is the work between a finished design and a live page. It covers the workflow that moves content through authoring, review and approval, the templates and components authors build with, the checks that run before publish and the schedule that decides when. I have run this work from the inside, publishing articles and video tutorials for subscription-based instructional web communities at TN Marketing.
I treat the CMS as an operation, not a tool. How long does a page take from request to live, and where does it wait? Which steps exist because the CMS demands them and which exist because nobody removed them? What breaks most often after publish? The answers become workflow states, permissions, checklists and a release calendar that fit the platform you already own, whether that is Adobe Experience Manager, WordPress or Drupal. I would rather remove a step than add a tool.
This work only sticks if the people who publish every day own it. I work inside your team's process with content authors, reviewers, CMS administrators and developers. Authors help write the template guide so it answers their real questions. Reviewers in legal, compliance or brand see their step in the workflow and agree to the turnaround it assumes. Developers get component and template requests as written requirements with acceptance criteria. When I step back, the documentation, the training and the calendar stay with your team.
What CMS operations work includes
Publishing Workflow Design
A documented path from draft to live for each content type: who authors, who reviews, who approves and who publishes, configured as workflow states and permissions inside your CMS.
Template and Component Guide
A reference for authors that explains which page templates and components exist, what each is for, and how to fill them so new pages match the design system without developer help.
Pre-Publish QA Checklist
A checklist run on every page before it goes live: links, metadata, images and alt text, forms, tracking tags, mobile layout and the approvals the content type requires.
Release Calendar
A shared publishing schedule that sequences page launches, campaign pages and content updates against product launches, review deadlines and code releases, so nothing goes live before it is ready.
Digital Asset Library
An organized library of approved images, documents and video inside your CMS or DAM, with folder structure, naming conventions, metadata fields and usage rights so authors find the right file first.
CMS Operations Runbook
A living document covering user roles and permissions, redirect handling, scheduled maintenance, backup and restore steps and the escalation path when a page breaks, written for the people who run the site.
How I approach CMS operations
Map how content moves today
I sit with the authors, reviewers and developers who touch the CMS and document the real path from request to live page, including the workarounds nobody wrote down.
Design the workflow and standards
I define workflow states, roles and permissions for each content type, write the QA checklist and template guide, and agree on the release cadence with marketing and development.
Configure, test and train
I work with your CMS administrators to configure the workflow, run user acceptance testing against real pages, then train authors and reviewers using your own content as the examples.
Run it and tune it
For the first release cycles I run the publishing calendar myself, log where pages stall or fail QA, and adjust the workflow until it holds without me.
Where this comes from
I have overseen CMS publishing in-house. At TN Marketing I oversaw CMS publishing, on-page SEO, UX and video production for subscription-based instructional web communities, a role that included WordPress and website administration. At UnitedHealth Group I ensured healthcare content met strict regulatory, risk and security standards and led process re-engineering that improved workflow efficiency across cross-functional teams. My consulting work since has included content governance, quality assurance and digital asset management. The platforms I work in include Adobe Experience Manager, WordPress and Drupal.
See my experienceWorking with Brittany is a pleasure. She's detail-oriented and works well in a collaborative environment. She helped implement our digital strategy and assisted in the creation of a cutting-edge e-commerce and subscription-based system. I look forward to working with her again.
Marketing Leader, Behavior Designer, Neuromarketer
Worked together at different companies
Frequently asked
Can you set this up in the CMS we already have?
Yes. I work in Adobe Experience Manager, WordPress and Drupal, and the workflow design is built around what your platform already supports rather than a new tool. Where a step cannot be configured natively, I document it in the runbook and checklist so it still happens the same way every time.
How is this different from content governance?
Governance sets the rules and CMS operations runs them. Governance decides who owns content, what standards it meets and when it is reviewed. Publishing and operations is how those decisions get carried out inside the platform every day, through workflow states, permissions, templates, QA checks and the release calendar. I offer both, and they work best when the workflow enforces the governance rules.
How do you fit legal and compliance review into the publishing workflow?
As a required workflow state with a named reviewer and an agreed turnaround, not as an email after the page is built. Review works when it is visible in the system and planned into the calendar. Authors know what reviewers check, reviewers see what is waiting, and nothing publishes without the approval recorded.
Will you train our authors?
Yes, training is part of every engagement. I run working sessions using your own pages and templates rather than generic examples. I leave behind the template guide, the QA checklist and the runbook so new authors can learn without me. For the first release cycles I stay available while the workflow settles.
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Learn moreLet's talk about how your team publishes
Tell me which CMS you run, who publishes on it and where pages get stuck. I will tell you what I would change first and what you can fix yourselves.