How Many Web Pages Can One Person Manage?

It’s a question that gets to the heart of managing Web content: How many Web pages can one person manage? Organizations need to know for staffing and resourcing purposes, and to make sure content managers are focusing on high-priority areas. Content managers need to know for effective program and project management. Ask the question in your organization, and you’re likely to get a different response from every person you ask (and start a debate).

See how your results align with results from an online survey of 100 Web content managers. I conducted this research as an extension of my studies in the Master of Information Management program at the University of Maryland, College Park, where my studies focused on website management and governance issues.

The survey found that:

1. Most content managers reported working on small or medium-sized websites (the single largest category was sites with under 1,000 Web pages).

2. The single largest category of number of pages that a person manages is less than 100; but half of respondents said they are responsible for 1,000 pages or more (up to 100,000 pages).

3. 36% of survey respondents said that a content manager could effectively manage more than 1,000 pages. At the opposite end was 29%, who said 100 or 200 pages.

Figure. 36% of survey respondents said that a content manager could effectively manage more than 1,000 pages.

4. Most (60%) believe the number of Web pages they control is not interfering with their ability to manage content.

5. Of the 40% who said that the number of Web pages they are responsible for interfered with their ability to effectively manage their website, 60% said this happens “very frequently” or “frequently”.

So…

How many Web pages can one person really manage?

It seems the answer depends on who you ask, what they do, and what they’re customers need.

First, it’s apparent that content management is getting more complex for some. Static Web pages are giving way to database-driven content, community- and user-driven content, and an increasing number of Web page objects (such as APIs). On the other hand, if pages don’t have much content or don’t need to be updated very often, that content might take much less time to manage.

Second, “managing a website” can mean different things to different people. Some are responsible only for content. And some are responsible for managing or contributing to a variety of website work, including content, design, usability, accessibility, social media, digital strategy, and more. The more disciplines a content manager needs to engage with, the fewer number of pages he or she will likely be able to manage effectively.

Finally, we should ask what a website is doing for its customers; that is, how it’s meeting customers’ top tasks. Listening to customers, reviewing data, optimizing content—all require time and effort. (For more on meeting customer needs, see HowTo.gov’s 10 guidelines to help you improve your digital services and customer service.)

Considering all these factors, it’s easy to see why the answer depends on so many different things.

Now, what would content managers in your organization say?

(Revised and reprinted from a CMSWire article.)