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What is workflow?
Workflow is a way for sites to have an approval process when adding or updating website content.
All sites have workflow, however it only directly impacts sites with editor/approver roles. Sites with all content managers won't notice workflow so much. Common use cases for sites with editor/approver roles are:
Sites with a single staff member that oversees the site, but multiple student employees who actually update the content.
Sites with shared governance among many departments, but they want to ensure only the content that belongs to each department is being edited by that department.
Roles and what they can do
An editor can only be an editor. However, if an approver needs to also draft new content, they can be a content manager AND approver.
In a site with editor/approver roles:
An editor drafts new content or revisions to existing content, then submits it for review. They cannot publish the content.
The approver then approves the content and publishes it, or returns the content to the editor for revision. They cannot edit the content.
Sites without these roles have only content managers who can both draft and publish.
Content states and what they mean
When drafting new content, you can select which state you want the content to be in. This generally only applies to Landing Pages, but could apply to other content types in the future.
Not every role has access to all the states; what they have access to is dependent on what they can do within their role:
Draft - Unpublished content that can be edited. Only available to Content Managers and Editors.
Review* - Submits a draft for approval. Only available to Editors; Content Managers don’t need this since they can publish their own content.
Published - Will be to external visitors when the site goes live. Only available to Content Managers and Approvers.
Archived - Essentially means to un-publish an existing page so it's no longer publicly visible. Use this if the information on the page is still valuable to keep, or will be reused later. Alternatively, you can delete a page to remove it forever.
*When a page is in Review, the editor cannot edit it; it must be rejected by an approver first.
Workflow for Content Managers
Content managers can edit and publish pages as needed.
Common Scenarios
You're ready to publish a page that's in "Draft"
You've been working on a page and are ready to publish it (or publish the changes you made to it).
Fix: Change the moderation state to "Published".
A published page needs updating
You were reviewing the site and came to the determination that one of the published pages needs updates.
Fix: Change the page's moderation state to "Draft" and make the needed changes. This will not affect the published page until the updates are published. When you're ready for that to happen, change the moderation state to "Published" and the new version will replace the original.
Workflow for Editors
When working on content, it will always change to the "Draft" moderation state. If the page is already published, the "Draft" version can be edited while the last published version is still live to the public. That way you can make updates and get them approved without impacting your site visitors.
Common Scenarios
You have content ready for review
You've edited a page and are ready for your approver to publish it. It's in the "Review" state.
Fix: Tell your publisher in person or over phone/email that you have a page ready for approval. There is no automated notification.
Your approver said they don't have the ability to publish a page you edited
You drafted changes to a page and told your approver it's ready. But they said the system isn't giving them the option to publish it.
Fix: Check the moderation state. If it's in "Draft" your approver cannot publish the page. Change the moderation state to "Review", then ask your approver to check again.
Your approver told you a page you submitted for review needs more updates
You submitted a page to your approver already, but they came back and said it needs more updates.
Fix: If it's still in the "Review" moderation state, change it to "Draft" and make the updates. If it's already in the "Draft" moderation state, go ahead and make the updates. When done, change the state back to "Review" and notify your approver.
A published page needs updating
Either you or your approver was reviewing the site and came to the determination that one of the published pages needs updates.
Fix: Change the page's moderation state to "Draft" and make the needed changes. This will not affect the published page until the updates are published by your approver. When you're ready for that to happen, change the moderation state to "Review" and tell your approver it's ready.
Workflow for Approvers
Approvers can only work with content when they're in the "Review" moderation state.
You can see content and it's moderation state by going to "Content" then clicking on "Moderated Content" (just above the content filtering options on the page). You can only publish pages with a moderation state of "Review".
Common Scenarios
You need to approve content that's still in "Draft"
Your editor has drafted changes to a page and said it's ready for your approval, but the moderation state is still "Draft". So you don't have the ability to publish the page.
Fix: Talk to your editor (in person or through phone/email) and ask them to change the workflow state to "Review".
You need to approve content that's in "Review"
Your editor has drafted changes to a page and said it's ready for your approval. The page looks good so you need to publish it.
Fix: When looking at the page (while logged in to the site) there is a dropdown under "Change to". Select "Published" and click "Apply".
The updates your editor made require revisions before publishing
Your editor has drafted changes to a page and said it's ready for your approval. It's in the "Review" moderation state. The page needs a few updates, though, before publishing.
Fix: When looking at the page (while logged in to the site) there is a dropdown under "Change to". Select "Draft" and click "Apply". Let your editor know they have changes to make; there is no automated notification.
A published page needs updating
You were reviewing your site and realized there's a page that needs updates.
Fix: Tell your editor about the needed updates so they can make them. You will need to approve the changes after the updates are made.