Build a content inventory
Begin with the homepage, main navigation and sitemap. List the public pages you find, then add any known campaign pages, useful downloads or older URLs that still matter. Group them into services, projects, resources, company information and contact routes so you can see the shape of the site.
For each page, write the task it helps someone complete. A service page might help a buyer assess fit; a project story might show relevant experience; a contact page might help an existing client reach the right office. Not every useful page needs to sell.
Use the prompt below to assemble a first inventory of accessible public pages. Check the coverage before relying on it. A tool that reads the navigation but cannot reach the sitemap may miss important pages. Add known gaps yourself and keep inaccessible pages visible as exclusions.
See three completed inventory entries
Illustrative public-page examples. These paths and proposed decisions are fictional, not findings about a real website. They show how different reader tasks lead to different actions.
Scroll across to see every column if needed
| URL | Reader task | Decision | Next action |
|---|---|---|---|
/projects/community-centre/ | Assess experience with a comparable building. | Keep: distinct, relevant proof. | Project owner confirms the current wording and image permission; retain the service link. |
/contact/ | Reach the right office. | Improve: an old address creates uncertainty. | Office owner confirms current details; update the page and check the visible route. |
/news/old-service-announcement/ | Understand whether an announced service is still available. | Remove proposed: service has ended. | Business owner checks continuing historical or customer need; website partner plans the old URL before removal. |
Give each page a clear decision
Read each page against its purpose. Is the answer current and specific? Can a reader find the relevant proof and next step? Does another page already do the same job? Record a short reason for the decision, rather than judging the page by how polished it looks.
Choose what to do with each page
Follow the branch that matches your answer. Stop at an outcome; continue only where directed. If uncertain, check the evidence first.
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Does the page meet a continuing reader need?
If no:
Propose Remove. Check historical, customer and other responsibilities, then plan the old URL before removing anything.
If yes: continue to question 2.
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Does another page do the same job for the same audience?
If yes:
Combine. Choose one retained destination that can preserve the useful, approved material.
If no: continue to question 3.
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Is the content accurate, current and useful?
If no:
Improve. Resolve the gaps in the answer, evidence or next step.
If yes:
Keep. Retain the page and assign its next review.
Low traffic alone is not a reason to remove content. A rarely used policy, office detail or specialist service can still matter. Before combining or removing pages, ask the website owner to check links and plan what happens to the old URLs.
What to check before changing a URL
Confirm the retained destination answers the old page’s continuing need, carry over useful approved material and update internal links. Ask the website partner to review known external links and choose an appropriate redirect or removal response. Sending every retired URL to an unrelated homepage can leave readers without the answer they followed a link to find. Test the agreed old-to-new route after implementation.
The content review proposes these actions; it does not change URLs or establish that the technical work has been completed.
Choose five changes somebody can own
A long list of weak sentences can hide the problems that matter. Prioritise issues that prevent a useful task: an unclear service offer, a broken contact route, outdated facts or missing evidence for an important claim. Then address duplication and secondary improvements.
Where pages overlap, choose a destination and show what is worth carrying forward. That makes “combine these pages” a usable instruction rather than an invitation to delete one at random.
Before: the answer is split
/services/structural-engineering/
Clear service scope and exclusions; no relevant project example.
/what-we-do/structures/
Overlapping service description; contains the useful project link and explanation of the team’s role.
After: retain one useful service page
/services/structural-engineering/
Keep the confirmed scope and exclusions. Carry forward the approved project link and role description. Remove duplicated copy and give readers one clear next step.
The service lead approves the combined scope and proof. The website partner plans the old URL, updates links and tests the agreed route. Preserving the useful evidence is part of the consolidation, not a separate task to remember later.
For each priority, name an owner, the first action and what a satisfactory result would look like. If a fact or approval is missing, make resolving it the next task. Use the service-page brief for a page that needs clearer scope.
Check the important journeys after changes
Follow the route a buyer takes: find a service, check relevant work, choose an action and understand what happens next. Try it on a phone as well as a larger screen. Use a keyboard to check that navigation and actions are reachable and that focus remains visible.
For enquiries, a confirmation screen alone does not prove the message reached the receiving team. Arrange an authorised test with that team and confirm receipt and follow-up responsibility. Check that action labels describe the real experience and that collection wording matches the information and providers involved.
Keep the review practical: record what was checked, what remains uncertain and who will resolve it. Retest the affected journey after a change. Give retained content a review owner and revisit it when services, locations, fees, proof or contact details change.
Bonus: check the destination before paid traffic
If you plan to pay for visitors, review the exact ad and destination together. Do they describe the same service, audience, location and offer? Can the page support the promise with approved information, relevant proof and a clear action?
Run through that route on a phone. Check whether the action sends an enquiry or books a meeting, and describe it accurately in both places. Resolve a material mismatch before directing paid traffic there. This is an extra check for a specific campaign; it does not replace the website inventory or establish that a campaign will perform. The optional follow-up prompt below helps organise the review.
Put it to work.
Copy a prompt into Claude or ChatGPT, replace the bracketed details and review the result with your team.
Claude
ChatGPT
Use public information. Leave out personal or confidential details. This page copies text only; it does not send anything to an AI service.
Inventory and prioritise your public website
Add your website URL and main audience, then use this in Claude or ChatGPT with web access.
Read the prompt or copy it manually
Optional: check an ad and its destination
Use this follow-up when a particular campaign is planned. Add public ad wording and its destination.