Content Index
A centralized dashboard inside Tenwrite that maps and tracks all your Google Docs and their connected published posts across multiple CMS sites.
A Content Index is a centralized log or dashboard that maps, tracks, and manages the relationship between drafting documents (like Google Docs) and their published posts on Content Management Systems (CMS) like WordPress and Blogger.
What a Content Index Means
When you publish a Google Doc to WordPress, the connection shouldn’t end there. If you make edits to the Google Doc later, you want those updates to reflect on the live website.
A Content Index acts as a database mapping the Google Doc ID to the corresponding CMS post ID. This database tracks whether the two versions are synchronized, showing when the doc was last exported and if any subsequent changes in the doc are “out of sync” with the live post.
Why a Content Index Matters for Publishing Teams
Maintaining a Content Index is critical for content operations and consistency:
- Prevent Duplication: Prevents editors from accidentally exporting the same Google Doc twice and creating duplicate pages.
- Keep Edits Updated: Ensures spelling corrections, updated links, or rewritten paragraphs in the Google Doc actually get pushed to the live site.
- Central Overview: Provides a single control center to monitor content status across multiple websites from one screen.
How the Content Index Works in Practice
A typical content indexing workflow involves:
- Initial Export: You export a Google Doc using a sync tool.
- Link Creation: The tool automatically creates an entry in your Content Index linking the Doc ID to the WordPress/Blogger Post ID.
- Edit Detection: If a writer modifies the Google Doc later, the Content Index flags the post as “Out of Sync.”
- One-Click Sync: The editor clicks “Sync” in the dashboard to push the updates, restoring the green “In Sync” status.
Common Mistakes
- Manual CMS Edits: Editing a post directly in WordPress bypasses the Content Index. This creates discrepancies between the Google Doc (the source of truth) and the live page.
- Deleting Indexed Documents: Moving a Google Doc to the trash without clearing its entry in the Content Index can result in broken sync requests.
- Disrupting the Mapping: Changing the post URL or deleting the post in WordPress without re-syncing can cause the Content Index link to break.
Example
An editor runs a tech blog with over 500 articles. A writer notices a broken link in a product review drafted in Google Docs. She corrects the link in Google Docs. The editor opens the Tenwrite Content Index, sees that the review is flagged as “out of sync,” clicks the sync button next to it, and the live WordPress post is updated instantly without touching the WordPress admin panel.
Where Tenwrite fits
If your team writes blog posts in Google Docs, Tenwrite helps move the finished draft into WordPress or Blogger with headings, images, links, metadata, and formatting preserved.
Examples
- A table showing a Google Doc titled 'SEO Tips' linked to a live WordPress post at '/seo-tips'
- Viewing a list of out-of-sync documents that have edits in Google Docs not yet pushed to the CMS
Use Cases
- Tracking which Google Docs have been published and where, preventing duplicate publishing errors
- Finding out-of-sync articles quickly and updating them in bulk
Pro Tips
Check your Content Index weekly to identify drafts that have been updated by writers but not synced to the live site
Keep your Content Index clean by deleting links to old, archived documents that are no longer active
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Manually editing the URL slug in WordPress without updating it in your Content Index, causing synchronization links to break
Assuming a post is updated on the live site when it is only edited in Google Docs—always check the sync status in the index
Frequently Asked Questions
Further Reading
Publish finished drafts without copy-paste cleanup
Write in Google Docs, then publish to WordPress or Blogger with clean formatting, images, links, metadata, and automation.