Content moderation in GovCMS

Content moderation summary

A content moderation workflow allows content to go through an approval process before it’s posted live on a website. This means that content can be authored by one person and reviewed by another before it is approved. Only once approved is the content made visible to the public (site visitors).

GovCMS content moderation workflow

Content moderation is a GovCMS tool (module) that provides a default workflow process. In this model:

• Content has four "states":

  1. Draft

  2. Needs Review

  3. Published

  4. Archived

• Content transitions as it moves from one state to another.

• Different people or different roles have different permissions regarding what actions they can perform in the content workflow. For example, in the default setting, Content Editors cannot publish content. Only a Content Approver can approve content.

The screenshot below summarises the default GovCMS workflow:

Image of content moderation workflow

This default workflow can also be extended by a site builder/developer.

Changing the content moderation state

You can publish content using the content editing form. To see the states availale for a piece of content (and for your given role) navigate to Content by clicking on the Content button in the Admin menu. Then click on a piece of content to edit it.

The workflow "states" available will depend on:

1. The current content state.

2. The transitions you’re permitted to use within your official content role.

In the example below, the content was authored by a Content author. The current user is a Content Approver and the Page content is in the state of Needs Review. The Content Approver can select from two options in the Change to dropdown:

1. Published. This would make the content visible to site visitors.

2. Draft. Usually this would then require the Content author to make further changes to the page before again submitting it for review by changing the state to Needs Review.

Image showing where to change moderation state

Note While the Content approver is reviewing the page, they are in Edit mode, and so may make their own changes to the page before publishing.

The Content moderation dashboard

The GovCMS content moderation module also provides a customisable dashboard. To access the Content moderation dashboard click on the Content button in the Admin menu to navigate to the main Content Administration page. Then click on the Moderated content tab highlighted in the screenshot below.

Image of Content moderation dashboard menu

Once in the Content moderation dashboard you will see a list of content that is in different states. In the example below we see there are 4 items in Draft and one item in Needs Review. A Content Approver could use this list to see what items are ready for them to review.

Image of Content moderation dashboard