Structured content management

Structured content management is an approach to creating, managing and delivering digital content more efficiently. 

It allows content to be organized in a predictable way – defined by a set of rules called a schema or content model – and typically also enriched with descriptive information called metadata. Structured content schemas specify relationships between content components (also known as modules, atoms, topics or fragments). XML is a common format for storing and sharing structured content, but other formats also exist. They’re all hardware- and software-agnostic, making information accessible to any application or channel, readable by both humans and machines.

Systems that allow you to create and manage structured content are designed to make it easier to work on, share and reuse individual content components without duplication, and combine them to deliver content in a variety of formats (for example as a PDF or web page). Content components can easily be updated, with any changes reflected instantly wherever that content appears – ensuring that content remains accurate and consistent no matter where it is used. 

The core purpose of structured content management is to avoid duplication of effort, enable the reuse of information and content, and ensure that the ever-growing volume of digital content remains manageable.