Publishing Workflow

A publishing workflow is the sequence of steps that gets content from a draft to a live page. In a small team, that sequence is invisible — one person writes, one person publishes. In a larger organisation, the sequence involves legal review, brand approval, translation, SEO, campaign timing, and stakeholder sign-off. Each step is a place where things slow down or break.

Most CMS platforms do not come with publishing workflows pre-built. They provide the editing surface. The workflow has to be designed — who can create, who can review, who can approve, who can publish, and under what conditions. If that design is missing, the website becomes the thing nobody wants to touch because touching it is risky.

This topic covers how to map, design, and implement publishing workflows: defining the approval chain before choosing a CMS, structuring editorial permissions, reducing developer dependency in day-to-day publishing, and building systems that marketing teams can operate confidently.